Morning Musume

is an all-girl J-pop group from Japan that often changes its members. It is also known as . Their act revolves around singing and dancing to generally upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of the Hello! Project, masterminded by Tsunku.

'Musume' means daughter or girl, hence the name 'Morning Girls'.

History

Japanese producer Tsunku started the group in 1997 through a female rock vocalist audition for his band Sharam Q held on the Japanese TV show "Asayan". The winner of the audition was Heike Michiyo, later to become a soloist part of Hello! Project. Soon afterwards Tsunku decided to form a girl group consisting of five of the runners-up. They were issued a challenge to sell 50,000 copies of their demo single, "Ai no Tane," within 5 days. They managed the feat in four days in a very grassroots manner, and Tsunku kept on with his mission to create one of the most famous all-girl groups, giving them dance and vocal lessons. The group is particularly well-known for its shuffled line-up, with "graduations" occurring each year ("retiring" a girl from the group), then holding auditions to fill in open slots.

In the beginning of 1998 the girls were ready to start off with their first official single, "Morning Coffee". The success of this single (hitting No. 6 on the Japanese pop charts) brought them 3 new members: Kei Yasuda, Mari Yaguchi, and Sayaka Ichii, for a total of 8. Their third single "Daite! HOLD ON ME" hit #1 on the charts. During this time, leader Yuko Nakazawa started her solo career.

In 1999, after several more releases, Asuka Fukuda left the group in order to focus on her studies. Also Tanpopo, the first subgroup, was formed with Kaori Iida, Aya Ishiguro, and Mari Yaguchi--touting slower, more mature songs.

Expectations for the third generation audition were to admit two new girls to the group, but ultimately, only one girl was added to the group, Maki Goto, the youngest member of the group at thirteen. The success of the 7th single, "LOVE Machine," with the addition of Goto, dramatically increased the idol popularity of the group, while arguably making Goto the most popular member of Morning Musume.

This is furthered by placing Maki with Kei Yasuda and Sayaka Ichii to form subgroup Petitmoni (also known as Pucchi moni), which released their first single "Chokotto Love" three months after "LOVE machine" to great success.

In 2000, Aya Ishiguro left the group to marry Shinya, drummer of J-Rock band LUNA SEA. The 7-member group made one more single "Koi no Dance Site" before another generation joined. It consisted of Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Nozomi Tsuji, and Ai Kago, and gave the group a completely different feel by adding in the young 12-year-old duo of Tsuji and Kago.

After the single "Happy Summer Wedding" in this 11-member formation, Sayaka Ichii graduated to pursue her own music career. She became vocalist in Japanese group Cubic Cross and later married fellow group member Naoki Yoshizawa, no relation to Hitomi Yoshizawa.

With Ishiguro and Ichii gone, both Tanpopo and Petitmoni updated their membership. Hitomi Yoshizawa joined Petitmoni, and Ai Kago & Rika Ishikawa were added to Tanpopo. Meanwhile, Mari Yaguchi had started performing informally with Ai Kago and Nozomi Tsuji in concerts as Mini Moni, a group tailored towards younger audiences with members all being less than 150 centimeters tall (about 5 feet). Mika Todd of Coconuts Musume was later added into the group and Tsunku made them official. Their debut single, "Minimoni Jankenpyon!", was a #1 hit.

2000 also saw the creation of "Summer Shuffle Units," in which all members of Tsunku's big idol family, Hello! Project, were shuffled around to form three one-time summer groups.

As an idol group, they were extremely successful, drawing comparisons to the popularity of former girl idol group SPEED. "Renai Revolution 21", "I Wish", and "The Peace" continued the trend of happy pop songs, becoming a staple hit for the group. Morning Musume also began their tradition of performing in musicals each year, breaking new ground as idols with their hit musical, "LOVE CENTURY."

Group leader Yuko Nakazawa graduated in April 2001 to concentrate more on her solo career, putting Kaori Iida and Kei Yasuda as Morning Musume's co-leaders. During this time, the popular Rika Ishikawa was "lent" out to the rather dormant group, Country Musume.

