Flower (Japanese band)

Flower
Origin Japan
Genres J-pop
Years active 2009–present
Labels
  • LDH
  • Sony Music Japan
Associated acts
Website flower-ldh.co.jp
Members
  • Mio Nakajima
  • Shūka Fujii
  • Manami Shigetome
  • Reina Washio
  • Kyoka Ichiki
  • Nozomi Bando
  • Harumi Sato
Past members

Flower is a Japanese pop girl group formed by LDH in 2009 and signed to Sony Music Japan. They are a dance and vocal unit of collective girl group E-girls alongside Dream and Happiness. The group consists of two vocalists and five performers.

History

Pre-debut

Flower was formed first as a performance group, with LDH recruiting four dancers: Elina Mizuno, Manami Sigetome, Mio Nakajima, and Shūka Fujii in 2009. They began appearing in Exile music videos and modeling, before amassing popularity as backup dancers for Exile during their 2010 Live Tour alongside sister groups Dream and Happiness.

LDH held a national search for new group members in February 2011 titled "Exile Presents Vocal Battle Audition 3: For Girls", which led to the addition of Nozomi Bando and Harumi Sato, along with three vocalists, Reina Washio, Kyoka Ichiki, and Chiharu Muto.

2011-Present: Debut and changes

As a nine-member group, Flower released their debut single, "Still", on October 12, 2011.[1][2] The single charted at number 5 during the first week of release, and remained on the chart for several weeks. In November 2011, Flower was confirmed to be joining sister groups Dream and Happiness in the collective group E-girls.[3] Flower continued to release several singles throughout 2012 alongside promoting as members of E-girls.

In June 2013, company LDH confirmed the group would be participating in a competition with sister group Happiness in which both groups would release their singles on the same day, and the winner of the competition would have one of their songs feature as a B-side on a future E-girls' single.[4] Flower won the competition, and their song "Hatsukoi" was included in E-girls' single "Gomennasai no Kissing You".

Leader Elina Mizuno announced her official withdrawal from Flower and E-girls on October 18, 2013, citing her focus on her acting career.[5] Shigetome Manami replaced her as leader of Flower following her departure.[6]

The group announced the release of their first album, self-titled for release on January 22, 2014.[7]

On October 12, 2014, Chiharu Muto officially announced her withdrawal from both E-girls and Flower, deciding to study abroad.[8] The group released their eighth single, "Akikaze no Answer", following this, being the last single to include Muto. Flower announced the release of their second album, Hanadokei (花時計), on February 3, 2015, to be released on March 4, 2015, less than a month after the release of their double A-side single "Sayonara, Alice / Tomorrow Tomorrow: Shiawase no Hosoku".[9]

They released their eleventh single "Blue Sky Blue" on April 29, 2015.

Members

Members

  • Shūka Fujii (藤井 萩花)
  • Manami Shigetome (重留 真波) (Leader)
  • Mio Nakajima (中島 美央)
  • Reina Washio (鷲尾 伶菜)
  • Kyoka Ichiki (市來 杏香)
  • Nozomi Bando (坂東 希)
  • Harumi Sato (佐藤 晴美)

Former members

  • Elina Mizuno (水野 絵梨奈)
  • Chiharu Muto (武藤 千春)

Timeline

Discography

Albums

Title Peak chart position Album details
JPN
Oricon		 JPN
Billboard
Flower 3[10] 3[11]
  • Released: January 22, 2014
  • Format: LP, digital download
  • Label: Sony Music Japan
Hanadokei 2[12] 2[13]

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications
Year Title Peak chart positions Album
JPN
Oricon		 JPN
Billboard
2011 "Still" 5[14] 15[15] Flower
2012 "Sakura Regret" (SAKURA リグレット) 12[16] 19[17]
"Forget Me Not ~Wasurenagusa~" (forget-me-not ～ワスレナグサ～) 13[18] 25[19]
"Koibito ga Santa Claus" (恋人がサンタクロース) 10[20] 31[21]
2013 "Taiyou to Himawari" (太陽と向日葵) 5[22] 7[23]
"Shirayukihime" (白雪姫) 3[24] 5[25]
2014 "Nettaigyo no Namida" (熱帯魚の涙) 5[26] 8[27] Hanadokei
"Akikaze no Answer" (秋風のアンサー) 3[28] 4[29]
2015 "Tomorrow ~Shiawase no Housoku~" (TOMORROW～しあわせの法則～) 7[30] 28[31]
"Sayonara, Alice" (さよなら、アリス) 7[32]
"Blue Sky Blue" TBR TBR TBA
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Tours

References

  1. ↑ "あらま They Didn't ! Japanese Entertainment News - EXILE’s sister group FLOWER to make their debut in October!". livejournal.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "EXILE's sister group, FLOWER, releases track list for debut single". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  3. ↑ "E-Girls to release their 1st single "Celebration"". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "あらま They Didn't ! Japanese Entertainment News - Happiness vs FLOWER". livejournal.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Flower leader Mizuno Erina withdraws from the group". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "あらま They Didn't ! Japanese Entertainment News - Manami Shigetome chosen as Flower's new leader". livejournal.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Flower's 1st album to be released in January". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "E-girls & Flower member Muto Chiharu to withdraw from the group". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  9. ↑ "Flower to advance onto the next stage with their 2nd album". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  10. ↑ "オリコン週間 CDアルバムランキング 2014年01月20日〜2014年01月26日". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Billboard Japan Top Albums│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "オリコン週間 CDアルバムランキング 2015年03月02日～2015年03月08日". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Billboard Japan Top Albums│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "オリコン週間 CDシングルランキング 2011年10月10日〜2011年10月16日". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  15. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  16. ↑ "オリコン週間 CDシングルランキング 2012年02月27日〜2012年03月04日 11〜20位". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  17. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  18. ↑ "オリコン週間 CDシングルランキング 2012年08月20日〜2012年08月26日 11〜20位". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  20. ↑ "オリコン週間 CDシングルランキング 2012年11月26日〜2012年12月02日". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  21. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  22. ↑ "オリコン週間 CDシングルランキング 2013年08月05日〜2013年08月11日". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  23. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  24. ↑ "オリコン週間 CDシングルランキング 2013年12月23日〜2013年12月29日". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  25. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  26. ↑ "オリコン週間 CDシングルランキング 2014年06月09日〜2014年06月15日". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  27. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  28. ↑ "オリコン週間 CDシングルランキング 2014年11月10日〜2014年11月16日". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  29. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  30. ↑ http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/js/w/2015-03-02/
  31. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  32. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot 100│Charts│Billboard JAPAN". Billboard JAPAN. Retrieved 25 February 2015.

External links