page_title: AKB48
section_title: 2010–2011: Koko ni Ita Koto
hierarchical_section_title: AKB48 / History / 2010–2011: Koko ni Ita Koto
caption_attribution_description: English: AKB48 performing at the Anime Festival Asia Day 0.
context_page_description: AKB48 are a Japanese idol group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with its own theater and performing daily so fans could always see them live. This "idols you can meet" concept includes teams which can rotate performances and perform simultaneously at several events and "handshake" events, where fans can meet group members. Akimoto has expanded the AKB48 concept to several girl groups in China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
  AKB48 have been characterized as a social phenomenon. They are among the highest-earning musical acts in Japan. For example, their 2012 sales from record and DVD/Blu-ray releases reached $226 million, earning the group the top spot in the 2012 artist ranking. As of April 2019, the group has sold over 60 million records, including over 6 million albums. At least 35 AKB48's singles have topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart, with at least 30 singles selling over a million copies each, making the group the highest selling musical act in Japan in terms of singles sold.
context_section_description: AKB48's 16th single, "Ponytail to Chouchou", was released on May 26, 2010. Its sales exceeded those of the previous single, with over 400,000 copies sold on its first day and over 513,000 in its first week. On April 27, Anime Expo, the largest anime convention in the United States, announced that AKB48 would be a guest of honor, and the group performed on July 1 at the Nokia Theatre.
  On October 23, AKB48 represented Japan at the seventh Asia Song Festival, organized by the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange, at Seoul Olympic Stadium. Four days later the group released its 18th single, "Beginner". It sold 826,989 copies in its first week, the highest first-week sales for a female idol group single. AKB48 member Mayu Watanabe appeared on the cover of the December issue of the idol magazine UP to boy with Airi Suzuki from the Japanese girl group Cute, the first gravure collaboration between Hello! Project and AKB48.
  In November 2010, AKB48 participated in several events outside Japan. On November 20, 12 members of the group performed at the Japanese Pop Culture Festival in Moscow. AKB48 performed at the Cool Japan forum in Singapore as part of Anime Festival Asia X, and at the Singapore Toy, Games and Comics Convention. Group graduates in 2010 included second-generation member Erena Ono, who left on September 27 to pursue an acting career overseas.
  The group's first 2011 single, "Sakura no Ki ni Narō", was released on February 16. It sold 655,000 copies on its first day, surpassing "Beginner's" first-day sales of 568,000. By the end of its first week the single sold 942,479 copies, the group's best and the fastest sales in Japan since 2000.
  On February 21, AKB48 announced its third album, Koko ni Ita Koto (ここにいたこと), which would include 11 new tracks and was scheduled for an April 6 release. Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the group stopped its AKB48 Theater performances and canceled some of its public events. AKB48 began the "Dareka no Tame ni" (誰かのために, lit. "For someone's sake") project, collecting donations for earthquake and tsunami relief. One of its concert venues, the Yokohama Arena, was used for a two-day charity event beginning on March 26, and 12 AKB48 members attended the Okinawa International Movie Festival that day for the same purpose. On March 15, AKB48 announced that ¥500 million would be donated by the group, its sister groups SKE48, SDN48 and NMB48 and associates of AKS, its management company. Koko ni Ita Koto's release was postponed until June 8, with part of the album's proceeds donated to disaster victims. On April 1 the group released the charity single "Dareka no Tame ni (What can I do for someone?)" (誰かのために -What can I do for someone?-) on the Recochoku website as a digital download, with all proceeds earmarked for earthquake and tsunami relief.
caption: AKB48 on Cool Japan Night, as part of the November 2010 Anime Festival Asia X in Singapore
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