At the end of 2001, four new girls joined the group as the fifth generation through the audition "LOVE AUDITION 21": Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno, Makoto Ogawa, and Risa Niigaki, bringing the roster to 13 girls.

Late 2002 was marked by the graduation of Maki Goto and a mass re-shuffle of the sub-units. Tsunku removed Kaori Iida, Mari Yaguchi, and Ai Kago from Tanpopo, adding in Asami Konno, Risa Niigaki, and Ayumi Shibata of Melon Kinen-Bi to join Rika Ishikawa. Tanpopo only released one single with this line-up before the group was put on an indefinite hiatus status. Makoto Ogawa and Ayaka Kimura of Coconuts Musume joined Hitomi Yoshizawa in Petitmoni to replace Kei Yasuda and Maki Goto, but the group did not even release a single, only performing in concerts. Their song "Wow Wow Wow" was later released on the Hello! Project's compilation CD Petit Best 4. In Minimoni, Mari Yaguchi was replaced with Ai Takahashi and the new line-up went on to make several singles and a 2nd album until member Mika Todd graduated in May 2004, adding Minimoni to the "indefinite hiatus" subgroups.In the beginning of 2003, three new girls were added as the sixth generation: Eri Kamei, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka. After a successful appearance on the New Year's music program "Kōhaku Uta Gassen" with several Morning Musume members dancing as backup, Tsunku also added in Miki Fujimoto, who was originally an up-and-coming solo singer under Hello! Project, as part of the sixth generation. Their debut concert was also Kei Yasuda's graduation concert, and Tsunku said that this one-time 16-member group is the largest Morning Musume will ever be.

Mari Yaguchi became Morning Musume's sub-leader after Kei's graduation and was also put in charge of training and assisting the up and coming group of Hello! Project Kids, eventually forming a group with 5 of them, known as ZYX.

Later in 2003, Morning Musume was split into two subgroups so that it could tour more cities (especially smaller cities that cannot support a 15-member troupe). Morning Musume Sakuragumi included Natsumi Abe, Mari Yaguchi, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Ai Kago, Ai Takahashi, Risa Niigaki, Asami Konno and Eri Kamei and Morning Musume Otomegumi had Kaori Iida, Rika Ishikawa, Nozomi Tsuji, Makoto Ogawa, Miki Fujimoto, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka. Both groups made 2 singles and were reasonably successful.

In January 2004, Natsumi Abe (known as "the face of Morning Musume" to the general public) graduated to pursue a soloist career, followed by the graduation of 4th generation Nozomi Tsuji and Ai Kago in August to focus on "W (Double U)", their new duo group.

7th generation auditions (named "Lucky 7" to commemorate the 7th generation, 7th year of Morning Musume, and 7 auditioning locations across Japan) were held in various Japan cities in 2004, resulting in 6 finalists. However, on January 9th, 2005, Tsunku announced that no one in the Lucky 7 audition would be added onto Morning Musume, adding that he had set his expectations extra high this year in hopes of finding an "ace".

On January 30th, 2005 - then-leader and last 1st generation member Kaori Iida graduated to pursue a solo singer/artist career, with Mari Yaguchi taking on leadership role and Hitomi Yoshizawa as subleader.

In February 2005, Tsunku started another audition for Morning Musume's 7th generation. He noted that he was still intent on finding an "ace". This audition resulted with Koharu Kusumi finally being chosen as the sole "miracle" member of the new generation.

On April 14, 2005, Mari Yaguchi announced that she had retired from Morning Musume and would continue on with solo activities, after photos were taken of her with a male actor on the 10th (and were scheduled to be published in a gossip magazine "Friday!" on the 15th). In her public statement, Yaguchi said she could no longer sustain an "idol" image befitting of Morning Musume.

On May 7, 2005, Rika Ishikawa graduated from Morning Musume to assume full-time leadership of the Hello! Project trio known as v-u-den.

Because of the nature of her departure, Yaguchi did not receive a ceremony like other ex-MoMusu members when they "graduated". Subleader Hitomi Yoshizawa took over as the leader of Morning Musume, and Miki Fujimoto became sub-leader as of July 15, 2005.

