~Iconic Moments in J-idol History~
BiS disbands at "Budokan" (at Yokohama Arena)
Hello, and welcome to today's J-idol history lesson. J-idol has been around for around 50 years now, so there's a lot of history to dig through, regardless of whether you're new to the scene or an old pro. I don't pretend to know everything, but I know a lot, and in these history lessons, I'll do my best to explain some critical moments in the history of J-idol and why they're so significant to fans, the music industry, or Japanese society at large. It's basically an idol storytime, so enjoy!
Today's subject is one that might be confusing at first pass. Where did they disband? Did they disband? Isn't BiS still part of the WACK lineup? What exactly is happening? Those questions are why we need to get into the details of what this important event actually entailed.
Join me as I delve into the who, what, and where of iconic moments in idol history!
Who is involved?
BiS (Brand-new idol Society)
BiS, short for Brand-new idol Society, was an idol group conceived by Pour Lui, who had been working as an independent singer for a few years before deciding that she wanted to start an idol group out of her own love for idols like Morning Musume. Shortly after forming the group in 2010 for a 2011 debut, she linked up with a small-time A&R rep at the indie Tsubasa Records, Watanabe Junnosuke, who brought in former rock artist Matsukuma Kenta as their primary songwriter. What began as one woman's desire to be an idol quickly transformed into a representation of all that is wonderful and weird and messy and exploitative about idols. BiS disbands at "Budokan" (at Yokohama Arena)
Hello, and welcome to today's J-idol history lesson. J-idol has been around for around 50 years now, so there's a lot of history to dig through, regardless of whether you're new to the scene or an old pro. I don't pretend to know everything, but I know a lot, and in these history lessons, I'll do my best to explain some critical moments in the history of J-idol and why they're so significant to fans, the music industry, or Japanese society at large. It's basically an idol storytime, so enjoy!
Today's subject is one that might be confusing at first pass. Where did they disband? Did they disband? Isn't BiS still part of the WACK lineup? What exactly is happening? Those questions are why we need to get into the details of what this important event actually entailed.
Join me as I delve into the who, what, and where of iconic moments in idol history!
Who is involved?
BiS (Brand-new idol Society)
They came out swinging once those three entities aligned, with their first single together, My IXXX, featuring the members running naked in the woods in the MV. The controversy would only keep coming, with members regularly dropping out of the group due to their discomfort with the extreme branding of the group (or perhaps personal disputes with Pour Lui). Another MV, primal., featured private home videos of each of the members, including footage from a sex tape assumed to be Pour Lui's, and some of the footage allegedly used without the consent of all the members. Fans were also brought into the fray of their schemes, with the group releasing an MV for the song IDOL that featured more typical idol music and imagery, only to reveal, after intense fan reaction, that it was all a lie. Shockingly, despite the group's penchant for chaos and extreme publicity stunts, they were signed to avex trax for a major debut in 2012. However, despite some fan fears that they would change how they operate under a major label, the antics only continued, between nude magazine shoots, including a 74-year-old as an official member, and partnering with a noise band to make their sound just as chaotic as everything else.
In many ways, BiS was almost anti-idol. They took concepts and trends that other idols participated in and turned them on their heads. Idols do bikini photoshoots? They'll do it nude, with white goo on them. Idols sell lots of goods? They'll make goods that say "Idol" and sell that alone. Many wota certainly did not appreciate the mockery to the extreme of their hobby, but a lot of people found it refreshing for a group to take on the inherent sexualization and consumerism present in the idol genre. Whether you enjoy seeing it or not, the perspective was truly refreshing as idols became more numerous and more competitive in their efforts to find fame and fortune.
What happened?
Performing at Budokan is considered by most Japanese artists to be a sign that they've made it in the industry. The auditorium was built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics with the purpose of hosting martial arts events, but has since been used for a wide variety of events and gatherings, including concerts. The venue holds a lot of national significance, and so performing at Budokan is often seen as a demonstration that the artist is of national caliber, even though it is a mid-sized venue (capacity is around 14,000). As such, BiS and manager Watanabe wanted to perform at the venue, especially if it was going to be the final show for the group.
However, there was a hiccup in those plans. Because Budokan is a venue of such prestige and cultural significance, they were not willing to allow BiS to play, with their controversial antics being well-established by that point. Or so the story goes, anyway. When you have a group with a tendency to run with the most absurd option at all times, it's hard to discern between reality and kayfabe. In any case, Budokan was out, despite it being the group's ultimate goal still.
The end result was "Budokan a la BiS" (BiS-nari no Budokan). Such was the name of the concert they performed at Yokohama Arena, a venue of similar size in the same metropolitan area. The group performed every song they had released, former members were welcomed back to the stage, and they pretended it was Budokan the entire time. They performed a three and a half hour concert for some 8,000 crazed fans who were sorry to see them go, as there really wasn't much that filled the niche that BiS did. Naturally, because everything is a stunt, BiS had their actual last concert the following day, entitled, "One man live a la former BiS."
What's the significance?
So a little group with an unstable lineup caused a lot of chaos for about 4 years and then called it quits at not-Budokan. Why is this important? Well, a number of reasons.
BiS was formed at the very beginning of the idol boom of the 2010s where there was a massive swell in interest and demand for female idols. However, most of these idols followed the tried and true path of oudou--follow the mainstream to find success. While it might be too much to suggest that BiS invented the concept of alternative idols, they absolutely brought a new version of idols to the mainstream and found decent success without using the mold that other groups were trying to fit into.
