On September 16 1992, Minako Ameku (Mina) and Nanako Takushi (Nana) made their debut in the Japanese music business, as members of a 5 member group called the Super Monkey's. Other members of the group included Namie Amuro, Hisako Aragaki and Anna Makino.
After years of finding minimal success as a group, Hisako and Anna left the group, to be replaced by 2 new members, Ritsuko Matsuda (Lina) and Reina Miyauchi (Reina). The group would then go on to release TRY ME ~Watashi wo Shinjite~ in 1995, their last and most successful single, selling almost a million copies! With Namie Amuro being the main vocalist of the group, as well as having already garnered relative popularity independently from the group in the preceding years, she essentially overshadowed her bandmates, and this success benefitted her significantly more than them. It was decided that Amuro would continue on her own as a soloist.
As for the other 4 members, while they would continue to dance behind Amuro for a little while longer, they were also set to embark on their very own musical project, where they wouldn't be overshadowed by anyone.
In 1995, the Super Monkeys members excluding Namie Amuro formed a new group, named MAX. Formed in February, they didn't debut until May 10th of that year with a catchy dance number, Koisuru Velfarre Dance (cover of Saturday Night by Whigfield). It only managed to reach the 91st position on the Oricon Charts.
Nevertheless, the girls kept trying; their 2nd single, Kiss me Kiss me, Baby (cover of Virginelle's song of the same name), with which they entered the realm of eurobeat, charted a little better, reaching position 63. However, to MAX's superiors, this wasn't good enough; they were told that if their next single wasn't a hit, they'd be sent back to their hometown in Okinawa.
Now more determined than ever, MAX released their 3rd single the following year, also eurobeat, TORA TORA TORA (cover of Domino's song of the same name). With this fierce number securing the 19th spot in the Oricon charts and entering the top 20, MAX finally rose to prominence, saving their careers and spawning a massive string of consecutive top 20 hits. Moreover, the song was used as the opening to MAX's very own movie, titled Ladies' MAX, released a little over a week after the single!
They followed up on their success with another eurobeat cover song, Seventies. With this upbeat single they made their entry to the lower half of the top 10, more specifically the 7th position of the charts. They also entered the world of commercials with this song, with it being used for a commercial for one of Japan's largest donut shop chains, Mister Donut.
Their next eurobeat single, GET MY LOVE!, would give MAX their first top 5 hit. This single was their final for 1996, as they opted to record a full-length album titled MAXIMUM as their next release in December of that year, consisting fully of J-Euro covers of english eurobeat. First pressings of the album also came with a ticket for free admission to the Velfarre club for 2 people. It was certified triple platinum by the RIAJ due to selling over a million copies.
The album topped the Oricon Charts into the new year for 5 weeks, earning them the title of the J-Euro queens. However, MAX wanted to go beyond just being the J-Euro queens...
1997 came around, and after a 4 month wait, MAX finally released their first single for the year, Give me a shake. This single marked many achievements for MAX. It marked their first original non-cover song, it marked their first (and only) oricon chart topper single, but most importantly, it marked the change of their musical direction and image. Before Give me a shake, MAX was always seen in flashy and frilly mini skirts and dresses, but Give me a shake debuted them wearing velvet, muted suits with the chest area unbuttoned, showing a new, more serious, more adult MAX. This new image helped set them apart from other girl groups in the scene who still lingered on cuteness and modesty, and gave them their most iconic look and era. It was also their first step away from eurobeat (:() to more new jack/rnb colored music, even though the B-side is a eurobeat cover. The song also served as the theme and namesake of the sequel to their first movie, "Give me a shake Ladies MAX".
They would follow up the success of Give me a shake with the singles Love is Dreaming and Shinin'on-Shinin'love, 2 tracks carrying the sound of their predecessor. The singles would chart high up in the top 10 of the weekly oricon charts. They were also MAX's very first eurobeat-less releases. They would make up for the lack of eurobeat by making eurobeat covers of 70s songs in the Velfarre J-Pop Night presents DANCE WITH YOU compilation album by avex, alongside artists such as SPEED, Rina Chinen, D&D and more.
