Sucette♦

From Clumsy Media

Sucette♦ (previously known as ペロペロキャンディ) is Japanese idol group comprised of five members; Yiruma, Kain, Akuma (also known as Kirei), Tsoul and Bikki. The group were trained under Smile & Peace Academy of Entertainment for three years prior to debut. The group's debut name represented their pure, cute image and style of music.

It made several unofficial debut performences and CFS before the official debut in 2007 with their single album Snow Piano. Being a critical and commerical success, the song rewrote idol group's winning history and won five yearly end awards with it. The group released a string of chart peaking materials before going onto indefinite hiatus in 2008. In 2011 August the group made their long awaited come back in four years with the second studio album My Way : My Time and started off promotions with the single Black Hair. The album was a surprising success despite over the years their fan numbers have decreased massively. It peaked #1 on various charts and was crowned Best R&B Album of 2011 by Music Japan.

Contents

History

2003-2006: Pre-debut

Originally named ペロペロキャンディ (Japanese: Lollipop), the group was the first idol project group from music agency S&P Entertainment, a sub-label under Avex Group. The planning was first mentioned by the Japanese press in early 2003 before the official announcement in 2007 about the group consisting of five members and would and would debut sometime during the year. They were revealed to have been trained under Smile & Peace Academy of Entertainment and for an average of three years. Three members were selected from the Avex Group Bright Star Idol Competition 2004, another two members being scouted from a dance school by talent agents. They were initally promoted and known for their pure, cute image and style of music which will be pursued. The group made several unofficial debut performences and and participated in several endorsements before making an official debut.

2007: Commerically successful and record breaking debut

In collaboration with Kacture Sweets, the group's first CF song Ka Na Ni, was digitally released on July 15, 2007. The song was created for to promote the brand's latest series of lollies. The music video was released on July 18, 2007. Although it was not a promoted single because it was an advertisement (there were problems with network chart eligibility), "Ka Na Ni" went to number one on various online charts and topped the online chart of music television network Music Japan for four weeks in a row.

The group made their official debut with the single album Snow Piano and their peak of their career was also reached with this debut single. It was able to debut and peak at first place on Music Japan Digital Download Chart and stayed there for nine weeks rewriting the debut idol group history chart. Also appearing on Oricorn Music Chart debuting at first place in Top 10 Songs of Week. Winning a total of five yearly awards including the Japan Music Best Debut Group and Best Debut Single.

Perfection P. was released as the group's second single later that year and became their second work to peak the charts. It entered on the Music Japan Digital Download Chart at first place once again and stayed there for seven weeks. It also appeared Oricorn Music Chart debuting at the top. It won the award of the Most Downloaded Single in 24 Hours on various music online sites that year. By the end of the year it was clear that the group was the best selling and most commerically successful debut artist, having snatched up almost all of the new-comer awards at the year end events, with a total of up to thirty-seven catergories. Their debut single rewrote the idol winning history and won five major awards with it, making them the most successful debut artist that year and the placeholder as the debut idol group with most record breaking achievements.

2008-2010: Rising popularity and sudden hiatus

Climbing onto the success of their debut endeavours, the group kick-started the year with the release of their first mini album Absolute Lollipop. It was produced by the award winning producer Miss Low and was distributed under the label Avex Classics. The album was another commerical success, it was able to debut and peak at first place across all music charts and topped Oricorn Weekly Charts as well as later the Oricorn Monthly Charts. Despite the sales it was unable to generate the social phenomnenom the group created last year but nevertheless stabled their position in the Japanese music industry as the fastest rising idol group.

Besides official releases, the group endorsed two more brands and released two more digital singles, Sweet Times and Ice Cream in order to promote these endorsements. Each lines of product had an average increase of sales around 15% and Lollipop was dubbed as the idol group with the highest promotional market influence, a noteable defeat for the increasingly popular at one point rival group, AKB48. Since then the group had successfully shedded their idol images with their critically acclaimed vocals and performance levels despite still being promoted as an idol group.

