Graduates’ Roundup, Vol. 1

Have you counted? Out of 61 girls who have become JKT48 members, 18 are no longer part of the group. Excluding two transfer members, that is more than 30 percent of all successful auditions. The first generation counts ten former members, while the second generation has eight. In 2013 alone, 11 members left JKT48, beginning with Althea Callista and Nurhalimah Oktavianti on January 10 and ending with Stella Cornelia on December 28.

After a turbulent close of 2012, first generation members finally found stability in their roster in 2013. When Diasta Priswarini and Sonya Pandarmawan left the group on December 22, it had been 340 days—almost one full year—since the first generation last lost a member when Alissa Galliamova left on January 21. In contrast, nearly one-quarter of the successful auditions for the second generation left the group within the same period, lasting only 151 days at its longest stretch without losing a member. Moreover, the second generation has recently lost Octi Sevpin to start of 2014.

In this new year, JKT48Stuff is presenting a periodic roundup of the recent activities of former members. In many cases, former members disappear completely from the life of a celebrity, but some remain active in the entertainment industry, whether professionally or as independent artists.

Alissa Galliamova

(@alisagaliamovaa)

One year after her departure from JKT48, Mova remains active as a singer. She occasionally performs cover songs in live venues, but in a recent interview with Hai magazine she indicated that she is attempting to release a recording of her work. Mova performed with a live band during the JKT48 “RIVER” handshake event in June 2013.

Allisa Astri

(@AlisaAstri)

Allisa Astri is one of the first members of the first generation to leave the group. Although she has mostly remained out of the public eye, Allisa has made a number of appearances on Jakarta’s local television station Jak TV. As the oldest of all current and former members, she is now 23 years old.

Cleopatra

(@cleopatra_CMI)

Despite her inamicable departure from JKT48, Cleopatra remains determined in her career as an artist. She joined CMI Management and became part of the vocal duo 2Angels in early 2013, but the group was later disbanded after only releasing one single. Over the past year, she has appeared in a number of television serial dramas and television films. She has been tapped to be an MC at Hai Day 2014, an annual entertainment festival organized by Hai magazine.

Diasta Priswarini

(@diasta99)

Diasta is currently in the tenth semester of her university architecture program and is undergoing a series of examinations toward graduation. While she has not made any commitments toward returning to entertainment, she is scheduled to make her first public appearance since her departure from JKT48 at a fan event in Jakarta on February 1.

“At first, I wasn’t close to other members, but as time passed I got to know them better. It was really tough leaving JKT48 because I really enjoy singing and dancing. Compared to other members, my fans aren’t many, but they always support me. I’m sad because I used to be able to meet fans often, but now it’s difficult to meet them.”
—Hai magazine, January 2014

Fahira Al Idrus

(@fahiraalidrus1)

Fahira, a former first generation member, remains active in the entertainment industry. She has made appearances in a number of product advertisements, as well as a several television films on SCTV. Fahira became a finalist in the 2013 edition of Star Teen, a teen talent competition organized by HighEnd Teen magazine and broadcast on Global TV.

Neneng Rosediana

(@ochi_24)

Ochi left JKT48 and pursued her childhood dream of being an actress. She has played minor roles in a number of television serial dramas such as Berkah (Blessing) and remains active in the JKT48 fan scene, once participating with Mova at an event by entertainment portal Japanese Station. She makes product endorsements on Twitter and is featured in a duet with teen singer Gavin MJ in the single “Someone Like You”, part of the album Satu Hati (One Heart). Ochi turned 15 on January 24.

Siti Gayatri

(@gayabhirama)

Siti Gayatri is one of the first two members of JKT48 to leave the group in February 2012. After unsuccessfully auditioning to become a member of the girl group Cherrybelle several months later, she continued as an independent artist until she joined Princess as its fifth member in December 2013. At the recent Dahsyat Awards, she reunited with fellow first generation members.

Sonya Pandarmawan

(@sonyapandr)

Since departing from JKT48, Sonya is now an artist under AFK Management, a new independent talent management office. She is scheduled to hold her first public appearance as a former JKT48 member on February 9 in Bandung. AFK Management has indicated that a mini concert will be held at the event titled “The Journey of Love”.

She also has a number of acting opportunities lined up, including a series of promotional shoots with actress Melody Prima. Writer Raditya Dika has also included Sonya in the cast of his directorial debut Marmut Merah Jambu (Pink Marmot) to play the role of young Cindy. The film is scheduled to screen in theaters on May 8, 2014. Two films based on Raditya Dika’s novels, Cinta Brontosaurus (Brontosaurus Love) and Manusia Setengah Salmon (Salmon Man), ranked third and seventh in viewership among all Indonesian films in 2013 with more than 1.3 million tickets sold.

Stella Cornelia

(@stella_scw)

Following her departure from JKT48, Stella seems to continue working as if she had never left the group. She is featured on the cover of the January 2014 issue of Ankoru, an e-magazine published by a group of JKT48 photographers from Flickr. In the publication, Stella expects to return as a singer and release her own single in the future. Although she is currently enrolled as an undergraduate student in university, she does not rule out returning as an actress according to a recent interview in Hai magazine, given that she has experience in jazz performance and acting in television advertisements.