Happiness | |
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Origin | Japan |
Genres | J-pop |
Years active | 2008 | –2023
Labels |
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Members |
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Past members |
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Happiness was a Japanese pop girl group formed and managed by LDH since 2008 and signed to the record label Rhythm Zone. They were a dance and vocal unit of collective girl group E-girls alongside Dream and Flower. The group consisted of two vocalists and three performers at the time of their disbandment.
Happiness first appeared during Exile's 2008 Live Tour as backup dancers, at the time being a five-member unit consisting of Miyuu, Mimu, Karen, Sayaka, and Kaede. On April 10, 2009, it was announced that LDH would hold auditions to recruit vocalists for the new girlgroup, specifically aiming at girls aged 12–14. [1] Yurino was then added to the group after an LDH Audition before the group was set to debut. They released their debut DVD single, "Happy Talk", on October 21, 2009. It was also used as the theme song for Japanese brand Mister Donuts. [2]
Mayu Sugieda was added to the group and announced on December 25, 2009, [3] before the group made their major debut on February 9, 2011 with the release of their first major label single, "Kiss Me". [4] [5] [6] [7] Four days before their debut, the group held a live event to promote the upcoming release of their first single that attracted about 1000 spectators. [8] The group released their 2nd single "Friends" on April 27 in the same year. [9] Two days later, they held their first solo show at SHIBUYA-AX in Tokyo. [10] For the release of their 3rd single "Wish" on August 17, [11] Happiness held their first surprise live event in front of SHIBUYA 109 in Tokyo, proving their popularity among teenage girls. [12] Mimu was absent from the group's promotions after going on hiatus in December 2011, [13] including their 4th single "We Can Fly", [14] before leaving the group in October 2012, citing she wanted to focus on her studies. [15] [16]
In November 2011, Happiness was confirmed to be joining sister groups Dream and Flower in the collective group E-girls. [17] [18] Member Mayu also went on a hiatus in August 2012 to undergo medical treatment after being diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis. [19]
On June 6, 2012, it was announced that Happiness would release their first album titled Happy Time on June 20. The track-list of the album included a cover of SPEED's "Body & Soul". [20]
E-girls members Anna Suda and Ruri Kawamoto joined the group in May 2013 as a dancer and vocalist respectively, [21] and the group released their 5th single, "Sunshine Dream: Ichido Kiri no Natsu". It was released on the same day as Flower's 5th single ""Taiyou to Himawari" (太陽と向日葵; Sun and Sunflower) to initiate a competition between the two groups. [22] The winner of the competition would have one of their songs feature as a B-side on a future E-girls' single. Two weeks after the release, it was revealed via Exile's TV show Shuukan EXILE, that Happiness lost the battle by 2 points against 3 of Flower. As a reward, Flower's song "Hatsukoi" (初恋; First Love) was included in E-girls' single "Gomennasai no Kissing You".
