On 25 October 2006, AKB48 released 会いたかった (Aitakatta) through DefSTAR Records. It was the group’s first major-label single, though not its first record: “Sakura no Hanabiratachi” and “Skirt, Hirari” had already appeared independently that year. The distinction is essential to understanding how AKB48 began.
The group had opened its own theatre in Tokyo’s Akihabara district in December 2005. The Team A stage production Aitakatta ran from April to August 2006, so “Aitakatta” belonged to the group’s live repertoire before it became a major-label release. AKB48’s official chronicle even records a surprise performance by Team A on the day the single came out.
The original credits name Yasushi Akimoto as lyricist, BOUNCEBACK as composer, and Tomonori Taguchi and Haruo Inatome as arrangers. Their song moved from a theatre built around direct contact with fans to a record that could reach people who had never visited Akihabara.
That was the turning point in 2006, before the group’s later success changed how its beginnings would be remembered.