We are nearing the time when we start wrapping up 2022 which, as I’ve mentioned a few times in the Weekender over the past few months, could be dubbed The Year of the Solo Project. While we saw an enormous increase in the number of new idol projects in general versus the last couple of years, the sheer number of idols striking out on their own was something new and particularly noticeable.
The origins of chika idol are not well documented, at least in readily available, English language sources, but the apocryphal tales out of the late 90s are of solo, self-produced idols trying to attract audiences to small, basement stages of clubs in Akihabara. Perhaps it was the self reflection driven by the isolation of COVID that kindled a desire in so many idols to stand on stage alone and turn the genre back to it’s fabled roots. Whatever the reason behind the phenomenon, the end results have been pretty stellar.
