E-girls | |
|---|---|
 E-girls at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards Japan From left to right: Anna Suda, Harumi Sato, Nonoka Yamaguchi, Reina Washio, Yurino, Karen Fujii, Sayaka, Yuzuna Takebe, Anna Ishii, Kaede, Nozomi Bando | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Origin | Japanese |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2011–2020 |
| Labels | LDH, Rhythm Zone |
| Members |
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| Website | e-girls-ldh |
E-girls (sometimes stylized as E-Girls or e-girls; stands for Exile Girls) was a Japanese collective girl group created and managed by LDH while signed to music label Rhythm Zone from Avex. As of 2017, the band consisted of 11 members; 8 of which featured members of groups Happiness and Flower. Created as a sister act to boy band Exile, E-girls debuted in 2011 with their single "Celebration". After a string of promotional recordings, E-girls released their debut record Lesson 1 two years later. In 2013, their single "Gomennasai no Kissing You" catapulted the girls into commercial success, selling over 100,000 units, and its parent album Colorful Pop (2014), was met with positive reviews and high performance on the Oricon Albums Chart.
With several members departing from the group, E-girls released their third album E.G. Time (2015), which saw a change in their music and vocal deliveries. That same year, LDH announced changes to their line-up, which resulted in the absence of some members from their singles "Anniversary!!" and "Dance Dance Dance". Beginning the year with their greatest hits album E.G. Smile: E-girls Best (2016), the group announced their E.G. Pop and E.G. Cool themes with the singles "E.G. Summer Rider", "Pink Champagne" and "Go! Go! Let's Go!". Their fourth album, E.G. Crazy, was released in January 2017.
Beginning as a Japanese idol group, E-girls have branched out and conceive a variety of different appeals and cultures as their career progressed, and have become one of the most prominent girl groups in Japanese music. Additionally, their musical style, starting off as soft J-pop and dance music, began to expand as following albums were released. Since their debut, three sub-units have been formed by selected members from E-girls, and have explored both music and fashion endeavours. The group disbanded at the end of 2020.