Hello! Project shuffle units
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Hello! Project shuffle units (シャッフルユニット?) is an annual event in the Japanese idol group, Hello! Project that started in 2000. The idea was to shuffle up the existing Hello! Project groups and soloists (e.g. Morning Musume, Country Musume, Aya Matsuura, Melon Kinenbi, and others) into one of three groups for a season-long collaboration to see which shuffle group can sell the most singles.
Each year's shuffle has a common theme: 2000's shuffle group theme, for example, was color and the groups were Akagumi (red) 4, Kiiro (yellow) 5, and Aoiro (blue) 7. Despite the commonality in theme and same B-side song, each group tends to sing a different style A-side song (details below).
Eventually, this became more of a tradition than a competition to outsell; in 2003 the three groups' songs were merged and sold as one single/mini-album.
In the fall of 2004, only one unit was formed of all 46 current Hello! Project singers collaborated to sing the song "All for One & One for All!".
The three shuffle units continued in 2005 with Sexy Otonajan (セクシーオトナジャン?), Puri Puri Pink (プリプリピンク?), and Elegies (エレジーズ?). Unlike previous years, the majority of Hello! Project did not participate in 2005's shuffles (each of the three groups had 3 or 4 singers.) The 2005 shuffle units were also the first ones that ex-Morning Musume members participated in.
2006 was the only year (thus far) that did not have an official shuffle.
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[edit] 2000: The Color Groups
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Winner: Akagumi 4
B-side song: "Hello! no Theme" - a pop song
Notes: Due to disbanding of T&C Bomber and graduation of some members shortly following the shuffle releases, 4th generation Morning Musume members Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Ai Kago, and Nozomi Tsuji (as well as soloist Yuki Maeda) filled in as alternates during concerts and performances.
[edit] Akagumi 4
Members: Yuko Nakazawa and Maki Goto (Morning Musume); Danielle Delaunay (Coconuts Musume); Shinoda Miho (T&C Bomber)
Lead Singers: Maki Goto, Danielle Delaunay
Song & Style: "Akai Nikkichou" (Red Diary) - a pop ballad
Notes: Danielle did an English monologue introduction for the song.
[edit] Kiiro 5
Members: Natsumi Abe and Kei Yasuda (Morning Musume); Ayaka Kimura (Coconuts Musume); Ruru Honda (T&C Bomber); soloist Michiyo Heike
Lead Singers: Kei Yasuda, Michiyo Heike
Song & Style: "Kiiroi Osora de BOOM BOOM BOOM" (Boom Boom Boom in the Yellow Sky) - an upbeat pop song
Notes: After T&C Bomber disbanded, Ruru went to China, her homeland, and pursued a solo singing career.
[edit] Aoiro 7
Members: Sayaka Ichii, Kaori Iida, and Mari Yaguchi (Morning Musume); Mika Todd and Lehua Sandbo (Coconuts Musume); Miwa Komamoto and Atsuko Inaba (T&C Bomber)
Lead Singer: Sayaka Ichii (center)
Song & Style: "Aoi Sports Car no Otoko" (The Man in the Blue Sports Car) - a girl punk-rock song
Notes: Atsuko Inaba stayed in Hello!Project after T&C Bomber disbanded, and thus didn't need a replacement member in this group (she later went on to sing various H!P compilations and emcee concerts).
[edit] 2001: Party Groups
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Winner: 3-nin Matsuri (3-person festival)
B-side song: "Hello! Mata Aou Ne" - a campfire song
[edit] 3-nin Matsuri
Members: Rika Ishikawa and Ai Kago (Morning Musume); soloist Aya Matsuura
Lead Singer: None
Song & Style: "Chu! Natsu Party" (Kiss! Summer Party) - a hyper and cute pop song
Notes: Berryz Koubou covered the song in 2006 on their summer-themed EP (3) Natsu Natsu Mini Berryz.
[edit] 7-nin Matsuri
Members: Mari Yaguchi and Maki Goto (Morning Musume); Ayaka Kimura and Lehua Sandbo (Coconuts Musume); Asami Kimura (Country Musume); Ayumi Shibata (Melon Kinenbi); soloist Michiyo Heike
Lead Singers: Mari Yaguchi, Maki Goto
Song & Style: "Summer Reggae Rainbow" - a reggae-style pop song, with members sporting fake dreadlocks.
