| French Kiss | |
| Origin: | Tokyo, Japan |
| Years Active: | 2010 - 2015 |
| Label: | avex entertainment |
| Associated Acts: | AKB48 |
| Current Members: | Yuki Kashiwagi Asuka Kuramochi Aki Takajō |
was a sub-unit of all-female Japanese pop group AKB48, produced by Yasushi Akimoto.
It was announced on June 28, 2010 by Kashiwagi Yuki that French Kiss would be formed and debuted with a single, at AKB48 Team-B's stage performance.[1] "Zutto mae kara" was used as the ending theme song for anime "Major sixth season", broadcast on NHK Educational TV. The catchphrase of the group is .[2]
After 4 months from release of the 1st single on September 8, 2010, they released 2nd single "If" on January 19, 2011, which ranked 2nd after Tomohisa Yamashita's single on Oricon Weekly Chart,[3] and 1st on Billboard Japan Hot 100 ranking dated on January 31, bounced up from 73rd on prior week's ranking. The 4th single"Saisho no mail"(最初のメール) was released on November 22, 2011.[2]
In 2015, the sub-unit was disbanded.
Source:[4]
| Release | Title | Sales | Chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oricon Singles Charts [5] | Billboard Japan Hot 100 [6] | RIAJ digital tracks* [7] | ||||
| 2010 | 52,141 | 5 | 5 | 91 | ||
| 2011 | "If" | 97,113 | 2 | 1 | 22 | |
| 142,810 | 2 | 3 | 26 | |||
| 145,163 | 1 | 2 | 24 | |||
| 2012 | 98,214 | 2 | 2 | |||
| 2014 | 43,381 | 2 | 5 | |||
*RIAJ Digital Tracks established April 2009.