Miyuu was announced as the new leader of the group, replacing Mimu on January 30, 2014. [23] Mayu Sugieda, after months of hiatus, left both Happiness and E-girls on April 7, 2014. [24] [25] Happiness continued to promote with E-girls, releasing their 6th single, "Juicy Love", on May 28, 2014 [26] and their 7th single, "Seek A Light", on November 19, 2014, between E-girls singles. [27] These singles were also the first ones after Happiness' label transfer from Nayutawave to Avex' Rhythm Zone. [28]
Happiness announced the release of their 8th single, "Holiday" on August 28, 2015, set to be released on October 14. [29] It served as a turning point in Happiness' sound and concept, marking the start of a more mature, energetic and colorful image of the group. The title track was produced by T.Kura, who had worked with artists such as Exile and Namie Amuro before. Furthermore, NIGO, creator of fashion brands Bathing Ape and Human Made, was in charge of the art and visual direction for the promotional photo shoots for this single. The T-shirts worn by the Happiness members in their artist photos and in the music video were also co-designed by NIGO and Naoto, member of Exile/Sandaime J Soul Brothers/Honest Boyz. [30]
On February 3, 2016, Happiness released their 9th single, "Sexy Young Beautiful". [31] The release is a unique one meant to display the group's singing, rapping, and dancing ability. The covers for the single were designed by NIGO too. [32] On May 28 in the same year, it was announced that Happiness would release the song "Always" as the theme song for the live action adaptation of the manga Itazura na Kiss ~ THE MOVIE ~ Part 1 Highschool-hen (イタズラなKiss~THE MOVIE~ Part1ハイスクール編; Mischievous Kiss~ THE MOVIE ~ Part 1 High School Edition) that would be released in November. [33] [34] On August 11, 2016, it was revealed on E-girls' last day of their third tour E-girls LIVE TOUR 2016 "E.G. SMILE", that Happiness will be releasing their second album GIRLZ N' EFFECT on October 12, 2016. [35] They also announced the group's first solo tour Happiness LIVE TOUR 2016 GIRLZ N' EFFECT that would go from November 9 until December 20, 2016. [36] [37]
The group released their 10th single "REWIND" on February 8, 2017, the day before the 6th anniversary of their debut. [38] [39] On March 10, 2017, it was announced that Miyuu would undergo surgery on her left knee due to a lateral meniscus injury and halt her activities until she was fully rehabilitated. [40] On August 27 in the same year, the group participated on the annual festival a-nation, being their first time participating in it. [41] [42] The group released their 11th single "GOLD" on September 10, 2017. [43] The single ranked #1 on Oricon's weekly singles chart on the following week, being their first #1 single. [44] [45]
After over a year of hiatus, the group released their first digital single "POWER GIRLS" On January 16, 2019. [46] [47] The group participated in E.G.family's first tour E.G.POWER 2019 ~POWER to the DOME~ that went from February 22 to May 25, 2019. On March 1, it was announced that Ruri, Kaede and Sayaka were appointed as ambassadors for DeNA's YOKOHAMA GIRLS☆FESTIVAL 2019 Supported by ありあけ 横濱ハーバー from May 31 to June 2. [48] For this occasion, Ruri sang the national anthem of Japan and Kaede threw the opening pitch for the baseball game on the first day of the festival. [49] On June 12, 2019, the group released "POWER GIRLS" as their twelfth single. On September 11 in the same year, Happiness released their 13th single "Chao Chao". The music video for the title track was shot at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier and in the Bradbury Building in Los Angeles. The release of the new single was accompanied by a row of promotional live-events across Japan.
During the announcement of E-girls' plan to dissolve at the end of 2020 on December 22, 2019, it was revealed that Happiness would stay as they are and will work with 88rising for global expansion in the future. [50]
On December 15, 2020, members Yurino and Anna Suda announced they would be leaving LDH, therefore also graduating from Happiness. [51] [52] In 2022 members Sayaka, Ruri, Miyuu, and Kaede announced that they were forming the group SG5, or Sailor Guardians 5, with iScream's Rui. [53] The members promoted concurrently between the groups.
On June 5, 2023, LDH announced that Happiness would be disbanding after a last concert on September 26, 2023. After the disbandment, Karen Fujii would be dedicating to her individual activities while the remaining members would focus on SG5. Prior to their last concert, the group held fan meetings in four cities of Japan from July to August. [54] On September 26, 2023, the group held their last live concert titled Happiness LAST LIVE 2023 "Happiness" in KT Zepp Yokohama and officially disbanded following its conclusion.
