On March 16, STARTO announced the debut of Ae! group (JP: Aぇ! group). I’m excited to hear the news since I have been following this group for a while.
Some info about Ae! group:
・Ae! group is a five-member unit from Japan’s Kansai (western) region, comprised of Yoshinori Masakado, Seiya Suezawa, Keita Richard Kusama, Ken Kojima, and Masaya Sano.
・The Junior unit has been active since February 18, 2019, and started off with a bang, thanks to its exceptional live music skills and great sense of humor. Its talent and humor earned it primetime TV appearances, a national concert tour scheduled for 2023, and a significant sponsorship deal with FILA sporting goods.
・A testament to STARTO family togetherness, they were formed under You Yokoyama’s guidance and have been actively cared for by Tadayoshi Ohkura, both of legacy STARTO group SUPER EIGHT.
・To celebrate their debut, Ae! group will also kick off this new chapter of their career with their Live Tour “The World’s Best AeLIVE” – an 8-city, 400,000-seat capacity national tour running from May 25 to August 18.
Messages from the members of Ae! group:
・Yoshinori Masakado
We are incredibly grateful to finally be able to share this good news with the world. It is thanks to the love and support of all our fans, even beyond these long five years, that this day has finally come. We will continue to devote ourselves to the task at hand, so please lend your support to this “new Ae! group!”
・Seiya Suezawa
We want to thank each and every person who has helped bring us to this point, including everyone who came to our announcement event at the Kyocera Dome Osaka and watched it worldwide on the Family Club Online. It’s still hard to express all the emotions we feel, so I’ll leave it at this: the five of us will work harder than ever before for the happiness of our fans! This “BEGINNING” is thanks to you!
・Richard Keita Kusama
Having finally reached it ourselves, I now understand what so many of our seniors meant when they talked about how a debut is not an end-goal, as it may seem from our view as Juniors, but rather a starting line for a new and exciting marathon, which we will run with your help!
・Ken Kojima
A debut is just the beginning of a new adventure, but it’s still one goal that we are grateful to finally make manifest. We will apply ourselves wholeheartedly to become a bigger and better version of ourselves and take our fans along for an incredible ride to new heights. We will make Ae! group one that steals all your hearts!
・Masaya Sano
This is the real start for us as Ae! group; the A(e!)ctualization of our A(e!)chievements by the A(e!)rdour of all our fans. The five of us will strive to be an Ae! group that makes you proud.
Message from You Yokoyama of SUPER EIGHT:
It’s been five years, but I can still remember like it was yesterday when these guys came together as Ae! group. I am so proud of what they have accomplished, and relieved that every effort they put in has paid off.
Sometimes they can still seem a bit rough around the edges, but I know they have such high potential. I hope everyone might look upon them warmly and support their continued endeavors.
They might be “Ae” (good) now, but I know they’re going to be a SUPER group one day.
SUPER like SUPER EIGHT! (Nah, they’ll be even better)
Ae! group Debut CD single 《A》BEGINNING will be available May 15! You can follow them on X account.
Congratulations Ae! group!
OK Asia 