The group continued with various promotion activities throughout the year and on August 30, 2008 announced the release of their third and first digital single Mr. Jimmy!. It was able to become their fourth consecutive released work to debut at first place. The track however was not promoted and just five days after the release, the group announced they would embark on a two-year hiatus in order to focus on other areas of life. In an related interview, leader Yiruma revealed all members were taken aback by the extent of their success in regards to their debut and had originally expected to start experiencing 'stardom' only after three years of activities. In order to revive the group made an mutual agreement for having a personal holiday for two years since they have been active for twenty-four months and would return with a 'improved and upgraded image and style' for everyone. The hiatus officially started in December 20, 2008.

2011-2012: Return, second hiatus and solo activities

On May 10, 2011 the group made an unexpected official message post on their fan club website. They greeted the fans for the first time in two years and seven months and announced they will be making a return 'sooner than expected'. The news made headlines around the country and was the fifth most searched news topic that year. The group remained silent for almost a month until the sudden unannounced release of their fourth single Black Hair on June 1, promoted as a teaser track for the upcoming works fans can expect. It is a song that tries to highlights how much vocal improvement the members has achieved over the time of debut till now. The song was able to debut at first poition on Oricorn Daily Chart, becoming their fifth consecutive #1 work.

On August 2, the group held their first public appearance with a media conference, officially announcing their comeback and putting a stop to their hiatus. It was announced that they would change the group's name to Sucette♦, which is French for the group's original name, Lollipop, "this is to symbolis a new beginning for us," said by member Kain. They also revealed they would return with a full studio album named My Way : My Time, also being their first full album release and with producer Mini Bus taking over the majority of creative controls. Member Akuma talked about the group heading towards a new musical style, "We have grown out of the phase of idol music, although we still consider ourselves as rookies when it comes to various experiences. This time we had fun experimenting with different R&B styles and felt comfortable with the ballad music genre." Pre-orders also started August 5. The album reached pre-orders of 150,000 copies within just five hours after the sales started which already placed the group into the firm position of music place across all music charts.

The album was officially released August 13, 2011 and featured home-labels artists Dll Ini and HAT@2. The aim of this album is for the group to reach their fans once again with a new feeling and more meaningful through their hard work on this album. In the credit booklet that came with the album it was revealed production for all ten new tracks took over five months - they had ended their hiatus on the day that reached exactly two years - being December 20, 2010. The album was met with great success, both critically and commerically and reached the top of the sells chart immediately. Eventually it went on to win several yearly awards, including the Bestselling Group Album in 2011 acknowledged by Golden Disk Japan Awards.

After approximately four months of promotions the group released their single digital single Blank Paper as a way to end off the promotional activities. It was able to debut at first place on the Oricorn Daily Charts before sliding to fifth place on the weekly results and became the group's fifth consecutive number one single. Without any prior announcements, on December 5, 2010 the group held another press conference where all of the members attended with the exception of Tsoul and announced their decision to take a second hiatus. The news caused much uproar between the general public and fans and the group apologised for "disappearing again only after five months" of official return activities. However, leader Yiruma said that it would be a shorter break, "We'll be back before anyone even starts to miss us". Memeber Akuma announced she will be debuting as a solo artist under the stage name of Kirei during the group's hiatus while other members pursue personal activities once again. The hiatus officially started on December 20, 2011.

2013-2014: Second return and first national tour

On May 15, 2013 the group released a collective message on their official fan page announcing their return, ending their hiatus of approximately one year and six months. They announced comeback materials is already "in the process of being completed" and revealed their hiatus had in fact, ended in January and went straight into the "recording studio to come up with brand new songs". Their second studio album Six Springs of You&I was released on June 28. The group collaborated once again with close producers such as Mini Bus, DJ Watanabe and Retro Tunes. All members participated in the writing process of the album. Upon release it was met with great commerical and immense critical success. Fans' preorder of the album were sold out within five minutes of official ordering online and professionals praised the group's mature approach to music and dubbed the group as "ever improving with each new release".

The album made its debut at the first position in the Oricon charts, selling 600,500 copies on the first day. It later topped the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart and, with just one week of sales, placed first in the list of best selling albums of the second half of the year in Japan. In November 2013, the album was certified Million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for shipment to retailers of over 1,000,000 units.

Discography

Single Albums

Albums

Featurings

Events & Performances

Concert

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