While I’m not qualified to hatch out the details, my gut says the closest equivalent with what’s possible right now is a Liella x Poppin’Party (from BanG Dream)-inspired group trying to enter a Show Choir Nationals in the USA.
Some pieces I gathered along the way:
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Nichidai High School will start a real school idol club in 2026
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The Show Club Nationals is more or less a generalized form of the in-universe Love Live! competition format
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Liella, in my opinion, is the easiest group to adapt to a US school setting (got clued into this with their tendency for the 1950s Americana aesthetic)
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Although Liella does not have a live music component (which AFAIK is a disadvantage in competitive show choir), pairing it with a Poppin’Party-style band will fill this gap. (See: their cover of START!! True dreams. I find the Popipa instrumental + Liella vocals a very powerful combination)
For those who have show choir experience, how well would the idea work?
As for an actual, sustainable IRL school idol club format in Japan, I think it’s possible if the fan following is strictly at a group level and non-school fan interactions with the members are heavily regulated. It would take more of a “by students, for students” character.