AKB48, one of Japan’s most popular girl groups, has released a new single written in part by artificial intelligence after it won the fan vote in a televised contest.
The single, titled “Omoide Scroll”, emerged the winner in a competition pitting the group’s long‑time producer and lyricist Yasushi Akimoto against “AI Akimoto”, which was trained using Akimoto’s vocabulary, lyric patterns, and other stylistic markers using Google Gemini, according to the BBC.
Akimoto is one of the most prolific lyricists in Japanese history, with writing credits on over 7,000 songs. Through his work with AKB48 and its sister groups, as well as earlier groups like Onyanko Club in the 1980s, he is said to have shaped much of the country’s idol landscape.
The contest was aired on Monday in a special program for AKB48’s 20th anniversary titled Yasushi Akimoto × AI Akimoto ~ AKB48 New Song Showdown on Nippon TV.
Both contestants were tasked with producing full songs complete with lyrics, melody, and arrangement, and choose which of AKB48’s 43 members would perform it. The final arrangement and production was overseen by human producers before release.
Akimoto’s song was “Cécile”, a Motown‑influenced track about a girl’s admiration for another girl, performed by the group’s leader Kuranoo Narumi. Meanwhile “Omoide Scroll” was written by AI Akimoto, set over a lighter techno backing and performed by a relatively newer member, Ito Momoka.
“People often ask me, ‘What if you lose?’ But if AI creates such a good song, that’s exciting. I’m looking forward to this competition,” Akimoto said when the contest was announced.
AI Akimoto said: “This isn’t just a match. It’s a race to discover something hidden, something fun that no one has noticed yet.”
Both songs were released for blind voting to the public. After five days of voting, “Omoide Scroll” won by 14,225 votes to 10,535, a margin of over 3,000, according to a report in Overseas Idol.
Akimoto was reportedly visibly surprised on air as the AI-generated track was declared the winner and responded: “What? You’re kidding me!”
He expressed his disappointment at losing, saying he had written his entry “with all my might” but conceded that “Omoide Scroll” was “a good song”.
“Maybe the real me was trying to show something new by losing this time,” AI Akimoto said when asked for a response.
“Omoide Scroll” has since been released on streaming services as AKB48’s 67th official single, while “Cécile” has reportedly been removed from YouTube.
Founded in 2005, AKB48 revolutionised Japan’s idol industry with its “idols you can meet” concept.
The group performs almost daily at its dedicated theatre in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, and operates a rotating membership model that includes teams, trainees, and regular “graduations” of older members.
AKB48 is one of the best-selling acts in Japanese music history, holding the record for the most number-one singles by a female group in the country.
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