Name | Stage Name | Position | Date of Birth | Birthplace | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Miyuu Ariiso (有磯実結) | MIYUU (ミユウ) | Leader & Performer | August 16, 1996 (age 25) | Kanagawa, Japan | Former member of E-girls |
Karen Fujii (藤井夏恋) | Vocalist | July 16, 1996 (age 25) | Osaka, Japan | Former member of E-girls and ShuuKaRen | |
Ruri Kawamoto (川本璃) | April 12, 1996 (age 26) | Osaka Prefecture, Japan | Former member of E-girls | ||
Sayaka Nagatomo (長友さやか) | SAYAKA (サヤカ) | Performer | September 20, 1995 (age 26) | Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan | Former member of E-girls |
Kaede Dobashi (土橋楓) | Kaede (楓) | January 11, 1996 (age 26) | Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan | Former member of E-girls and member of model duo Twin Tower |
Name | Stage Name | Position | Date of Birth | Birthplace | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mimu Hioki (日置美夢) | MIMU (ミム) | Performer | December 30, 1995 (age 25) | Hyogo, Japan | Former member of E-girls, re-debuted in the duo ITI as a vocalist in 2015 |
Mayu Sugieda (杉枝真結) | Vocalist | January 2, 1996 (age 25) | Osaka Prefecture, Japan | Former member of E-girls, model under the agency Next Satisfaction | |
Yurino Suzuki (鈴木結莉乃) | YURINO (ユリノ) | Performer | February 6, 1996 (age 25) | Miyazaki, Japan | Former member of E-girls and SudannaYuzuYully |
Anna Suda (須田アンナ) | Performer | October 12, 1997 (age 23) | Tokyo Prefecture, Japan | Former member of E-girls and SudannaYuzuYully |
Title | Album details | Peak chart position | |
---|---|---|---|
JPN Oricon [55] | JPN Billboard [56] [upper-alpha 1] | ||
Happy Time |
| 10 | — [upper-alpha 2] |
Girlz N' Effect |
| 2 | 3 |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Sales (Oricon) [59] [upper-alpha 3] | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JPN Oricon [55] | JPN Hot [60] [upper-alpha 4] | |||||
"Happy Talk" [upper-alpha 5] | 2009 | 138 [upper-alpha 6] | — | — | Happy Time | |
"Kiss Me" | 2011 | 22 | 88 | 8,000 | ||
"Friends" | 20 | — | 6,000 | |||
"Wish" | 12 | 27 | 15,000 | |||
"We Can Fly" | 2012 | 19 | 19 | 10,000 | ||
"Sunshine Dream: Ichido Kiri no Natsu" | 2013 | 7 | 11 | 37,000 | Non-album single | |
"Juicy Love" | 2014 | 7 | 9 | 30,000 | Girlz N' Effect | |
"Seek A Light" | 7 | 24 | 28,000 | |||
"Holiday" | 2015 | 2 | 3 | 55,000 | ||
"Sexy Young Beautiful" | 2016 | 5 | 4 | 16,000 | ||
"Rewind" | 2017 | 4 | 5 | 36,000 | Non-album single | |
"Gold" | 1 | 3 | 45,000 | |||
"Power Girls" | 2019 | 8 | — | 15,000 [71] | ||
"Chao Chao" | 6 | — | 25,578 [72] | |||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |
Title | Year | Peak | Album |
---|---|---|---|
JPN Hot [60] [upper-alpha 7] | |||
"Ordinary Girls" | 2016 | 16 | Girlz N' Effect |
Year | Release date | Title | Artist | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | June 29 | Really Into You | DJ Makidai feat. Happiness | (digital single) |
2014 | June 18 | Really Into You (Sound Goes Around Remix) | Treasure MIX 3 | |
2017 | February 1 | Dance Earth Party feat. Happiness | I |
Song | Tie-up | Tracklist |
---|---|---|
Happy Talk | Mister Donut CM theme song | Album "Happy Time" |
Friends | Tokyo☆Bookmark CM song | |
Wish | TV show CDTV opening theme song for the month of August | |
We Can Fly | TV show Piramekino ending theme song | |
Holiday | e-ma CM theme song | Album "Girlz N' Effect" |
Year | Period | Title |
---|---|---|
2016 - 2017 | from November 9, 2016 to January 17, 2017 | Happiness LIVE TOUR 2016 GIRLZ N' EFFECT |
2023 | September 26, 2023 | Happiness LAST LIVE 2023 "Happiness" |
Year | Title | Artist |
---|---|---|
2014 | E-girls LIVE TOUR 2014 "COLORFUL LAND" | E-girls |
2015 | E-girls LIVE TOUR 2015 "COLORFUL WORLD" | |