The singles would be included in their 2nd album, MAXIMUM II, featuring similarly sounding tracks. It was also certified triple platinum by the RIAJ.
That same year, MAX would begin their first tour as a group, entitled J-POP GIG TOUR. While the tour only comprised 12 performances, they would all sell out, including one at the Nippon Budokan.
1997 held an array of activities for MAX, as they would see themselves release their first photobook, co-host the late night TV show Daibaba, start their very own radio show by the name of MEGA MAX, participate in a collab album with other big artists at the time such as SPEED and Rina Chinen, and even make their first appearance at the prestigious new year's special Kouhaku Uta Gassen TV show, singing Give me a shake.
1998 saw MAX brighetning up their image. Their first single of the year, Hikari no Veil, is a joyful latin number, contrasting with their previous rnb/new jack influenced tracks, reaching the top 5th position in the weekly oricon charts. The PV featured the girls wearing vivid bodysuits and energetically dancing around, radiating a more positive feeling in comparison to the dim and sinister atmosphere of their 1997. They had by no means discarded their previous image however, it merely became more flexible following this release.
Early in 1998, MAX would start their 2nd national tour, MAX LIVE CONTACT 1998 ~max up your life~, spanning 29 performances in 17 locations, a significant difference to the 12 performances of their previous tour. The tour was started before they had even released their first single of the year.
MAX would release their 10th single, titled Ride on time, on July 23rd, 3 months after the release of Hikari no Veil. Ride on time followed after Hikari no Veil's footsteps, also being a joyful latin number, capturing the top 4th spot on the charts. Ride on time would be a huge success for MAX. With a memorable choreography and catchy beat, it ended up as one of their most well known songs to this day, even receiving an excellent work award at the 40th Japan Record Awards, as well as being MAX's song for Kouhaku Uta Gassen 1998. This song and its b-side, DON'T YOU LOVE ME, MAX's first eurobeat cover in a year, appeared in MAX's very own TV drama, Sweet Devil, as the ending and opening themes respectively. The drama was shot and aired from July to September 1998 and featured 9 episodes. It contained dark and supernatural themes, contrasting with the positivity of their new single. Around this time, a 6 chapter manga also began serialization in Mannish magazine outlining MAX's career up to that point. MAX have said that this was the busiest period of their careers, and they turned to overeating to deal with the stress.
They would release one more single in 1998, Grace of my heart, this time not an upbeat latin song but a powerful mid-tempo pop ballad. This one would bring some darkness back to MAX's image. It would reach the top 2nd position on the oricon charts, propelled by Ride on time's popularity. Soon after this release, MAX would make their first appearance in the Okinawa prefecture, where they were born and raised. It was a particularly emotional event for the members.
MAX's 3rd album, MAXIMUM GROOVE, was released on December 2nd. This album featured a variety of sounds, from new jack, to latin, to mid-tempo, to eurobeat. It was certified million by the RIAJ.
1999 was a year of concerts for MAX, as they launched the biggest tour of their career: MAX LIVE CONTACT 1999 ~Sunny Holiday~, starting in early March and ending in late August, with 53 performances at 44 locations. Regardless of their business with this massive tour, they managed to release 4 singles this year: the very danceable Love impact, the nostalgic Ano Natsu e to, the dramatic Ginga no Chikai, and the soft Issho ni, their first ballad, choreography-less single, the biggest hit among their 1999 singles and one of their most popular. All these singles have differing sound and images from each other. The only thing they have in common is they continue to exercise the flexibility of MAX's sexy-sophisticated image. They are very unique additions to MAX's discography.
MAX also became hosts of their very own variety show this year, titled Girls². In the show they reviewed hypothetical relationship situations, tested various products, did various specials outdoors and even out of the country once, competed with each other, etc.
MAX participated in a 3-day event at the end of August, after their tour was over, called Final Summer Dream 1999, alongside their contemporaries SPEED and DA PUMP and their ex-bandmate Namie Amuro.
MAX would make their third consecutive appearance at Kouhaku Uta Gassen singing Issho ni.
