When A9 (formerly Alice Nine) jumped back into the music scene this March after leaving their management company in 2014, they quickly accomplished a lot. They had a wildly successful crowd-funding for their start-up EP Ginga no Oto, made an appearance at V-Nation, held their 11th anniversary comeback live in August, and just finished a tour across Japan. Now, as they are about to embark on the Asia leg of their tour, A9 has made their name change official. According to their web site, while they've had a lot of good luck and a lot of support from all their fans, the change was inevitable:
The road to being able to tour has not been without its fair share of bumps, and it has lead to situations where the ability to perform could be threatened by a variety of reasons. While meetings and consultations continued, the threat of having to stop performing became a likely reality. With the fans looking forward to seeing the band perform live above all else the top priority, we [the band] have had to overcome several obstacles to avoid this and be able to perform. Now, to further ensure our upcoming tour and activities as a band will continue well into the future, we along with all our fans will take a huge leap. The name "Alice Nine" as a registered trademark cannot be used as it will restrict our range of activities, so in order to proceed and restart in the truest sense, we have decided to officially change our name to A9, as voted on by all the members.
The band went on to apologize for any inconvenience and confusion this may have caused, and that they look forward to their future with the fans as A9. Their first official live performance under A9 will be their Christmas live, titled "the DIVINE." Further information is below:
A9 2015 Xmas Live "the DIVINE"
2015.12.25 (Friday)
Roppongi EX Theater
Open: 5:45pm Start: 6:30
Fan club presale tickets will be available from September 28th to October 4th, through their fan club web site. General ticket sales and more information to be posted at a later time.
Source:VKH
