2011–2012: Formation

On 11 September 2011, the formation of JKT48 was announced at an AKB48 event held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.^[8] Applicant interviews took place the following weeks, in late September 2011, and the first auditions were held a month after the initial announcement, from 8–9 October 2011.^[1] AKB48 member Minami Takahashi also visited Jakarta during the audition to promote JKT48 among fans of AKB48.^[9] Although applicants did not have to be Indonesian citizens, they did have to already reside in the country.^[10] Approximately 1,200 girls auditioned for the group, and 51 were selected to proceed to the second round. Finalists were judged based on their dance performance of "Heavy Rotation", from AKB48's single of the same name, and their performance of a song of their choice.^[11] JKT48's 28 first generation members, ages 12–21, were selected on 2 November 2011.^[12]

On 17 December 2011, JKT48 made its first public appearance on the live music program 100% Ampuh on Global TV, performing "Heavy Rotation", with lyrics translated into Indonesian.^[13]

As part of the group's core concept, AKB48 performs daily at its theater in Akihabara.^[14] The JKT48 management team aimed to accomplish this same principle and began scouting locations in Jakarta for the group's own theater in early 2012. An unoccupied site in the fX Sudirman shopping mall was selected as the theater's eventual location, and planning for its renovation began in April.^[15] In the meantime, the first theater performances were held 17–20 May 2012 at a temporary stage in the Nyi Ageng Serang Building in Kuningan, Jakarta.^[16] The official theater opened on 8 September 2012 for daily performances with a set list of 16 songs that have been translated into Indonesian. The theater first had a seating capacity of 180 and standing room for 30, and its design is a close replica of the AKB48 Theater.^[17] Currently it holds around 350 people, both seated and standing.

JKT48 has also performed in Japan alongside other AKB48 sister groups. In its first performance in Japan, the group was a surprise guest at 2011 AKB48 Kōhaku Taikō Uta Gassen and performed the Indonesian version of "Aitakatta".^[18] It also performed alongside AKB48 and other sister groups at the 62nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen with a total 210 members onstage.^[19][20] It also participated in the 2012 AKB48 concerts at Saitama Super Arena and Tokyo Dome.^[21][22]

On 13 August 2012, management began accepting applications for second generation members. Of the 4,500 applicants, approximately 200 were selected for interviews the following month. The pool was then narrowed down from 67 to 31 in a selection round held by RCTI.^[23] All 31 finalists were eventually chosen as second generation members at a final audition on 3 November in Japan.^[24] Additionally, AKB48 members Aki Takajō and Haruka Nakagawa, whose transfers to JKT48 were announced at the Tokyo Dome concert, officially began their activities with the group on 1 November and made their theater debut on 26 December.^[25] Nakagawa became interested in Jakarta during a visit with other members of AKB48 earlier in February 2012.^[26]

2013–2020

JKT48 was scheduled to release its debut album in January 2013, but production was hampered because of flooding in Jakarta.^[27] To celebrate the release, the group's management team had distributed 100,000 free CD singles. Each single featured an Indonesian version of one of four songs: "Heavy Rotation"; "Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara"; "Baby! Baby! Baby!"; and "Ponytail to Shushu".^[28] Members, some of whom had been directly affected by the flooding, later held a charity event in order to raise funds for the city's relief efforts.^[29] The debut album, entitled Heavy Rotation, had a limited release at the JKT48 Theater on 16 February 2013 and went on sale in music stores nationwide on 2 March.^[30] All of the four songs aforementioned were included in the album.^[28] Throughout 2013, JKT48 released four singles: "River" (11 May), "Apakah Apakah Kau Melihat Mentari Senja?" (3 July), "Fortune Cookie yang Mencinta" (21 August), and "Musim Panas Sounds Good!" (26 November).^[31] The third single was released concurrently with its parent group AKB48.^[32]

On 28 January 2014, JKT48 announced the names of 63 finalists who were vying to become JKT48 trainees in the third generation.^[33] On 15 February, the group announced and performed their fifth single "Flying Get".^[34] On 24 February 2014, Rina Chikano was transferred from AKB48 to JKT48, with Aki Takajo and Rena Nozawa's concurrent positions being cancelled.^[35]

On 26 April 2014, JKT48 finished its first annual senbatsu election, with the 16 ranked members going to appear in JKT48's 6th single, Gingham Check, released on 11 June 2014.^[36] On 27 August 2014 the group released "Papan Penanda Isi Hati", with Shania Junianatha taking the center position for the first time, and Rina Chikano and Thalia Ivanka Elizabeth appearing in the senbatsu for the first time. The single was released concurrently with AKB48, the second consecutive year of such.^[37] The group's 8th single, "Angin Sedang Berhembus", was released on 24 December 2014.^[38][39]

On 20 February 2015, JKT48 held a collaboration concert with AKB48 in Jakarta. 15 members of AKB48 was sent to Jakarta for the concert, including Yui Yokoyama, Rie Kitahara and Asuka Kuramochi.^[40] On 27 March 2015, JKT48 released its 9th single, Pareo wa Emerald.^[41]

On 2 May 2015, JKT48 held its second senbatsu election, with the 16 ranking members are featured in the group's 10th single Kibōteki Refrain, Jessica Veranda displaced Melody Laksani to win the election.^[42][43] On 26 August 2015, JKT48 released its 11th single, Halloween Night, the third consecutive year of concurrent single release with AKB48.^[44]

On 21 March 2017, JKT48 general manager Jiro Inao committed suicide by hanging at his house in South Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia.^[45]

2020–present

On 28 September 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, one member was announced to be positive for COVID-19.^[46] Over the next month, two more members of the team had also been announced to be positive as well.^[47][48]

In November 2020, JKT48 announced it would forcibly mass-graduate its members and staffs following the group's crisis due to the pandemic. The group had previously announced the 10th generation members of the group, consisted of 11 members, but cancelled their debut following the announcement.^[49] On 11 January 2021, the group announced 26 of its members would leave the group, leaving only 33 members.^[50] They officially left the group mid-March 2021.^[51] All three teams were then dissolved and the academy stopped its operation.^[52]

On 18 December 2021, the group re-introduced 8 of the 11 tenth generation members.^[53] The group also announced the creation of a new single, to be produced by Matt Rad and August Rigo.^[54]

Singles

Studio albums

Films

Television shows