[2012.06.06] The 4th Senbatsu Election - *Results on page 10!*

[OpsMonkey]

Howdy all.

We at Selective Hearing Radio are holding a contest for those who can most accurately predict this year's top 16. Enter now to win a YesAsia gift certificate! 

[+u+u]

I'm done voting. Good luck to my girls! ;A;)/

[OpsMonkey]

I'm done voting. Good luck to my girls! ;A;)/

Hi,

Thanks for participating but unfortunately there was an issue with the e-mail address I set up for the account. Can you please re-submit to this address please?

Anyone else who has entered, please re-submit to that address as well. Apologies, but technology blows sometimes right?

[SomethingWild]

Submitted my guesses 

This is also the most unpredictable

I think guessing 33-48 Next Girls or 49-64 Future Girls correctly would be immensely harder than top 16.
Anyway, top 16 is definitely more important and more interesting for the sake of this competition. 

Btw, is it about the number of correctly guessed girls, correct positions or girl + correct position?

[OpsMonkey]

Submitted my guesses 

This is also the most unpredictable

Btw, is it about the number of correctly guessed girls, correct positions or girl + correct position?

Correctly guessed girls + position. Guess I should clarify that in the post now. 

[Rust]

According to the AKB48 Official Taiwan Shop Facebook, this year's Senbatsu election will be streamed live through youtube!

I am not sure it is available for all to access, or only for the two locations mentioned on the page. The took special attention to differentiate this year's steaming method from last year's however (which was live broadcast in a particular location.) Based on that, I believe it is more likely that the youtube streaming is available for all to see!

link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=436648316353869&set=a.222713657747337.71634.203242273027809&type=1

The comments underneath seems to be concerned about epic lag however. 
Anyone here know how smooth was the yt steaming for the kohaku event (紅白対抗歌合戦) in the new year was?

[winner]

Anyone here know how smooth was the yt steaming for the kohaku event (紅白対抗歌合戦) in the new year was?

It was pretty good. The guys who watched the streamed 100 Setlist should have a good idea what quality they'll get.
They didn't restrict country for the past few streams (i think...), so there's no reason they'd do it this time.
And if worse turns to worst, get keyholetv and switch to fuji tv.

[+u+u]

Does this mean they'll post a stream link on G+??? 
I'm able to see the whole thing after all! My request of shorter work day was fulfilled 

[YKT]

AKB48 'election' shows marketing brilliance

By PATRICK ST. MICHEL and DAISUKE KIKUCHI
Special to The Japan Times
The biggest event of the year for AKB48, the 48-member pop group that's the most popular music act in Japan today, arrives next Wednesday.

 
Thousands of fans are expected to fill the historic Nippon Budokan to watch, while Fuji TV will broadcast the three-hour show live. It should also attract a healthy overseas viewership, as theaters across Asia are set to screen it live. It's not a concert though — it's an election-results show.

The fourth annual AKB48 general election, going on now, concludes June 6 at the Budokan. For a pop group in love with spectacle — they boast a rock-paper-scissors tournament, music videos regularly clocking in at over 10 minutes and, oh yeah, 48 members — this display of pop democracy tops everything else they do. The official press release for the election says that the "Japanese media and level of general awareness of this event are almost on par with a real political election," which is frighteningly accurate. It's also one of the smartest marketing moves the people behind the group have ever made.

The premise of the election is pretty straightforward: Voters fill out a ballot to determine the most popular member of the sprawling group, who becomes the school-uniform-clad face of AKB48 for the next year, earning the right to be the center performer during live performances. The lower rankings matter, too. The top 16 vote-grabbers get to appear on AKB48's next single, which barring a radical change in Japanese consumer habits, should see big sales. Throw in a few more advertising deals for the winner, and you have a harmless popularity contest.

Yet the insidious — and genius — twist of the whole idol electoral process (as conceived by producer Yasushi Akimoto) is how fans obtain a ballot: They come included with copies of the group's latest single, "Manatsu no Sounds Good!," which retails for ¥1,200 on Amazon Japan. Die-hard fans, those obsessed with individual members, will buy extra copies to procure more ballots. AKB48 sees spikes in sales whenever they release one of these "election singles."