On December 31, 2005, graduated Morning Musume members Kaori Iida, Natsumi Abe, Mari Yaguchi, Yuko Nakazawa, Ai Kago, Nozomi Tsuji, Rika Ishikawa, Maki Goto, and Kei Yasuda joined the current lineup of Morning Musume to perform the band's signature hit "Love Machine" on the 2005/2006 edition of Kōhaku Uta Gassen.[1] The performance was Yaguchi's first since leaving Morning Musume eight and a half months earlier.

On January 16, 2006, it was announced that Morning Musume had won a Kanagawa Image Up Award in recognition of Hello! Project's support of an anti-pollution campaign. Yoshizawa, Fujimoto, and Takahashi represented the band to accept the award.[2],[3], [4]

On April 28, 2006, it was announced by Tsunku from his official website that 5th Generation members Asami Konno and Makoto Ogawa are going to graduate. Asami will graduate on July 23, 2006 to go to University, and Makoto will graduate on August 27, 2006 to study a language abroad. Both will be leaving Morning Musume, but only Konno will be leaving Hello! Project entirely; Ogawa intends to return to H!P after completing her studies. [5], [6][7]The 8th generation audition for Morning Musume has now been announced by Tsunku. The audition will begin on August 27, 2006 and end in Tokyo on October 22.

Members

As of July 2006, the following members are in the group
* Hitomi Yoshizawa (吉澤ひとみ)
* Ai Takahashi (高橋愛)
* Makoto Ogawa (小川麻琴)
* Risa Niigaki (新垣里沙)
* Miki Fujimoto (藤本美貴)
* Eri Kamei (亀井絵里)
* Sayumi Michishige (�"重さゆみ)
* Reina Tanaka (�"�中れいな)
* Koharu Kusumi (久住小春)

First generation (1997)

*Yuko Nakazawa (中澤裕子, graduated April 2001) - Nicknamed Yuu-chan
*Kaori Iida (飯�"�圭�", graduated January 2005) - Nicknamed Kaorin
*Aya Ishiguro (石�'彩, graduated January 2000) - Nicknamed Ayappe
*Natsumi Abe (安倍なつみ, graduated January 2004) - Nicknamed Nacchi
*Asuka Fukuda (福�"�明日香, graduated April 1999) - Nicknamed Asuka

Second generation (1998)

*Kei Yasuda (保�"�圭, graduated May 2003) - Nicknamed Kei-chan
*Mari Yaguchi (矢口真里, "retired" April 14, 2005) - Nicknamed Marippe
*Sayaka Ichii (市井紗耶香, graduated May 2000) - Nicknamed Ichii-chan

Third generation (1999)

*Maki Goto (後藤真希, graduated September 2002) - Nicknamed Gocchin

Fourth generation (2000)

*Rika Ishikawa (石川梨華, graduated May 2005) - Nicknamed Charmy
*Hitomi Yoshizawa (吉澤ひとみ) - Nicknamed Yossi
*Nozomi Tsuji (辻希美, graduated August 2004) - Nicknamed Nono
*Ai Kago (加護亜依, graduated August 2004) - Nicknamed Aibon

Fifth generation (2001)

*Ai Takahashi (高橋愛) - Nicknamed Ai-chan or Takitty (USA)
*Asami Konno (紺野あさ美, graduated July 2006) - Nicknamed Konkon
*Makoto Ogawa (小川麻琴, graduating August 2006) - Nicknamed Mako
*Risa Niigaki (新垣里沙) - Nicknamed Gaki-san

Sixth generation (2003)

*Miki Fujimoto (藤本美貴) - Nicknamed Mikitty
*Eri Kamei (亀井絵里) - Nicknamed Eririn
*Sayumi Michishige (�"重さゆみ) - Nicknamed Sayumin
*Reina Tanaka (�"�中れいな) - Nicknamed Tanakachii

Seventh generation (2005)

