The Hoopers, stylized in all caps, was an all-female Japanese pop group who dress in masculine clothing inspired by Takarazuka Revue. The group was signed to Universal Music Japan.
The band was formed after twelve of the five thousand participants of Fudanjuku's 'Next Generation Audition' were selected. Seven of the chosen participants went on to form The Hoopers, and the remaining five formed Axell.
The Hoopers debuted on March 4, 2015, with their single . Their eighth member Cecil (who is also an Axell member) was introduced on their single "Passionate Love" as a permanent member. Later in 2015 they held the Ikemen Audition, where they selected 6 people to become members of Little Hoop (they are described as apprentice members for The Hoopers). Lee of AXELL and Noa of Little Hoop joined the group as new members on June 25, 2017, and on July 28, 2017, They released their new single "Shamrock".
They disbanded on January 25, 2019, with a concert at Kanda Myojin Hall.
History Japanese idol group Fudanjuku held an audition for juniors. Of the approximately 5,000 participants, 12 were selected as winners, with 7 to form The Hoopers and the remaining 5 to form another group, Axell.
The winners, both those who would become The Hoopers and Axell, appeared as backup dancers on March 30, 2014 for Fudanjuku's performance at Nakano Sunplaza. While this was after they were selected from the audition, they were not introduced to the audience as it was before for official debut. They made their debut on May 2, 2014 when they were unveiled on the internet TV show Ikesuta. They performed their first open-air performance on May 5 in Yoyogi Park.
Universal Sigma released their first single, , on March 4, 2015. In April, the Hoopers hosted two abnormal sponsor programmes that started at the same time to mark one month after their major debut. On July 6, they announced on their official blog that Yuhi would be taking time off from the band due to poor health and that during that time Axell member Cecil would be substituting for her.
The band announced on September 29, 2015 on their weekly show that they would be having their first solo performance, that Yuhi would be making her return to the band at the performance, and that Cecil would officially be joining the band, while also remaining in Axell, bringing the band to 8 members. On October 17, 24, and 31, they visited school festivals in their . Their first solo performance was held on November 15 at the live house Niconico-fāre with all 8 members, including Yuhi who had been on leave since July and Cecil who had become an official member after substituting for Yuhi.
On May 4, 2017, Yuhi and Mizuki officially left the group after a leaving ceremony was held for them at a tour finale in Tokyo. At the ceremoney, the other members of the band surprised the two leaving members with a new song, "Life is Beautiful", made for them which they performed to a video accompaniment. On June 24, the Hoopers performed live at Niconico-fāre where they announced their new members, Lee (also a member of Axell) and Noa (formerly of Little Hoop). They released their new single, "Shamrock" on July 28.
A leaving ceremony was held for Makoto on February 10, 2018 during their performance, , at Niconico-fāre. On December 6, it was announced on a Showroom stream that there would be a drastic change to the ikemen girls project that is the Hoopers and that their final solo performance would be on January 25, 2019, after which the members would appear in different projects. It was also announce that Tsubasa would retire from the project after this performance.
On January 25, 2019, the band held their last performance, at Kanda Myoujin Hall in Tokyo. Tsubasa retired and the Hoopers disbanded at the performance. Later on March 1, it was announced that they would begin a new project in the form of the male-dressing all-female idol group dreamBoat.
Members Japanese NameEnglish NameBirthdayBirthplace RoleRemarks未来MiraiJune 6, 1994TokyoCenterVocal Leader星波SenaSeptember 1, 1995Kanagawa PrefectureMC, Acting, AcrobaticsPrevious stage names: Mitsuhashi Nanami, Yah (of Secret Girls)陽稀HarukiNovember 26, 1994Aichi PrefectureFashion InfluencerModel for digital fashion magazine Kera千知CecilFebruary 7, 1997KyotoCosplayJoined November 15, 2015Concurrent as Axell memberLeeLeeOctober 9, 1998Chiba PrefectureDanceJoined June 24, 2017Concurrent as Axell Member乃愛NoaMarch 22, 2000Kochi PrefectureSocial mediaJoined June 24, 2017
Past Members NameNameBirthdayBirthplace RoleRemarksDeparture泉貴MizukiApril 27, 1992TokyoLoverMizukissuMizuki officially left the group on May 4, 2017 and retired from idol life佑妃YuhiMarch 8, 1994Saga PrefectureSub leader and acrobat Yuhi officially left the group on May 4, 2017 for health reasons, after previously struggling with her health in 2015麻琴MakotoMay 21, 1991Kanagawa PrefectureTHE HOOPERS' LeaderAcrobatics Makoto officially left the group on February 10, 2018つばさTsubasaMay 18, 1994TokyoRap Tsubasa officially left the group on January 25, 2019
Timeline
Little Hoop NameNameBirthdayAgeBirthplace Specialty夏向KanataJuly 9, 199621Chiba PrefectureTheatre, Dance海KaiJuly 13, 199918Gunma PrefectureRondato, Cartwheels麗ReiMarch 26, 199919TokyoGuitar梨桜RioMarch 16, 200216Yamanashi PrefectureDrum
Discography With ranking in the Oricon Singles Chart
Single Release dateTitleRomanized Title Oricon Weekly Single Chart March 4, 2015 #16 June 3, 2015 #12 August 26, 2015 #14 December 16, 2015 #6 May 31, 2016 #8 February 22, 2017 #13 August 9, 2017 #10 January 24, 2018 #5 June 27, 2018 #5
Album Release dateTitle Oricon Weekly Album Chart September 28, 2016 FANTASIA#15 November 28, 2018 FANTASIC SHOW#9
References
External links THE HOOPERS official website*closed THE HOOPERS profile on Universal Music Japan THE HOOPERS Official Blog Twitter
YouTube THE HOOPERS - Mirai - Cecil - TikTok THE HOOPERS ( the__hoopers ) - TikTok Lee ( lee_nova_10 ) - TikTok Mirai ( vanbe666m ) - TikTok Instagram Noa ( noa_1883 ) - Instagram Lee ( lee_nova_10 ) - Instagram Cecil ( cecil__0207 ) - Instagram Sena ( sena_littlestar ) - Instagram Haruki ( haruki_silvon ) - Instagram