BeForU
| BeForU | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Japan |
| Genres | Pop, rock, trance |
| Years active | 2000–09 |
| Labels |
Konami 2000-2006 Avex Trax 2006-2007 Gambit 2008-2009 |
| Website | BeForU.cc |
| Past members |
Riyu Kosaka Ayano Tachibana Hiromi Nishiuchi Megumi Fukushita Noria Shiraishi Risa Sotohana Shiyuna Maehara Yoma Komatsu Miharu Arisawa Sayaka Minami |
BeForU were a Japanese pop girl group who performed music primarily for the Bemani series of rhythm games. BeForU debuted in 2000 with their song "Dive", which was notable as being the first Japanese pop song in the Dance Dance Revolution series. BeForU was produced by Naoki Maeda, one of the lead Konami musical producers. In 2006, the group made their major label debut under Avex Trax.
BeForU began as a competition for a new J-pop group singing for Konami and their bemani series of video games, namely Dance Dance Revolution. The four winners were chosen for their talent, ability and emphasis. They were Riyu Kosaka at age 15, Noria Shiraishi at age 19, Yoma Komatsu at age 26, and Shiyuna Maehara at 21. Their first single "Dive" was promoted widely throughout the J-Pop community. "Dive" made its first appearance on DDR Extra Mix, and its official debut on DDR 5th Mix.
"BeForU" is a play on words and was the winning result of a contest to name the group. The group name is both a reference to the Dance Dance Revolution song "B4U" from 4th Mix and a play on the words "before you." In another play on words, when BeForU originally formed, they had four members. In DDR -Max- 6th Mix, BeForU released another song entitled "Firefly". Riyu also performed two solos which were then released on her first solo single, "true...". By DDR -Max 2- 7th Mix, Shiyuna was the only member of the group that had not received a solo in any Bemani game. As a group, they released another song entitled "Break Down!", that was later re-arranged for Guitar Freaks and DrumMania. Yoma debuted as a soloist with her song ever snow, her only solo song at her time she was in the group. Their eponymous first album BeForU was released on November 28, 2003. In 2004, Shiyuna left BeForU group to pursue other venues. She was the only BeForU member without any solos.
After Shiyuna's departure in 2004, BeForU had another contest for two new members. Somewhere along the line, there was a tie for either first or second place, so the grand total became six instead of five. The additions were Miharu Arisawa, Sayaka Minami, and Risa Sotohana. These girls would form the second generation of BeForU known as BeForU NEXT. This new generation of BeForU debuted with their single "KI・SE・KI", released on November 18, 2004. This song was released as a CD-single and was featured in DDR Festival, both released on the same day. BeForU released a new album, BeForU II, on February 14, 2006. They also performed live for the first time, which was released later that year, on DVD as BeForU FIRST LIVE at ZeppTokyo 2006.
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