"Sakura no Hanabiratachi" is Japanese idol group AKB48's debut single, released independently through AKS on February 1, 2006. The single was the highest debuting girl group single since Morning Musume's "Morning Coffee", released in 1998. The song was composed by Hiroshi Uesugi and written by Yasushi Akimoto. The song was re-recorded and released again in 2008 as the group's final single with major label DefStar Records. The song was sung by the original 21 members of AKB48 that later formed Team A. The center of the 2006 version was Minami Takahashi. while the center of the 2008 version was Atsuko Maeda.

Atsuko Maeda is a Japanese actress and singer. She is a former member of the idol girl group AKB48, and was one of the most prominent members in the group at the time, regarded as the group's "absolute ace", "immovable center", and the "Face of AKB." After graduating from AKB48 on August 27, 2012, Maeda has since then continued with a solo singing and acting career.