DEL48 (read D.E.L. Forty-Eight) was an Indian idol group whose name is derived from its based city in New Delhi, India. They are the ninth international

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history. AK ...

, after Indonesia's

JKT48 JKT48 ( pronounced J- K- T- 4 8 ) is Indonesia’s premier girl group, established in 2011 as the first international sister group of Japan’s AKB48. Based in Jakarta, which is the capital and largest city of Indonesia, located on the northw ...

, China's

SNH48 SNH48 is a Chinese idol girl group based in Shanghai. Following AKB48's creator Yasushi Akimoto's concept of "idols you can meet", the group features over 200 female members around the age of 20 (15 to 30) across SNH48 and all its sister grou ...

(''former''), Thailand's BNK48, Philippines's MNL48, China's AKB48 Team SH, Taiwan's

AKB48 Team TP AKB48 Team TP, formerly known as TPE48, is a Taiwanese Chinese idol, idol group and the sixth international AKB48 Group, sister group of AKB48, after Indonesia's JKT48, China's SNH48 (''former''), Thailand's BNK48, Philippines's MNL48, and Chin ...

, Vietnam's SGO48 (''disbanded''), and Thailand's CGM48. Adopting the concept of "idols you can meet". Formed in 2019, the group went on a hiatus in October 2020 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and later disbanded in July 2022.

History

2018: Planning of MUM48

During a livestream in December 2017, AKB48's general manager Yui Yokoyama announced the formation of MUM48, AKB48's supposed 8th sister group based in Mumbai, India. The group will be operated by Rashmi Raj Media Pvt. Ltd., a company by producer Rashmi Sharma. An event was held to promote the group, with "girls power" and "women empowerment" as the theme of the group. Audition was soon held, but stopped abruptly in July 2018; the website became inaccessible and their social media platform stopped posting.

2019: Creation of DEL48 and MUB48

On 19 June 2019, an event was held to announce the formation of DEL48 and MUB48. Both groups will be managed by AKS and YKBK48 Entertainment Pvt. ltd., a company headquartered in

Gurgaon Gurgaon (), officially named Gurugram (), is a satellite city of Delhi and administrative headquarters of Gurgaon district, located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest ...

, with Yoshiya Kato serving as chairman and Rohit Bakshi as CEO of the company. The groups would be an addition to the AKB48 overseas sister group, following

, BNK48, MNL48, AKB48 Team SH,

, SGO48, and CGM48. The groups took their name from the proposed base location of New Delhi and

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India. The groups are based on the concept of 'idols with whom fans can meet' and will be involved in the entertainment industry including theater performance, concert, other entertainment events, music record release, movies, media appearance, etc. Following the announcement, DEL48 launched its own YouTube channel and announced that it would be accepting applications from girls aged between 12 and 20. The first round of the first DEL48 audition took place from 19th to 31st July 2019, attracting more than 10,000 applicants. Each audition was five-minutes long, consisting of a singing, acting, and dancing test. Ahead of AKB48's performance on NHK's 2019 Kouhaku Uta Gassen, it was announced the performance will also include a member of DEL48. On 30 December 2019, Glory is introduced in AKB48's theater in Tokyo, becoming the first member to be revealed. The remaining 21 members were announced the next day, while Glory performed with AKB48 Group to sing Koi Suru Fortune Cookie. The group was confirmed to debut in Spring 2020 by Glory in a Japanese interview.

2020–2022: Debut plans, hiatus, and disbandment

The plan to debut the group in early 2020 was postponed as a result of the

. The group released its

Overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...

in March 2020, followed by the release of its members' official

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

and

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

page. An official TikTok page for the group was also opened, featuring the members dancing to AKB48 and BNK48's Koi Suru Fortune Cookie and the latter's High Tension. The group later began a weekly upload on their Instagram and YouTube page with each members having their own contents. In May 2020, DEL48 members, Reyna, Glory and Beanie, were featured alongside their sister groupmates in AKB48's performance on One Love Asia, an online charity concert organized by WebTVAsia and YouTube as part of UNICEF ASIA's #Reimagine global campaign to raise funds for children and families affected by the pandemic. In early October 2020, DEL48 members stopped posting on the group's official Instagram page and reopened their personal accounts, leading to rumors about disbandment. DEL48's producer, Deepak Nandal, later confirmed that YKBK48 Entertainment had terminated its members' contract. He also confirmed the group have recorded its debut music video, an Indian version of Flying Get. However, on 16 October 2020, DEL48 issued an official statement confirming the group is on indefinite suspension with the possibility of coming back in the future. On 13 July 2022, it was announced YKBK48 Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. will be closing up its operation, officially ending DEL48 and MUB48.

Members

On 30 December 2019, the first generation of the group was announced, consisting of 22 members.

References

External links

* {{AKB48 AKB48 Group Culture of Delhi Indian musical groups Indian girl groups Music organisations based in India