2016 | E-girls LIVE TOUR 2016 "E.G. SMILE" | |
2017 | E-girls LIVE 2017 ~E.G.EVOLUTION~ | |
2019 | E.G.POWER 2019 ~POWER to the DOME~ | E.G.Family |
2020 | E-girls PERFECT LIVE 2011▶2020 | E-girls |
Year | Release Date | Title | Artist | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | April 15 | "Someday (Kodomo Version)" | Exile | |
2011 | March 7 | "24karats STAY GOLD (KIDS & GIRLS version)" | ||
September 24 | "Rising Sun" | |||
2013 | October 2 | "Gomennasai no Kissing You" | E-girls | |
2014 | July 9 | "E.G. Anthem -WE ARE VENUS-" |
Year | Title | Ref. |
---|---|---|
2009 | Mister Donut |
E-girls was a Japanese collective girl group created and managed by LDH while signed to music label Rhythm Zone from Avex. As of 2017, the band consisted of 11 members; 8 of which featured members of groups Happiness and Flower. Created as a sister act to boy band Exile, E-girls debuted in 2011 with their single "Celebration". After a string of promotional recordings, E-girls released their debut record Lesson 1 two years later. In 2013, their single "Gomennasai no Kissing You" catapulted the girls into commercial success, selling over 100,000 units, and its parent album Colorful Pop (2014), was met with positive reviews and high performance on the Oricon Albums Chart.
Lesson 1 is the debut studio album of the Japanese super girl group E-girls. It was released on April 17, 2013 in two different editions.
"Gomennasai no Kissing You" is a song by the Japanese girl group E-girls. It was released on October 2, 2013, as the group's sixth single and it was released a week earlier digitally as their fifth digital single.
Generations from Exile Tribe is a seven-member Japanese dance and vocal group formed and managed by LDH. The group is part of the "Exile Tribe" collective related to Exile and is signed to the record label Rhythm Zone from the Avex Group. Generations debuted on 21 November 2012.
Flower was a Japanese pop girl group formed and managed by LDH from 2009 to 2019 and signed to the record label Sony Music Japan. They were a dance and vocal unit of collective girl group E-girls alongside Happiness, Dream and three other original E-girls members. The group consisted of one vocalist and four performers at the time of their disbandment.
Sandaime J Soul Brothers, formerly simply J Soul Brothers and also known as Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe, are a J-pop vocal and dance group formed by Exile ex-leader and producer Hiroyuki Igarashi in Japan in 1991. Sandaime J Soul Brothers are managed by Hiroyuki's talent agency LDH and are a part of the supergroup, Exile Tribe. Reformed exclusively by Exile's Vocal Battle Audition in 2010, Sandaime J Soul Brothers released their first single "Best Friend's Girl" in November 2010, which peaked at number three on the Oricon Singles Chart. Their self-titled debut album J Soul Brothers, released in 2011, also peaked at number three. In 2013, they achieved their first number-one record with their third album Miracle.
Exile Tribe is the name given to the collective of artists under LDH which are related to the agency's main group, Exile. In 2012, these artists formed a supergroup together, including all members of Exile, Exile The Second, Sandaime J Soul Brothers, Generations, The Rampage, Fantastics, Ballistik Boyz, Psychic Fever, Lil League, Kid Phenomenon, The Jet Boy Bangerz, Wolf Howl Harmony and Gekidan Exile. This concept was first explored in 2004 with the creation of EXILES.
Karen Fujii is a Japanese singer, dancer, model and actress. She is a member of J-Pop group Happiness, and a former member E-girls, and ShuuKaRen, and an exclusive model for the magazines JJ and Nicola. Karen is represented by LDH.