*Koharu Kusumi (久住小春) - Nicknamed Miracle-chan

Group Leader

A member of Morning Musume - usually the oldest member of the band according to Hello! Project tradition - is appointed as the group's leader. The next oldest and generation is appointed sub-leader. Here are the list of the leaders in chronological order:
* 1st - Yuko Nakazawa (Formation - April, 2001)
* 2nd - Kaori Iida and Kei Yasuda (May, 2001 - May, 2003)
* 3rd - Kaori Iida, subleader: Mari Yaguchi (May, 2003 - January, 2005)
* 4th - Mari Yaguchi, subleader: Hitomi Yoshizawa (February, 2005 - April 14, 2005)
* 5th - Hitomi Yoshizawa, subleader: Miki Fujimoto (April 15, 2005 - present)

Milestones

* Oricon Singles CD Chart #1 ranking: 9 times
* Exceeded 10 Million CD sales with their 19th single Shabondama
* Oricon Music DVD #1 ranking: 10 times
* Kōhaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦) youngest participant: 12 year old Ai Kago (51st Kouhaku - 2000)

Auditions

Morning Musume Tsuika Audition (2nd Generation Audition)

* Application Requirements: Not specified
* Total Applicants: 5,000
* Broadcasted on Asayan in 1998
* No training camp and theme song

Morning Musume 2nd Tsuika Audition (3rd Generation Audition)

* Application Requirements: Female, minimum of 7th grade student
* Total Applicants: 11,000
* Broadcasted on Asayan in 1999
* Training camp, theme song: Summer Night Town (Morning Musume 2nd single)
* Kumi Koda (倖�"�來未) participated in this audition

Morning Musume 3rd Tsuika Audition (4th Generation Audition)

* Application Requirements: Female, minimum of 7th grade student
* Total Applicants: 25,000
* Broadcasted on Asayan in 2000
* Training camp, theme song: Akai nikkichou (Akagumi 4's single)
* Miki Fujimoto (藤本美貴), Aya Matsuura (松浦亜弥), and Mai Satoda (里�"�まい) participated in this audition

Morning Musume Love Audition 21 (5th Generation Audition)

* Application Requirements: Female, minimum of 7th grade student
* Total Applicants: 25,827
* Broadcasted on muSix! in 2001
* Training camp, theme song: LOVE namida iro (Aya Matsuura's single)

Morning Musume Love Audition 2002 (6th Generation Audition)

* Application Requirements: Female, 7th-12th grade
* Application Song: Do it! Now
* Total Applicants: 12,417
* Broadcasted on muSix! in 2002
* Training camp, theme song: Akai freesia (Melon Kinenbi's 8th single)

Morning Musume Lucky 7 Audition (7th Generation Audition)

* Application Requirements: Female, minimum of 9th grade and under 20 years of age
* Application Song theme: A capella
* Total Applicants: N/A
* Training camp and theme song: Haru no Uta (from Morning Musume's 6th album, Ai no Dai 6 Kan)
* Broadcasted on Hello! Morning starting September, 2004. Audition result aired on January 9, 2005
* Result: NO ADDITIONAL MEMBERS

Morning Musume Audition 2005 (7th Generation Audition)

* Application Requirements: Female, minimum of 9th grade and under 22 years of age
* Total Applicants: 21,611
* No training camp and theme song
* Broadcasted on Hello! Morning starting February 9th, 2005. Audition result aired on May 1, 2005
* Result: Koharu Kusumi (久住小春) passed the audition.

Morning Musume Happy 8 Ki Audition (8th Generation Audition)

* Application Requirements: Female, Junior High or under the age of 21

Discography

Singles

Prior 2006-03-15, all songs in Morning Musume's singles are composed by Tsunku, except Hyokkori Hyoutanjima in Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutanjima, which is composed by Urano Seichirou.

