AAA (band)

History

AAA was first conceived as a six-member group, with five male vocalists—Takahiro Nishijima, Naoya Urata, Shuta Sueyoshi, Shinjiro Atae, and Mitsuhiro Hidaka—alongside Misako Uno as the sole female member. Avex then decided to bring in two additional female performers: first Yukari Goto, then Chiaki Ito. All eight had entered the agency through auditions and trained at the Avex Artist Academy, the label’s own talent school. Because the debut tracks "Blood on Fire" and "Friday Party" had already been recorded for the original six members, Goto and Ito only appear on the refrains of those songs. In April 2005, Avex officially announced the group’s debut with seven members (Ito was not yet included), naming the oldest member, Urata, as leader. AAA began group activities in May, and Ito was added on June 15. They made their official debut on September 14 with "Blood on Fire," which was well received after being used as the theme song for the live-action film adaptation of Initial D. That same year, they won the Best Newcomer Award at the 47th Japan Record Awards. From September through December, they released a single each month, along with a photobook, and followed up with their first album, Attack, in January 2006. The heavy release schedule and promotional work left no time for live performances, but the singles, each exploring a different genre, performed reasonably well on the charts. In June 2006, the official fan club "AAA Party" was launched. That October, Uno appeared alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar in the Hollywood version of The Grudge 2. After releasing the mini album All/2 on September 13, 2006, AAA put out their second studio album, All, on January 1, 2007. Apart from three new tracks, the album consisted of songs previously issued as singles with music videos throughout 2006. All sold well, though not as strongly as its predecessor, Attack. In 2007, AAA landed another theme song tie-up with the series Kamen Rider Den-O, releasing "Climax Jump" as a single under the temporary name "AAA Den-O Form." The single became their most successful to date, earning Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan for shipments of 100,000 physical copies and 100,000 full-track ringtone downloads.