BiS was a home to girls who perhaps wouldn't be accepted in mainstream idol groups. They were loud. They were crude. They were lewd. They made out during concerts. They stage-dived. They were essentially a punk band, pulling influence from artists like THE STALIN and Togawa Jun, inciting chaos at their live shows and experimenting with where the boundaries really were with idols and wota. Their sound was reflective of this, as a matter of course, but their actions and stunts were also part of what helped set the stage for other alt idols to exist. Idols could now be seen as crass, or gross, or creepy, but still as cute girls dancing to fun songs. Their disbandment at such a large venue showed that there was, in fact, a large group of people who liked seeing idols behaving badly, who liked rock music in their idol music, who would buy into these gimmicks and stunts even if they didn't always like the results. Even with the idol boom coming to an end, alt idols still exist and are seen as a valid part of the overall idol scene.
Additionally, BiS finding success and disbanding also paved the way for Watanabe. After the disbandment, he left his position at Tsubasa and started his own company, WACK (Watanabe Artistic Creative Kabushikigaisha). Watanabe was a huge part of BiS' image and success, as he instilled these professional wrestling-like tactics to try to find new ways to break into the increasingly congested scene. Fans never knew what was genuine and what was for show; any given announcement could have just as easily been a lie or a joke as it could have been real. At times, it did seem like he was sabotaging BiS' own success, which is what spurred him in 2014 to create BiSH (Brand-new idol SHit). BiSH is, by his own admission, "BiS done right." He used what he had learned in developing BiS to create BiSH, and learned well enough when to leave things alone so that they could thrive. BiSH has indeed been successful, and that success has helped fuel every other group he has produced under WACK, although those groups often do end up suffering the same chaos he threw upon BiS. Nevertheless, it has helped WACK establish itself as a major idol producer in Japan, almost exclusively as an alt idol company.
To put it simply, the success BiS found and their decision to cut their ties when they did opened the royal road a little wider for Japanese idols. Idols no longer had to be beautiful, flawless icons of youth: they could now be messy and weird and, well, more human. Idols could now do things in a different way than all those who came before them, even hold a final Budokan live in what is definitely not Budokan.
So... I hope you enjoyed this second installment of my journey through J-idol. BiS is not everyone's cup of tea, but they nevertheless managed to do something incredible that really hadn't been done before, and in doing so, they changed the idol scene forever. That, I believe, deserves to be remembered as an iconic moment in idol history.
Let me know what you think, ask questions if you have any, or discuss how you only see BiS as BiS with Pour Lui in the lineup and the new versions are just cheap imitations or if you think Reiwa BiS is the ultimate version of BiS.
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BiS is on their third or fourth iteration now right? I think it'd been better if they'd just gone with a new name. It doesn't seem like they're gaining that much from the name recognition and it feels a bit disrespectful to the original members especially Pour Lui. On the other hand respectful was never the brand.
Third, technically. The second iteration actually came about because of Pour Lui. She was jealous of BiSH's early success and wanted to restart BiS to prove something or other. But then there were apparently issues with some members early on and possibly just popularity issues, hence the rental trade period between Aya and Saki, and then the Diet or Die thing happened and Pour Lui was out. Then came BiS league and so on and so forth until they disbanded and said actually, let's just start over again. The problem with making messy groups is that, well, sometimes they are an actual mess.
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it's too much for me to keep up with but I can appreciate that there's variation so it's good as long as the mess doesn't turn into abuse
BiS whole history has always been a mess but gen 1th takes the crown, they pulled all sorts of crazy things in such a short amount of time, kinda makes me sad to had missed that era
Wack's CEO Watanabe to this day is still set on creating a perfect version of BiS so he keeps pushing the label on them even when new gens are pretty much different groups on their own, i don't really think he cares about their success since they are his passion project
for example he killed gen 2 because they didn't fit his vision, that despite them being by far the most successful version (their last single sold 100,000+ copies! )
fun fact, BiSH was supposed to be a follow up to BiS but thankfully they ended becoming a complete different thing
speaking of her, she just debuted a new group called PIGGS and they are financially backed by Watanabe... i can't understand their relationship
3rd gen! but it gets more confusing when you include short lived sub groups like bis1st and bis2nd
Wack's CEO Watanabe to this day is still set on creating a perfect version of BiS so he keeps pushing the label on them even when new gens are pretty much different groups on their own, i don't really think he cares about their success since they are his passion project
for example he killed gen 2 because they didn't fit his vision, that despite them being by far the most successful version (their last single sold 100,000+ copies! )
fun fact, BiSH was supposed to be a follow up to BiS but thankfully they ended becoming a complete different thing
if i recall Pour Lui hated Aya eightprince... Lui was definitely a little toxic, doesn't help that her love hate relation with Watanabe usually had consequences for the other members too, i don't think she was happy after coming back at the time so i'm not surprised she left again
speaking of her, she just debuted a new group called PIGGS and they are financially backed by Watanabe... i can't understand their relationship
The antics were definitely a lot more novel back then, especially with how many idols were actively trying to fill the same niche. BiS was a bit of fresh air. Although I do pray at the Church of First Summer Uika, I didn't really have that much interest in following BiS that closely at the time. I'm much more of a garbageman than a researcher, turns out.
BiSH is, by Watanabe's own admission, BiS done right. He wanted to try making the same group but actually trying to be successful rather than self-sabotaging for the sake of publicity and a compulsive need to make his idols suffer. That's why the MV for Hoshi ga matatataku yoru ni is so much different than everything else they ended up doing; he thought he'd pull the same tactics he did with BiS, but it turns out that the fanbase for BiSH was 100% different and didn't want to see the idols treated poorly. I translated a lot of the early interviews for BiSH so I know how much Watanabe realized he would have to change his management style to help them work. So now he just takes all that chaotic energy out on every other group in his stable. I am curious to see what happens with Paradises, though, since they're truly his first attempt at doing an oudou idol group.
As for Pour Lui, she and Watanabe deserve each other, in whatever capacity that may be. They are antagonistic soulmates.