Chocolove was comprised of Miyazawa Sae, Akimoto Sayaka, and former member Nakanishi Rena, who graduated from AKB in November of 2008. While they were the first subunit to release more than one single, hinting at the notion that they were meant to be the first permanent subunit, they nevertheless only produced music from June to November of 2007, with a DVD released later the same year.
Their music consisted almost exclusively of slow, melodic songs. The music is very simple, allowing for the members' voices to be the highlight of the group. Like Warota 7, Chocolove had a clear center in Rena, whose voice falls somewhere between the other two members. The three harmonize well and the overall sound, while maybe not as catchy as the other subunits I've reviewed, is certainly beautiful. Again, this would not be something I would listen to everyday, but it has its place. Here's a video of a performance from 2009.
The real reason I wanted to talk about this group is to illustrate how an early subunit of AKB48 functioned. First and foremost is the name. Chocolove From AKB48 was always promoted with that exact name. It would seem that Akimoto didn't feel a subunit could hold their own at the time without the AKB brand. AKB was still in its infancy, so it's possible that this was simply another way to promote the group as well.
Chocolove, perhaps more than any other subunit, was designed with the intention of highlighting the three girls' voices. I already discussed the way they did this through the music, but it is also evident in the marketing. Though Chocolove released a full CD called Dessert in November of 2007, its 12 tracks represented only 5 different songs. This is because three of the five songs were solos performed separately by each member. The remaining two songs were Chocolove's previous singles, which were released in three versions containing a solo from one of the members. Chocolove's marketing encouraged you to pick a favorite from the three performers and support them by buying the CD with their solo.
If you're a fan of their music or one of their members, Chocolove's
singles, CD, and DVD
are still available at CDJapan. The special editions are sadly out of print.
Chocolove, perhaps more than any other subunit, was designed with the intention of highlighting the three girls' voices. I already discussed the way they did this through the music, but it is also evident in the marketing. Though Chocolove released a full CD called Dessert in November of 2007, its 12 tracks represented only 5 different songs. This is because three of the five songs were solos performed separately by each member. The remaining two songs were Chocolove's previous singles, which were released in three versions containing a solo from one of the members. Chocolove's marketing encouraged you to pick a favorite from the three performers and support them by buying the CD with their solo.
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