Quote:
Originally Posted by Chibi-Chan
But Super Monkeys were not a typical Japanese girlgroup like Momusu or AKB48 and the primary focus was lying on Namie from the beginning. Super Monkeys never were really popular and only the first three singles were released under the name Super Monkeys. After that the next two were released under Amuro Namie with Super Monkeys and the last two were released under the name Amuro Namie alone. And most of the time the other girls were just featured as background vocals. The label just realised that the group woudn't be a hit but Amuro had potential.
YamaP was able to make a solo career without NEWS because of the same reason Namie was never just another member of Super Monkeys. Boygroups don't have this whole graduation thing going on so he was able to make himself relevant over a few years within the group.
But bands like Momusu and AKB48 are based on a concept that makes its members totally irrelevant and just wants to introduce new members as soon as the others become boring. The only one who was able to make herself a little relevant was Goto Maki, but even she never got real fame outside of Momusu.
So I think one can't compare Amuro Namie or YamaP to members of Momusu or AKB48, because the initial situation is totally different when you're a member of a group which is based on a graduation concept and not on let's say five members which won't be replaced.
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They all are/were idols groups, even if the structure was far different than AKB48. And even if AKB48 and Momusu has tons of members, there are always those who get the most attention, and as a consequence get to sing the most, appear more on videos and most likely to be part of different units. Mari Yaguchi is a good example of someone who was the focal point of one of those massive groups, to the point that she still is (somewhat) relevant as a celebrity to this day.