Bathing With Idols: What Happened To The J-Pop Girl Group That Sold Used Bathwater?
Celebrities worldwide often come up with exciting concepts to gain popularity. The idol industry is the same, with entertainment companies getting creative with their groups to make them stand out.
The same can be said about “creative” merchandise, although not many groups have gone as far as the J-Pop group The Banana Monkeys.
In 2019, the then-four-membered Japanese idol group The Banana Monkeys came under heavy criticism after deciding to sell used bath water to their fans.
Two of the members, Tenka no Chanyuki and Asuka Rei, took a bath using a purple bath bomb to give the water an identifiable look.
ばなもん。入浴剤のレビューはじめました！！ pic.twitter.com/cZubtUPuNQ
— THE BANANA MONKEYS (@info_banamon) January 29, 2019
The water was then bottled and sold to fans for a whopping 100,000 yen (~900 USD at the time.)
The girl group’s agency even advised fans that the water was clean enough to drink and encouraged them to use it in their baths.
It’s water that idols soaked in, so it’s definitely clean. You can drink it or add a little to your own tub and feel like you’re taking a bath together with the idols.
— The Banana Monkeys’ Agency
The group, which debuted in 2017, had come under fire previously for controversial fanservice like kissing and giving massages to shirtless fans.
Following the bath water stunt, one of the members involved, Asuka Rei, ultimately ” graduated” from the group later that year.
The group continued making music under various line-ups, often poking fun at the “scandals” they were involved in and even delving into “virtual idols.”
The group finally disbanded in 2021 when the last original member and the other member whose bath water was sold, Tenka no Chanyuki, graduated from the group. She is still in the entertainment industry and shares odd content on her Twitter account.
約一年ぶりに人前に出ます✌️
よろしくお願いします✌️✨
ゆらぴこちゃんありがと〜♡！ https://t.co/hPy45tB1VE— 天下のちゃんゆき (@tenka0807) September 5, 2022
横断歩道の白線だけ踏ませる副業 pic.twitter.com/MUvcyj93Hf
— 天下のちゃんゆき (@tenka0807) November 19, 2022
The remaining group members reformed as the BLUEGOATS and are still active as a five-membered group.
