Request Hour is an AKB48 event that is highly awaited every year. After purchasing an AKB48 album with a ticket inside, a 48group fan is able to cast a vote for their favorite song in the vast AKB48 Group discography. Fans may not necessarily vote for their favorite song, they may vote for a song they’ve never seen performed, or even for a song in which their favorite member (or oshi) might center. Below lists all the winning songs from all AKB48 Request Hours
AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2008
Winner: Sakura no Hanabiratachi ( 桜の花びらたち) (2006) by AKB48 Senbatsu
AKB48’s unofficial debut song, Sakura No Hanabiratachi wins first place at the first Request Hour over two years after their debut. Above is their performance from the following year at the same event. Sakura no Hanabiratachi has two versions. Version one, below, consists of only the first generation AKB48 members (sans Shinoda Mariko).
The second version consists of all the AKB48 members of Teams A, K, and B released in 2008 under a major record label.
AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2009
Winner: Shonichi (初日) (2008) By Team B
Shonichi, originally a song from a Team B stage, took the crown that year. Above is the moment Team B won the title in 2009. Below, watch AKB48 perform the song circa 2017:
To learn more, and see different performances of Shonichi, check out our article “4 Unforgettable Team B Songs.”
AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2010
Winner: Iiwake Maybe (言い訳Maybe) (2009) By AKB48 Senbatsu
Iiwake Maybe’s concept is the concept that screams AKB48 the most. An election single, the music video depicts the results of the election by way of a bicycle race. Watch AKB48 perform Iiwake Maybe in 2018, with HKT48’s Miyawaki Sakura and SKE48’s Suda Akari as center below:
Iiwake Maybe was rereleased in tagalog in 2019 as an MNL48 single. Watch below!
AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2011
Winner: Heavy Rotation (ヘビーローテーション) (2011) By AKB48 Senbatsu
The most popular 48Group song ever released won during it’s release year. Heavy Rotation has been performed by every girl in 48 Group, serving as an anthem for the group. Watch Heavy Rotation in Vietnamese (SGO48) and Indonesian (JKT48) below.
AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2012
Winner: Heavy Rotation (ヘビーローテーション) (2011) by AKB48 Senbatsu
Heavy Rotation won two years in a row! Watch AKB48 perform it with HKT48 Graduated member Sashihara Rino as center above at Request Hour 2019. And keeping with the theme of Sashihara, let’s watch Sashihara perform the song solo in her original spot at the back of senbatsu whilst the crowd sings the lead at her graduation concert later that year:
AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2013
Winner: Hashire! Penguin (走れ！ペンギン) (2011) by Team 4
Hashire! Penguin, a Team 4 song double centered by graduated member Shimazaki Haruna and now-KPOP trainee Takeuchi Miyu nabbed the 1st spot during 2013. Watch their reaction to winning and their performance below:
AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 200 2014
Winner: Seijun Philosophy (清純フィロソフィー)(2013) by Team 4
The second year in a row Team 4 has won Request Hour. Seijun Philosophy might just be my favorite Team 4 song at the time of writing this article. Above, you see it performed in 2019 with AKB48’s current center, Yamauchi Mizuki, taking center stage. To see more songs by Team 4, watch our Team 4 Youtube Playlist:
AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 1035 2015
Winner: Kimi no Hohoemi wo Yume ni Miru (君の微笑みを夢に見る) (2013) by AKB48 Janken Senbatsu
The song that won Request Hour during the year of 2015 was none other than the Janken Tournament Single. Through many grueling rounds of Rock Paper Scissors, Matsui Jurina came out on top, and she is flanked by her runner ups. Watch them perform the song live at Request Hour the following year:
AKB48 Tandoku Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2016
Winner: Akai Pin Heel to Professor (赤いピンヒールとプロフェッサー) by Matsui Jurina
Matsuri Jurina winning the one and only AKB48 Tandoku Request Hour in 2016 was controversial and amazing for several reasons. Info for newer fans: you can vote for any 48group song during a normal Request Hour Event. For a TANDOKU request hour, however, you can only vote for that groups songs exclusively. Matsui Jurina, being an SKE48 member, won on the technicality that her song was released as an unpromoted AKB48 B-side several months before. Watch a live version above!
AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2016
Winner: Kiseki wa Ma ni Awanai (奇跡は間に合わない) (2010) by Team K
At this point, Kiseki wa Ma ni Awanai is the third time a theater song has won Request Hour, this time being a Team K song from their 6th stage. Above, you can see three SKE48 members performing the song in 2013. Centered by Original 2nd Generation AKB48 Member Miyazawa Sae during her short stint in SKE48 before her graduation.
AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2017
Winner: Max Toki 315go (Max とき315 号) (2016) by NGT48
The debut song for NGT48 released as a B-side on AKB48’s 10 anniversary single in 2016, Max Toki 315go has become a major crowd pleaser in the world of AKB48. It was rereleased as the A-side for CGM48’s debut in 2020, with the title of Chiang Mai 106.
AKB48 Group Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2018
Winner: Sekai wa Doko Made Aozora na no ka? (世界はどこまで青空なのか?) (2018) by NGT48
In the second year in a row that NGT48 has won AKB48’s request hour, they also turned Request Hour into an NGT48 concert. Every song from their original stage (Including their Overture!) placed in the top 100, nabbing 15 spots for their team alone. Centered by Ogino Yuuka, who actually shot up to fourth place in the Election of the same year, NGT48 was on top of the world in 2018. Watch them perform the song at their Tandoku concert in the same year.
AKB48 Group Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2019
Winner: 47 no Suteki na Machi e (47の素敵な街へ) (2014) by Team 8
The debut song of Team 8, this has become another anthem for 48 fans alike. Team 8 is unique in the fact that they have much more than 20 members. They have 47 members, one member coming from each of the 47 provinces of Japan. Centered by now graduated Nakano Ikumi, there is a moment in the bridge of the song in which every girl shouts out her prefecture. Watch them tearfully react to their win and perform it at Request Hour that year!
Most recently, the song was rereleased as BNK48’s new single in 2019. Watch them say ALL 77 provinces of Thailand in 77 no Suteki na Machi e:
AKB48 Group Request Hour Setlist Best 50 2020
Winner: Romantic Byou (ロマンティック病) (2017) by HKT48
Released as a B-side on HKT’s 10th single, Romantic Byou has climbed the Request Hour Charts during the last three years. Starting at an astonishingly high #6 in 2018, they rose to #2 last year as depicted in the video. This year they finally made it to the top in 2020. How will they fare next year? Will they win again, like Heavy Rotation did?
What songs do you think will place high next year in Request Hour 2021? Write your comment below!
48 Group West 