#	Title	Release date	Arrangement	Miscellaneous Info
0	Ai no Tane (愛の種)	1997-11-03	Tetsutaro Sakurai (桜井鉄太郎)	Released on an indies label. Main Vocal: Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Aya Ishiguro
1	Morning Coffee (モーニングコー�'ー)	1998-01-28	Shunsuke Suzuki (鈴木俊介)	Main Vocal: Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida
2	Summer Night Town (サマーナイトタウン)	1998-05-27	Yasuaki Maejima (前嶋康明)	Main Vocal: Natsumi Abe
3	Daite HOLD ON ME! (抱いてHOLD ON ME!)	1998-09-09	Yasuaki Maejima (前嶋康明)	Main Vocal: Natsumi Abe, Asuka Fukuda
4	Memory Seishun no Hikari (Memory �'春の光)	1999-02-10	Yasuaki Maejima (前嶋康明)	Main Vocal: Natsumi Abe, Asuka Fukuda
5	Manatsu no Kousen (真夏の光線)	1999-05-12	Shin Kohno (河野伸)	Main Vocal: Natsumi Abe
6	Furusato (ふるさと)	1999-07-14	Takao Konishi (小西貴雄)	Main Vocal: Natsumi Abe
7	Love Machine (LOVEマシーン)	1999-09-09	Dance Man (ダンス☆マン)	First #1 single, also sold million copies.
8	Koi no Dance Site (恋のダンスサイト)	2000-01-26	Dance Man (ダンス☆マン)	Main Vocal: None
9	Happy Summer Wedding (ハッ�"ーサマーウェディング)	2000-05-17	Dance Man (ダンス☆マン)	Main Vocal: None, center: Yuko Nakazawa
10	I WISH	2000-09-06	Shin Kohno (河野伸)	Main Vocal: Maki Goto, Ai Kago
11	Renai Revolution 21 (恋愛レボリューション21)	2000-12-13	Dance Man (ダンス☆マン)	Main Vocal: Natsumi Abe, Maki Goto
12	The Peace! (ザ☆�"～ス!)	2001-07-25	Dance Man (ダンス☆マン)	Main Vocal: None, Center: Rika Ishikawa
13	Mr.Moonlight ~Ai no BIG BAND~ (Mr.Moonlight～愛の�"ッグバンド～)	2001-10-31	Shunsuke Suzuki (鈴木俊介)	Main Vocal: Hitomi Yoshizawa (vocals: Yoshizawa, Abe, and Goto)
14	Souda! WE'RE ALIVE (そうだ! We're ALIVE)	2002-02-21	Dance Man (ダンス☆マン)	Main Vocal: None, Center: Mari Yaguchi
15	DO IT! NOW	2002-07-24	Hideyuki "Daichi" Suzuki (鈴木Daichi秀行)	Main Vocal: Natsumi Abe, Maki Goto
16	Koko ni Iruzee! (�"�"にいるぜぇ!)	2002-10-30	Hideyuki "Daichi" Suzuki (鈴木Daichi秀行)	Main Vocal: None
17	Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutanjima (モーニング娘。のひょっ�"りひょうた�"島)	2003-02-19	Takao Konishi (小西貴雄)	Main Vocal: None
18	AS FOR ONE DAY	2003-04-23	Hideyuki "Daichi" Suzuki (鈴木Daichi秀行)	Main Vocal: Rika Ishikawa, Mari Yaguchi, Ai Kago
19	Shabondama (シャボン玉)	2003-07-30	Yuichi Takahashi (高橋諭一)	Main Vocal: Reina Tanaka
20	Go Girl~Koi no Victory~ (Go Girl～恋のヴィクトリー～)	2003-11-06	Hideyuki "Daichi" Suzuki (鈴木Daichi秀行)	Main Vocal: None
21	Ai Araba IT'S ALL RIGHT (愛あらば IT'S ALL RIGHT!)	2004-01-21	Takao Konishi (小西貴雄)	Main Vocal: None
22	Roman~MY DEAR BOY~ (浪漫～MY DEAR BOY～)	2004-05-12	Shunsuke Suzuki (鈴木俊介)	Main Vocal: Ai Takahashi, Miki Fujimoto, Rika Ishikawa
23	Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari (女子かしまし物語)	2004-07-22	Hideyuki "Daichi" Suzuki (鈴木Daichi秀行)	Main Vocal: None
24	Namida ga Tomaranai Houkago (涙が止まらない�"�課後)	2004-11-03	Shunsuke Suzuki (鈴木俊介)	Main Vocal: Asami Konno
25	THE MANPOWER	! (THE マンパワー	!)	2005-01-19	Ken Matsubara (松原憲)	Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles' theme song. Last single with Kaori Iida. Main Vocal: Ai Takahashi, Hitomi Yoshizawa
26	Osaka Koi no Uta (大阪 恋の歌)	2005-04-27	Hideyuki "Daichi" Suzuki (鈴木Daichi秀行)	"NATURE IS GOOD!" is the ecology campaign song of ABC. Main Vocal: Ai Takahashi, Miki Fujimoto, Rika Ishikawa
27	Iroppoi Jirettai (色っぽい じれったい)	2005-07-27	Hideyuki "Daichi" Suzuki (鈴木Daichi秀行)	A 3 city handshake event was organised for the promotion of this single. Main Vocal: Ai Takahashi, Center: Ai Takahashi
28	Chokkan 2 ~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizo!~ (直感2～逃した魚は大きいぞ!～)	2005-11-09	Hideyuki "Daichi" Suzuki (鈴木Daichi秀行)	Koi wa Hassou Do The Hustle! was going to be the title track for the album but got changed and became the coupling track.
29	SEXY BOY ~Soyo Kaze ni Yorisoutte~ (ＳＥＸＹ　ＢＯＹ　～そよ風に寄り添って～)	2006-03-15	Yuichi Takahashi (高橋諭一)	Main Vocal: Ai Takahashi, Miki Fujimoto, Reina Tanaka
30	Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii Jan (Ａｍｂｉ�"ｉｏｕ�"！野心的でいいじゃ�")	2006-06-21	Kouichi Yuasa (湯浅公一)	Last single with Konno Asami and Ogawa Makoto Main Vocal: Ai Takahashi, Miki Fujimoto, Eri Kamei, Reina Tanaka Center: Reina Tanaka

