AKB48 66th Single MV Lyrics and Audio Clean
File: AKB48 66TH SINGLE MV AND AUDIO
AKB48 just dropped the news about their 66th single — which is also their 20th anniversary single — coming out August 13! And guess who’s center? Oguri Yui, holding it down as usual. But the real hype is that some OG legends are making a comeback for this one — we’re talking Maeda Atsuko, Takahashi Minami, Kojima Haruna, and Sashihara Rino — plus members from their overseas sister groups joining the party.
They announced this at the Tokyo Handshake event on May 31 at Makuhari Messe. The senbatsu lineup is 22 members strong. That includes 11 current members (with newbie Arai Sae getting her first senbatsu!), plus the four legendary OGs mentioned above.
On top of that, seven overseas sister groups — JKT48, BNK48, MNL48, Team SH, Team TP, CGM48, and KLP48 — each sent one rep, so seven overseas girls are joining the single too. And it’s not just a Japan-only deal — they’re dropping local versions in all seven regions where those sister groups are based.
This is the first time since the 43rd single “Kimi wa Melody” back in 2016 that OG members have been part of the main track, and it’s also the first time ever for overseas sister group members to join an AKB48 title track. Oguri Yui, who’s been in AKB for 12 years, is center for the third time, after her last centre role in the 62nd single “Idol Nanka Janakattara” about two years ago.
In early May, they shot the jacket photos before even getting the song. Oguri said, “I wanna make this single a classic for AKB48, like ‘Koisuru Fortune Cookie’!” Arai, excited about her first senbatsu, said, “I’m good at English, so I wanna chat more with the overseas members and be a bridge to spread AKB48’s awesomeness worldwide!”
OG Maeda hopes, “I want the current members to make a new AKB48 on this 20th anniversary.” Takahashi, who’s been named the 20th Anniversary Support Leader, said, “I hope this anniversary blows up and gets AKB48 noticed again. I bet Akimoto-san’s gonna drop a killer song!”
Kojima Haruna mentioned, “I heard AKB48’s aiming for a ‘second golden era,’ so I hope this single kicks that off,” and Sashihara joked, “I tried to ask Akimoto-san about the song but got nervous and chickened out — the only thing I know is his hair is suuuper short now.”
Pre-orders for the 66th single Official Shop version started May 31 at 1:30 PM JST. Buyers get hooked up with handshake events and online chats. Plus, limited edition buyers get special events: Osaka handshake on August 31, national fan meeting in Sendai on September 20, and Tokyo handshake on October 13.
Starting August, AKB48 is going on a live tour hitting five cities in Japan. The grand finale is at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, with six shows from December 4 to 7, turning up the heat to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Then on December 8, they’ll hold a special 20th anniversary show at the AKB48 Theater.