In the recent AKB48 Senbatsu General Election that took place today, Japan time, the rivalry between Maeda Atsuko and Oshima Yuko for number one has been both dramatic and competitive. Oshima turned out to take second place, just 17,049 votes short than Maeda. Last year, it was vice versa; Oshima took first whilst Maeda took second for the first time ever in AKB48 history. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Maeda was also acting, and had not really fully participated in the AKB48 body. But this year, regardless if she is in the process of filming Moshidora, she has still taken first place. Furthermore, Maeda may have gotten more votes simply because of her upcoming single, Flower. This may have attracted more fans.
It may also have to do with fans' impact from last year's results. Because Oshima won for the first time, and Maeda gave a dramatic speech, the fans might have slightly regretted the fact that Maeda did not win first-- a result that was expected for most fans. Encouragement from Maeda's fans were clearly seen after the elections last year. More and more comments were seen on her blog posts, going from 3000 to nearly 20,000. Even still, her comments exceeds more than 10,000. A big leap.
Now with Maeda taking first, she now has the lead role in all AKB48 music videos and concerts. Oshima has done a great job in Heavy Rotation, as well as their other hit songs. She still has yet to have the potential to become number one, although it might be harder considering the fact that Maeda is involved in numerous TV shows, dramas, and records, while Oshima is primarily focused in AKB.
No comments:
Post a Comment