Ami Nakashima, known as Ami or Dream Ami, is a Japanese singer, model and television personality. She is a former member of the Japanese girl groups Dream and E-girls.
Exile the Second, or simply The Second, is a Japanese music group comprising Exile members Kenchi, Keiji, Tetsuya, Nesmith, Shokichi and Akira. Formed in 2012, the group is managed by LDH and is signed to the Avex Group record label Rhythm Zone.
Hiroomi Tosaka is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a vocalist of the J-pop group, Sandaime J Soul Brothers He joined the group after winning the Vocal Battle Audition 2 alongside Ryuji Imaichi. As a member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, he has received the Japan Record Awards twice.
Mandy Sekiguchi is an American-Japanese dancer, rapper, actor and a member of J-Pop groups Generations from Exile Tribe, Exile and Honest Boyz.
"Pink Champagne" is a song recorded and performed by Japanese collective unit E-girls, taken as a single from their fourth studio album E.G. Crazy (2017). The track was released on August 10, 2016 through Rhythm Zone and Avex Music Creative Inc. in three physical formats—two CD's and a DVD bundle—and for digital consumption. The song was written by Masoto Kotake and produced by Exile Hiro. Additionally, each addition apart from the one-track format came with the two B-sides: "Bad Girls" and "Cowgirl Rhapsody" which was produced by Skylar Mones, one remix of their single "Dance Dance Dance" and the first three instrumental tracks, respectively.
"Dance with Me Now!" is a song recorded and performed by Japanese musical unit E-girls. It was released by Rhythm Zone and Avex Music Creative Inc. on February 10, 2016 as a promotional single to their first greatest hits album, E.G. Smile: E-girls Best (2016). The concept for the single was to emphasize a cooler, sexier and edgier image than their previous singles, which was then later developed and included onto the band's fourth studio and concept album, E.G. Crazy (2017).
"Juicy Love" is a song recorded by Japanese girl group Happiness, taken as the lead single from their second studio album, Girlz n' Effect (2016). It was released on May 28, 2014 via Rhythm Zone and Avex Music Creative Inc., and distributed in four physical formats—two standard compact discs, music cards and a CD and DVD bundle—and for digital consumption. The track was written and co-composed by Kanata Okajima, with additional music and production credits to Albi Albertsson and Patrick Hamilton; co-production was handled by Exile's Hiro.
Kaede Dobashi, professionally known by her mononym Kaede is a Japanese dancer, model and actress. She is a member of the J-Pop group Happiness and a former member of E-girls and an exclusive model for CanCam. Kaede is represented by LDH.
Shokichi Yagi, better known by his stage name SHOKICHI, is a Japanese singer, dancer, songwriter, composer and actor. He is a vocalist and performer of Exile and Exile The Second. He was also a member of J Soul Brothers' second generation Nidaime J Soul Brothers until their migration to Exile in 2009.
The Rampage from Exile Tribe, is a J-pop vocal and dance group formed and managed by talent agency LDH and signed to Avex's record label Rhythm Zone. The Rampage is part of the collective supergroup, Exile Tribe and is composed of sixteen members. The group was formed in 2014 and the members were chosen from Exile's Vocal Battle Audition 4, Exile Performer Battle Audition and Global Japan Challenge auditions. The Rampage made their debut in January 2017 with the release of their first single "Lightning".
Fantastics from Exile Tribe is a nine-member Japanese male dance and vocal group formed and managed by LDH. The group is part of the collective Exile Tribe, related to Exile, and signed to the record label Rhythm Zone from the Avex Group. Fantastics debuted on December 5, 2018.
Ballistik Boyz from Exile Tribe is a seven-member Japanese male dance, vocal and MC unit formed and managed by LDH. The group is part of the collective Exile Tribe, related to Exile, and signed to the record label Rhythm Zone from the Avex Group.
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