Those Stardust groups! I’m sure if you follow Japanese idols you’ve heard of one or two of them: Momoiro Clover Z, Shiritsu Ebisu Chuugaku and Minichia Bears, to name three. KAGAJO☆4S is a Stardust group formed in April 2013 with two former members of Minichia Bears and two girls from 3B junior. 3B junior, from what I’m told, is similar to Hello! Pro Kenshuusei in that girls get a chance to sing and dance at Stardust events while awaiting the moment they are told they will be placed in a permanent group. The four lucky girls selected for KAGAJO☆4S are Okuzawa Reina, Odagiri Shiori, Fujimoto An and Uchiyama Ami, Shiori and An being the two ex-Minichia Bears members. Since the group has formed they have released two indie singles and have made some videos uploaded to a YouTube channel. Among the KAGAJO☆4S videos that you’ll find are a short school drama series titled Kagayaki Joshi Ouendan~ KAGAJO☆4S (“Shining Girls Cheer Party~ KAGAJO☆4S”), each episode between ten and fifteen minutes.
Unlike most Stardust groups, KAGAJO☆4S aren’t in the competition to win the “Wackiest Idol Group Ever” Award. They seem to take their job as idols a bit more seriously. That’s not to say KAGAJO☆4S is a “traditional” idol group. Check out the video for “Jump!” Band Style with the girls playing instruments! Yes, there have been other idol groups that play instruments, including the groundbreaking ZONE, and I’ve seen idol videos in which the girls are pretending to play guitar and drums. However, it actually sounds like KAGAJO☆4S are playing their instruments for real. A closer look at Shiori’s guitar playing reveals that she’s playing rhythm guitar, not lead guitar, so I assume there is an unseen musician backstage handing that instrument. Still, this is rather uncommon and refreshing to see young idols actually playing instruments. A little more practice and they could be a great band!
Members:
Okuzawa Reina - Born on February 16, 1999
Odagiri Shiori - Born on May 10, 1999
Fujimoto An - Born on December 11, 1999
Uchiyama Ami - Born on January 17, 2000
Singles:
“Oyoge! Shirasu-chan” (July 21, 2013)
“Mainichi ga Christmas” (“Everyday Is Christmas”) (December 7, 2013)
Official Website
Official Blog
YouTube 1 YouTube 2
Staff Twitter
Special thanks to Yacchan for much of the info and translating for this article.
