Idol Group S Mileage auditon for new members

The Hello! Project idol group S/mileage has announced the results of its recent audition for new members. Five new girls have been added, but they will start out as “sub” members rather than as official members.

The auditions started in June and roughly 2,000 people entered in the initial round. The field was narrowed down to 12 girls for the final round, and producer Tsunku selected five of the finalists to join S/mileage as sub-members.

The five new faces are Katsuta Rina (13), Kosuga Fuyuka (13), Nakanishi Kana (14), Tamura Meimi (12), and Takeuchi Akari (13).

The first single that the new members will participate on is “Tachiagirl” (タチアガール), scheduled for release on September 28. They are also expected to participate in S/mileage’s nationwide tour that begins on September 10. They will also appear with the four current official members in a new photobook titled “S/mileage 1″ that goes on sale on September 26.

Tsunku plans to wait until at least the end of October before formally announcing whether each of the new recruits will become an official member. If they don’t become part of S/mileage, he says that they may become Hello! Pro Eggs, debut as a separate group, or even leave Hello! Project completely.

Sources:
Natalie
Mantan Web