"Sounds Good!" went the extra mile — it sold 1.61 million copies in its first week, breaking Oricon music-chart records.

This J-pop poll tax isn't without its critics. On TV show "Tokudane!" last year, announcer Tomoaki Ogura said, "A fair election should be done with one vote per person. A person buying 50 or 100 CDs gets 50 or 100 votes — so the election is dominated by big money?" (Ogura probably shouldn't read up on the role of Super PACs in this year's U.S. presidential election.) On the same program, talent Kawori Manabe countered by saying, "The CD sales could be in proportion to the fans' passion," while Fuji TV talent reporter Chumei Maeda added, "The system rewards fans' kindness."

AKB48's fans have certainly been kind. Atsuko Maeda won the inaugural general election with 4,630 votes. Yuko Oshima grabbed the title the next year courtesy of 31,448 ballots cast for her. In 2011, Maeda regained the throne with 139,892 votes. With a little less than a week to go, a polling update (yes, they exist for this) tallied 15,093 votes for Oshima, with her nearest competitor Yuki Kashiwagi at 12,654. If CD sales can be trusted, expect those numbers to jump up the night of June 6.

Alongside the number of people voting, the media's coverage of the AKB48 election has grown significantly from year to year. News outlets give the election more attention than it deserves (which is none at all and, before you fire off a letter to the editor, remember that this article graces the music page rather than the news section).

For the first time this year, Fuji TV will broadcast the three-hour ordeal, fluffing the show out with backstage footage, segments on AKB history and speeches from producer Akimoto and Maeda, who withdrew from the election when she announced she would be "graduating" from the group in the near future ... which has been manufactured into an election storyline, too.

The people behind AKB48 are also using this election as a chance to spread the group's name internationally. Last year movie theaters in Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong showed the results, but for the 2012 edition the group has teamed up with Google's ho-hum social network Google Plus to reach fans overseas, including in English-speaking nations. Users can add members of AKB48 — or anyone from the various spin-off groups, who are also eligible to win this election — to their circle, and if they get lucky they can win a personal video from said member or even a trip to the Budokan to "report" on the election.

All of the media attention and social-network tie-ins come off as bizarre, but the whole election is genius because it further feeds the fantasies of AKB48 fans. The group rose to prominence by being "idols you could meet," the members of AKB48 regularly interacting with fans via daily concerts and events. This approach creates the illusion of connection — hardcore fans feeling like they have a deeper relationship with their favorite member, when in fact it's still a consumer-seller deal. The election capitalizes on this — while plenty of casual fans probably just want the song and will send off a single ballot, someone who feels a bond with a specific member will go to extra lengths to help said member — by buying multiple copies of a single. AKB48 are masters of pulling off tricks, and this is one of their finest — turning a meaningless popularity contest into something that matters to many and makes a fortune.

Many AKB48 fan sites are convinced former-winner Oshima will take this year's election, and will thus become the face of the group. That could change, but it does seem certain AKB48 will make serious bank off of all of this. The pre-election singles might get a spike in sales, but that's nothing compared to the first post-election single, which trampolines up in sales. The next week might be full of spectacle, but that spectacle is pretty smart.

The AKB48 General Election will be broadcast on Fuji Television on June 6 from 7 p.m.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/print/fm20120531a1.html

[Melchizadek]

and, oh yeah, 48 members

The writers at The Japan Times should really learn to research simple things like this instead of just make assumptions based on the name of the group.   

But I guess that's too much to ask from folks who only want to "report" on how ridiculous they think AKB48 and its fanbase is.

[YKT]

AKB48 27th Single Tie-Ups List

AKS release note on 27th single list of planned tie-ups and releases. Taken from Scramble Egg chief editor twitter.

