(stylized as Ae! group) is a Japanese quintet boy band formed by Smile-Up on February 18, 2019. Their debut single, "A-Beginning", was released on May 15, 2024. They are signed under music label Universal Music Japan.

History

Ae! Group is produced by Super Eight's

You Yokoyama is a Japanese idol, singer, actor, scriptwriter, radio host and lyricist. Yokoyama is also a member of Kanjani Eight, which is under the management of Johnny & Associates. His image color in the group is black. Career Yokoyama entered John ...

. The group's formation was first announced through Johnny's web on February 18, 2019. It consisted of 6 member who all come from Kansai region.

Johnny Kitagawa John Hiromu Kitagawa (Japanese name ; October 23, 1931 – July 9, 2019), known professionally as , was an American-born Japanese businessman and talent manager. He was the founder and president of Johnny & Associates, a production agency for nu ...

named the group hoping the 6 of them would become an excellent group. Their name is read as , which is the Kansai dialect for "good group." Like Super Eight, the group also occasionally performs using musical instrument as well including skits in their concerts. On December 30, 2023, Starto Entertainment announced that it had terminated its contract with Taisei Fukumoto for breaking violation of the company's

regulatory compliance In general, compliance means conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy, standard or law. Compliance has traditionally been explained by reference to the deterrence theory, according to which punishing a behavior will decrease the viol ...

. On March 16, 2024, through the group's concert "Ae! group A-ttouteki Fan Daikanshasai in Kyocera Dome Osaka ~Minna Honma ni Arigatou~", the group announced their major debut on May 15, 2024, having been informed about it half a year prior by the agency's COO Yoshihiko Inohara and

Tadayoshi Okura is a Japanese singer, actor, voice actor and radio host. He is also a member and the drummer of Japanese male idol group Kanjani Eight, which is under the management of Johnny & Associates. His image color in the group is green. Biography He r ...

, who is in largely involved with management of agency's trainees at Kansai region. The group's debut was decided before Fukumoto's departure. Group leader Ken Kojima commented his frustration and hoping he could go back when there was 6 of them, but would do what he had to and continue moving forward with the remaining 5 members. Their debut was under label Universal Music Japan with single "A-Beginning." Ae! group's marks the first group debut for

Starto Entertainment is a Japanese entertainment company that provides artist management services established on October 17, 2023. The President (corporate title), president is Atsushi Fukuda. Many of the groups and artists formerly affiliated with Johnny & Associate ...

. Ae! Group is the fifth group in Kansai region of the agency to make an official debut after KinKi Kids, Super Eight, West, and Naniwa Danshi. To commemorate their debut on May 15, the group announced a surprise event in Dotonbori's Tombori River walk at Osaka the day before.

Members

* * * * — leader *

Former members

Discography

Singles

Video albums

Tie-ins

Solo concert

Notes

References

External links

Ae! group Official Starto page

Ae! group Official page
- Universal Music Japan {{DEFAULTSORT:Ae! group Japanese boy bands Japanese idol groups Johnny & Associates Starto Entertainment 2019 establishments in Japan Musical groups established in 2019 Musical quintets Universal Music Japan Musical groups from Osaka