Albums

#	Title	Release Date
1	First Time (ファーストタイム)	1998-07-08
2	Second Morning (セカンドモーニング)	1999-07-28
3	3rd-LOVE Paradise- (3rd -LOVEパラダイス-)	2000-03-29
4	Best! Morning Musume 1 (ベスト! モーニング娘。1)	2001-01-31
5	4th Ikimashoi! (4th「いきまっしょい!」)	2002-03-27
6	No.5 (Number Five) (No.5（ナンバーファイブ）)	2003-03-26
7	Best! Morning Musume 2 (ベスト! モーニング娘。2)	2004-03-31
8	Ai no Dai 6 Kan (愛の第6感）)	2004-12-08
9	Rainbow 7 (レインボー7)	2006-2-15

DVD/VHS (Single)

* The-Video LOVE Machine (ザ・�"デオ LOVEマシーン) - 1999-10-14
* The-Video Koi no Dance Site (ザ・�"デオ 恋のダンスサイト) - 2000-02-23
* Single V - Souda! We're ALIVE (シングルV・そうだ! We're ALIVE) - 2002-04-10
* Single V - Morning Musume Single Medley ~Hawaiian~ (シングルV・モーニング娘。シングルメドレー～ハワイアン～) - 2002-07-24
* Single V - Do it! Now (シングルV・Do it! Now) - 2002-09-26
* Single V - Ganbacchae!/Hey! Mirai (シングルV・が�"ばっちゃえ! ／HEY!未来) - 2003-01-29
* Single V - Morning Musume no hyokkori hyoutan jima (シングルV・モーニング娘。のひょっ�"りひょうた�"島) - 2003-02-19
* Single V - AS FOR ONE DAY (シングルV・AS FOR ONE DAY) - 2003-04-23
* Single V - Shabondama (シングルV・シャボン玉) - 2003-07-30
* Single V - GO Girl ~Koi no Victory~ (シングルV・GO Girl～恋のヴィクトリー～) - 2003-11-06
* Single V - Ai araba IT'S ALL RIGHT! (シングルV・愛あらばIT'S ALL RIGHT!) - 2004-01-21
* Single V - Roman ~MY DEAR BOY~ (シングルV・浪漫～MY DEAR BOY～) - 2004-05-12
* Single V - Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari (シングルV・女子かしまし物語) - 2004-07-22
* Single V - Namida ga Tomaranai Hokago (シングルV・涙が止まらない�"�課後) - 2004-11-03
* Single V - THE Man Power