Five Okinawa women in their 40s, who practiced singing and dancing as teens at the same school as pop diva Namie Amuro, have recently relaunched their music careers after a lengthy break with a goal of achieving fame.
The members of aptly named Dream 39 say they share the belief that it's never too late to pursue your lifelong ambitions. The pronunciation of "39" in the group's name sounds similar to "thank you" based on the Japanese pronunciation of the numerals and the ensemble was formed in 2016, when many of the members were 39 years old.
The members — whose stage names are Akane, Riko, Dancer Nao, Hazuki and Shige — were all born in either 1977 or 1978 and went to Okinawa Actors School, which trained Amuro, 40, as well as members of girls' groups MAX and Speed, which all rose to fame in the 1990s.