1st ~ 16th:
 - 27th single senbatsu member
 - NTT Plala Hikari TV CM song tie-up and CM appearance
 - UHA Puccho TV CM song tie-up
 - Apaman Shop TV CM song tie-up

17th ~ 32th:
 - 27th single Under Girls
 - 7net Shopping TV CM song tie-up and CM appearance
 - 7net Shopping on demand solo photo book

33rd ~ 48th:
 - 27th single Next Girls
 - JOYSOUND karaoke TV CM song tie-up and CM appearance
 - Solo gravure at magazine FRIDAY

49th ~ 64th:
 - 27th single Future Girls
 - Tie-up publication at magazine Nikkan SPA! and solo gravure

65th ~ 237th:
 - All 137 members gets more than 1 color page solo gravure in each affiliated magazine like TOP, YELL, BUBKA, Nikkan Cyzo, etc.

http://journal.aif48.org/?p=15119

[YKT]

120602 めちゃ2イケてるッ! AKB48总选举预想 ややこしい急行 高橋柏木小嶋指原島崎 - 视频 - 优酷视频 - 在线观看

[chewybacca]

It's official. YouTube and Google+ live-streaming of the election worldwide on June 6.

AKB48 General Election
Global bilingual streaming officially scheduled for June 6th!

- 5:20PM (JST)   Full live streaming of the General Election
- 11:00PM (JST)  Exclusive live streaming of the final winner's election speech

Don't miss our live coverage posts on the election day too!

The AKB48 G+ Management Team

Source
Confirmation by Aki-P.

Includes live +1 feature to +1 your favourite members during the election. Simultaneous English translation, too, apparently.

Other news sources: Oricon Natalie

[YKT]

Ad/promo for the tv broadcast

[xAKawaiiB48x]

This is my first election so I have some questions 

Stupid question, I know, but where on youtube can I watch the election?
Can I still vote for my favorite and can I do it online without having a CD?
What do they mean with "Exclusive live streaming of the final winner's election speech"? Does this mean that they are just going to show the speech of the winner at 11:00 pm?

[Amplifier]

Stupid question, I know, but where on youtube can I watch the election?

Here: http://www.youtube.com/user/AKB48 ! And probably from links on their official Google+ account, too.

Can I still vote for my favorite and can I do it online without having a CD?

You can still vote, but you'd need to buy one of the CDs to get the code, which is included inside. You COULD buy some codes on ebay, but those can get pretty expensive (and might not be legit).

[Rust]

It's official. YouTube and Google+ live-streaming of the election worldwide on June 6.

AKB48 General Election
Global bilingual streaming officially scheduled for June 6th!

- 5:20PM (JST)   Full live streaming of the General Election
- 11:00PM (JST)  Exclusive live streaming of the final winner's election speech

Don't miss our live coverage posts on the election day too!

The AKB48 G+ Management Team

Source
Confirmation by Aki-P.

Includes live +1 feature to +1 your favourite members during the election. Simultaneous English translation, too, apparently.

Other news sources: Oricon Natalie

Soooo if I am getting this right, the coverage goes from 5:20 p.m. till 11:00, during which they will be broadcasting the final winner's speech.
That means... 1:00 a.m. ~ 7:00 a.m. in Vancouver! 

Sounds... tiring. 

Anyone know how's the speech like? I need to determine whether I should actually stay awake for the whole event. 

[xAKawaiiB48x]

Soooo if I am getting this right, the coverage goes from 5:20 p.m. till 11:00, during which they will be broadcasting the final winner's speech.
That means... 1:00 a.m. ~ 7:00 a.m. in Vancouver! 

Sounds... tiring. 

Anyone know how's the speech like? I need to determine whether I should actually stay awake for the whole event. 

OMG I totally forgot that this is japanese time so 5:20 PM in Japan is 10:20 AM in Norway .. which means that I need to skip school ... well anything for my ladies 

[Datalanche]

Really excited to hear about the livestream, and bilingual? Wow... I imagine it being like those UN meetings with those subdued, emotionless translators. Imagine them desperately trying to make out what a bunch of bawling Japanese girls are saying. Could be fun times in all kinds of ways.

Depending on how a project at work goes at the next couple of days, I will try to take off the following day and watch.

[xAKawaiiB48x]

Wait a sec ... are they going to translate it too? I thought I'm just going to sit here and admire their beauty while not understanding anything at all xD

and am I the only one here who's sure that she's probably gonna cry through the whole election? I just can't stand seeing these girls cry