2007-2009 : The debut under Flower Label Managed by the talent agency
LesPros Entertainment, the band formed in mid-2007 by Rika and Rena, later a member of the group
Idoling!!! under the independent label Flower Label, a sub-label of
Tokuma Japan Communications. They describe themselves as a "next generation idol" group. Before recording songs though, the group visited the Embassy of Japan in Denmark on July 4, 2007, to come forward and present their concept and art projects to the Danes attending this event. The group released their first single entitled "U ♡ Me" (reads "You love me") in two editions (regular and limited) on October 3, 2007 in Japan; the first steps to reach the top of the charts are difficult and the single only reached the 189th place on Oricon weekly Singles Chart and remained there only for a week. This is the only disc released by the original formation of the idol group. In March 2008, Rika left this group after the first single, and soon after, the female group
Idoling!!!, to devote herself to her studies. After an audition, another girl,
Lisa (or Risa) joined the band and they recorded their second single "nicola" in one edition, released on May 21, 2008; but sales of the single also failed and only reached 198th place on the Oricon charts. The band no longer recorded discs until the end of 2008 but was very present on the internet, publishing several singles in digital format. The band released a third single, "Sakasaka Circus", in an edition on January 28, 2009, but it was not included on any ranking. On 25 February 2009 the eponymous debut studio album, "Vanilla Beans", was released; it contains the first three physical singles under Flower Label but it was not ranked on the Oricon chart. After these commercial failures, the group began to work better; the fourth single "LOVE & HATE", was released on September 9, 2009 in two versions: "Love Version" and "Hate Version"; it was ranked 79th place on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. === 2010-2011 : "Vanilla Beans II" and new contract with
T-Palette Records === In 2010, the group recorded a mini-album "Def & Def", released in May and was ranked 79th place at Oricon Weekly Album Chart as the fourth single; it sold 1,155 copies during the first week. Furthermore, the first song of this EP, "D & D", was used in a commercial TV spot for deodorant brand of the same name, with the lyrics of the song changed. The members of the group appear in the promotional video. For the
2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa, the song "
Re-Sepp-Ten" was re-recorded by Vanilla Beans, who were known for their avid support of the Danish national team. The pop duo sang a slightly abbreviated version of the song in
Danish, but with an unmistakable Japanese accent, despite the fact that Denmark and Japan were to meet in the final pool match to the finals. The release retitled "
Re-Sepp-ten: Vi er røde, vi er hvide". A music video was made with the then-sitting Danish ambassador to Japan
Franz-Michael Skjold Mellbin, playing the part of
Preben Elkjær in the video. The music video was produced and directed by Emil Langballe. At the end of the year, a compilation, "VaniBest" was released in September 2010, which ranked 160th place on Oricon and sold 887 copies during the first week of sale. "VaniBest" was the last album recorded under Flower Label Group; the band signed the following year, together with the idol group
Negicco, a new contract with the idol label
T-Palette Records in June 2011, which was newly founded by Ikuo Minewaki (President of
Tower Records Japan). Soon after, Vanilla Beans impressed their fans with an unofficial single called "Tengoku e no Kaidan", released June 29, 2011. This is a cover song of "
Stairway to Heaven" by British band
Led Zeppelin and it marks the beginning of the group under their new label. This single was the first disc to be released under this label and it placed 82nd at Oricon. The song was also a promotion, the only single from the band's second album "Vanilla Beans II" which came out on July 20, 2011, but the album did not succeed to reach the best rankings during the first week since the album was ranked 110th on Oricon chart and remained classified only for a week. It was the first album released by T-Palette Records. == Members ==