Strawberry Prince (Japanese: すとぷり, Hepburn: SutoPuri) is a Japanese boy band formed in June 2016. The group consists of six members: Nanamori, Jel, Satomi, Colon, Rinu, and Root. Each member is represented by an illustrated character when appearing in media.
Strawberry Prince すとぷり | |
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Origin | Japan |
Genres |
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Years active | 2016–present |
Labels | STPR Records |
Members |
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Past members |
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Website | strawberryprince |
Strawberry Prince was founded by Nanamori, the group's leader, on June 4, 2016. Nanamori had gained popularity on Nico Nico Douga by uploading song covers, and he contacted other popular users to form a group. The members use stage names and illustrated avatars to represent themselves, never revealing their real names and never showing their real faces except at live performances and meet-and-greets. Nanamori thought that it was too dangerous to post his face on the internet when he first started posting videos, and he decided to keep the gimmick after forming the group. In addition to music, the members also upload talkshows, video game playthroughs, and humorous videos to their YouTube channel.[1][2]
While the group would upload their original music to their official YouTube channel for the first few years, Strawberry Prince's first commercial release would not be until 2019, with the release of the mini-album Strawberry Start in March 2019. Strawberry Start sold over 80,000 copies in its debut week, and achieved the second place spot on the Oricon weekly album ranking.[3] Four months later, they released their first full album, Strawberry Love! This time, the group would achieve the first place spot on the Oricon weekly album ranking, with the album selling 72,000 copies on its first day and over 107,000 copies in its first week.[4][5] They would rank first again with their third full album, Strawberry Prince, which exceeded 230,000 sales in its first week and would also be the group's first album to receive a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan in November 2020.[6][7][8] The second full album, Strawberry Next!, would also receive a Platinum certification in January 2021.[9] The group's first extended play, Are You Ready?, released on August 1, 2022.[10]
Strawberry Prince's music has been featured in other media, particularly in the Yo-kai Watch franchise. The songs "Gingira ginga" and "Dai uchū Rendezvous" were used as ending themes for the video game Yo-kai Watch Jam: Yo-kai Academy Y – Waiwai Gakuen Seikatsu and as opening themes for the anime Yo-kai Watch Jam – Yo-kai Academy Y: Close Encounters of the N Kind,[11] and the song "Yōkai Watch" was used as the opening theme for the video game Yo-kai Watch 4++.[12] The song "START" was also used as the opening theme for the second season of the anime Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress.[13] In February 2022, the members appeared in an anime-style television commercial for Meiji Seika.[14]
In March 2022, the YouTuber Korekore claimed that Nanamori had a fiancée and child, and accused him of infidelity. STPR Inc., the parent company of the group's record label, put out a statement a few days later confirming that the allegations were true and stating that Nanamori would be going on hiatus.[15] A live concert that had been scheduled for May 2022 was confirmed to be going ahead with only the other five members.[16] In August 2022, Jel announced that he would be going on hiatus following a concert later that month due to depression.[17]
Title | Year | Release Date | Album |
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Ichigo-iro natsu hanabi | 2020 | May 30, 2020 | N/A |
Strawberry Halloween Night | |||
Parade wa kokosa | |||
Christmas no mahō | |||
Strawberry Nightmare | |||
Mabushigariya | Strawberry Prince | ||
Suki suki seijin | June 22, 2020 | ||
Dai uchū Rendezvous | August 10, 2020 | ||
Streamer | August 24, 2020 | ||
Senbonzakura | December 31, 2020 | N/A | |
White Promise | 2021 | April 7, 2021 | |
Namidame | May 5, 2021 | ||
Mr. Music | June 2, 2021 | ||
Kibun jōjō ↑↑ | |||
Propose | June 6, 2021 | ||
STAY PROUD | June 26, 2021 | ||
Syndrome Love | July 18, 2021 | ||
Risk Taker | August 4, 2021 | ||
Stereo Parade | August 29, 2021 | ||
Parade e okaeri | October 10, 2021 | ||
Meshimase Trick Night | October 31, 2021 | ||
START | December 5, 2021 | ||
Seishun Chocolate | 2022 | February 14, 2022 | |
Blessing | May 1, 2022 | ||
Shirubeboshi | May 8, 2022 | Are You Ready? | |
Strawberry Smile Magic | June 4, 2022 | ||
Natsu matsuri | August 21, 2022 | N/A | |
Yoakeiro | September 19, 2022 | ||
Te o tsunaide arukō | October 23, 2022 |
Title | Year | Album details | Peak position | Certifications[18] |
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JPN[19] | ||||
Strawberry Love! | 2019 |
Track listing
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1 |
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Strawberry Next! | 2020 |
Track listing
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2 |
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Strawberry Prince |
Track listing
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1 |
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Title | Year | Album details | Peak position | Certifications[18] |
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JPN[19] | ||||
Strawberry Start | 2019 |
Track listing
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2 |
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Title | Year | Album details |
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Are You Ready? | 2022 |
Track listing
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Strawberry Prince Lofi Remix | 2022 |
Track listing
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Year | Title | Japanese Title | Network | Ref. |
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2019 | SutoPuri Monday | すとぷりMonday | Nippon Broadcasting System | [20] |
2019–2020 | SutoPuri Stop Listen! | すとぷりのStop Listen! | [21][22] |
Year | Title | Japanese Title | Publisher | Identifiers |
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2019 | Strawberry Memory vol.1 | すとろべりーめもりー vol.1 | Sunny Side-up | ISBN 9784909196033 |
Strawberry Memory vol.2 | すとろべりーめもりー vol.2 | ISBN 9784909196040 | ||
Strawberry Memory vol.3 | すとろべりーめもりー vol.3 | ISBN 9784909196057 | ||
Strawberry Memory vol.4 | すとろべりーめもりー vol.4 | ISBN 9784909196064 | ||
2020 | Strawberry Memory vol.5 | すとろべりーめもりー vol.5 | ISBN 9784909196071 | |
Strawberry Memory vol.6 | すとろべりーめもりー vol.6 | ISBN 9784909196088 | ||
2021 | Strawberry Memory vol.7 | すとろべりーめもりー vol.7 | ISBN 9784909196095 |
Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Nominee/Work | Result | Ref. |
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2020 | Japan Gold Disc Award | Best 5 New Artists in Japanese Music | Strawberry Prince | Won | [23] |
2021 | Japan Gold Disc Award | Best 5 Albums in Japanese Music | Strawberry Prince | Won | [24] |