Diva (Japanese band)

Diva (stylized as "DiVA" and "DIVA") was a sub-unit of Japanese idol girl group AKB48 that was active from 2011 to 2014.[1] Its members are: Sayaka Akimoto, Sae Miyazawa, Ayaka Umeda, and Yuka Masuda. The group has released four singles that have peaked in Oricon's top 10.

Diva
OriginTokyo, Japan
GenresPop
Years active2011 (2011)–2014 (2014)
Labelsavex trax
Associated actsAKB48
Websiteavex.jp/diva/
Past members

History

The formation of Diva was revealed to Sayaka Akimoto and Sae Miyazawa on January 10, 2011,[2] and disclosed to public by the all Diva members at the AKB48 Theater on February 27, 2011. The initial four-member unit consisted of Sayaka Akimoto, Sae Miyazawa, Ayaka Umeda, and Yuka Masuda.[3] All four members are signed by the entertainment agency Flave Entertainment, formerly known as Office48. The concept of the unit is "The first-ever Dance & Vocal unit from AKB48".[4] They were originally scheduled to release their debut single on April 27, 2011,[5] but on April 1, it was announced that the release date had been postponed to May 18[6] due to the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The A-side song, "Tsuki no Ura gawa" (月の裏側, Reverse side of the Moon), was written by Yasushi Akimoto (no relation to Sayaka), as well as some B-side songs including AKB48 Team-K's theater-performed song "Blue Rose", and one of the songs recorded on Type-B CD, "Information" (インフォメーション), was written by Tetsuya Komuro.[7] They performed publicly at the Kobe Collection in Shanghai on April 16, 2011.[8][9]

It was announced on the official Diva blog that Akimoto would continue her activities in Diva even after leaving AKB48 on August 22, 2013 at AKB48's Tokyo Dome Concert while her last stage performance was to be on August 28.[8][9] In March 2014, Diva released a cover version of "Wow War Tonight" by H Jungle with t. The song was only available for download from SoftBank's mobile phone application, and did not feature Masuda.[10] In August 2014, it was announced that the group would be reuniting before the end of 2014 for the last time to release their final single, their first album, and a farewell concert. Former AKB48 member Masuda's participation was also confirmed.[1] This final single named "Discovery", was released on October 8, 2014, and was sold in four different versions.[11]

Discography

Singles
Release Title Copies sold Chart positions
Oricon Singles Charts
[12]		 Billboard Japan Hot 100
[13]		 RIAJ digital tracks*
[14]
May 18, 2011 "Tsuki no Uragawa" (月の裏側, "The Other Side of the Moon") 87,276 3 4 32
August 10, 2011 Cry 68,813 2 6 -
March 21, 2012 Lost the way 77,417 3 6 13
October 8, 2014 Discovery 30,159 4

*RIAJ Digital Tracks established April 2009.

References
  1. "AKB48's sub-unit Diva to disband within the year". Tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  2. "AKB48 Akimoto Sayaka - Miyazawa Sae no Ukkari Channel" broadcast on March 10, 2011 by JOQR radio
  3. "AKB48′s Akimoto Sayaka returns to Team K captain position, forms new unit Diva". Tokyograph. February 28, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  4. Diva official website Archived April 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Superimpose on the spot video clip indicates "first-ever" in Japanese, although the top page indicates "Dance & Vocal Unit of AKB48"
  5. "Debut Single「タイトル未定」3形態で4月27日発売！" (in Japanese). Avex Network. March 1, 2011. Archived from the original on March 8, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  6. 発売日変更のお知らせ. Diva Official Website (in Japanese). April 1, 2011. Archived from the original on April 12, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  7. "Discography" (in Japanese). Diva Official Website. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  8. "AKB派生ユニットDiVA、初の中国ライブでデビュー曲披露" (in Japanese). Oricon. April 18, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  9. "Kobe Collection 2011 Shangahi 上海公演速報レポート!!" (in Japanese). Kobe Collection. April 18, 2011. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  10. "Diva covers H Jungle with t's hit song 'WOW WAR TONIGHT ~Tokiniwa Okoseyo Movement~'". Tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. March 15, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  11. "Discography DIVA" (in Japanese). avex. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  12. "アーティスト：Not yet". Oricon (in Japanese). Oricon Style.
  13. "Hot 100｜Japan Charts｜Billboard Jaan" (in Japanese). Billboard. Archived from the original on 2011-05-11.
  14. 有料音楽配信チャート (in Japanese). RIAJ.
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