New Alternative Idol Group Forms with Pandemic-Referencing Name

Written by Hayley

While some idol groups are struggling to stay afloat during the shutdown of live houses, COVID (19) wants to make their debut stage! “Kobito (19) no Dasshutsu” is a new emerging 7 member idol group that has caused some buzz on social media due to their name sounding very similar to a certain virus. They formed on May 10th, which in Japan is also Children’s Day, or “Kobito no Hi”, giving even more interpretation to their name.

According to their bio on their crowdfunding campaign, each member was a regular office worker who, due to the virus, got furloughed and are currently out of work. Each member’s profile even states something they want to do after the virus is over, such as “Going to Disneyland” or “Having fun at karaoke!” They currently have a crowdfunding campaign to earn 1,000,000 yen (roughly $9,500) with various in-between goals such as t-shirts, original songs, and stage uniforms. Their end goal is a one-man live that they will hold 100 days after the “official declaration of the end of the coronavirus.”

In an overly saturated market where nearly every concept has been thought of, idols are finding more and more interesting ways to market themselves. While some may applaud Kobito (19) for their creativity in finding a way to stand out, it’s definitely easy to see this as insensitive towards those being deeply impacted by the virus.

Whether these girls will return to being office workers once they can go back to work is a mystery, but if you’re interested in following the members, they are doing daily live streams on SHOWROOM.