[edit] 10-nin Matsuri
Members: Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Kei Yasuda, Hitomi Yoshizawa, and Nozomi Tsuji (Morning Musume); Megumi Murata, Masae Ootani, and Hitomi Saito (Melon Kinenbi); Rinne Toda (Country Musume); Mika Todd (Coconuts Musume)
Lead Singers: Natsumi Abe, Nozomi Tsuji
Song & Style: "Dancing! Natsu Matsuri" (Dancing! Summer Festival) - a pop take on a traditional matsuri songs, with members beating on drums during their dance routines.
[edit] 2002: Happiness Groups
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Winner: Sexy 8
B-side song: "Yoku Aru Oyako no Serenade" (Parent and Child's Serenade) - a ballad
[edit] Happy 7
Members: Ai Kago, Makoto Ogawa, Risa Niigaki, and Ai Takahashi (Morning Musume); Mika Todd (Coconuts Musume); Asami Kimura (Country Musume), and Hitomi Saito (Melon Kinenbi)
Lead Singers: Ai Kago, Makoto Ogawa, Ai Takahashi
Song & Style: "Shiawase Beam! Suki Suki Beam!" (Happy Beam! Love Love Beam!) - a hyper cutesy pop song
[edit] Sexy 8
Members: Mari Yaguchi, Maki Goto, Hitomi Yoshizawa, and Rika Ishikawa (Morning Musume); Ayaka Kimura (Coconuts Musume); Mai Satoda (Country Musume); Masae Ootani (Melon Kinenbi); soloist Michiyo Heike
Lead Singer: none
Song & Style: "Shiawase Desu Ka?" (Are You Happy?) - an R&B style song with a rap interlude
[edit] Odoru 11
Members: Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Kei Yasuda, Nozomi Tsuji, Asami Konno (Morning Musume); Rinne Toda (Country Musume); Megumi Murata and Ayumi Shibata (Melon Kinenbi); soloists Aya Matsuura, Rika Ishii, and Miki Fujimoto
Lead Singers: Natsumi Abe, Aya Matsuura
Song & Style: "Shiawase Kyouryuu Ondo" (Happy Dinosaur March) - a pop take on a traditional Ondo style song.
[edit] 2003: Elemental Groups
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Winner: None. All 3 songs released on the same maxi-single/mini-album, so the sales for all 3 groups are the same.
B-side: "Oh! Be My Friend" - a chorusy pop song that all 3 groups sung together
[edit] SALT5
Members: Natsumi Abe, Ai Kago, and Makoto Ogawa (Morning Musume); soloists Aya Matsuura and Yuki Maeda
Lead Singers: Natsumi Abe, Aya Matsuura, and Ai Kago
Song & Style: "Get Up! Rapper" - a serious-toned rap with somewhat silly lyrics (e.g. one part involving banana chips)
Notes: Aya Matsuura later cut a solo version of "Get Up! Rapper" for her third studio album X3.
[edit] 7AIR
Members: Rika Ishikawa, Ai Takahashi, Risa Niigaki (Morning Musume); Mika Todd (Coconuts Musume); Masae Ootani (Melon Kinenbi); Mai Satoda (Country Musume); soloist Atsuko Inaba
Lead Singers: Rika Ishikawa, Ai Takahashi, Masae Ootani, Mai Satoda
Song & Style: "Kowarenai Ai Ga Hoshii no" (I Want An Unbreakable Love) - an R&B style song with Rika, Ai, Mai, and Masae doing the singing while Atsuko, Risa, and Mika do the raps.
Notes: As part of MiniMoni, Takahashi and Todd remade the song for the second MiniMoni album MiniMoni Songs 2; all four members did the singing while Todd and Nozomi Tsuji did the raps; Inaba is also on this version as a backing vocalist.
[edit] 11WATER
Members: Kaori Iida, Mari Yaguchi, Nozomi Tsuji, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Asami Konno and Miki Fujimoto (Morning Musume); Ayaka Kimura (Coconuts Musume); Asami Kimura (Country Musume); Megumi Murata, Hitomi Saito, and Ayumi Shibata (Melon Kinenbi)
Lead Singers: Mari Yaguchi, Miki Fujimoto, Nozomi Tsuji, Hitomi Yoshizawa
Song & Style: "Be All Right!" - a Ska-style Pop song.
Notes: MiniMoni remade the song, also for MiniMoni Songs 2. Mika and Ayaka performed the song together at Mika's final Hello! Project performance.
[edit] 2004: One School Group
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Winner: None. One single by all 46 members
B-side: There were two other songs in the single. One by Atsuko Inaba, Masae Ohtani, Ayumi Shibata and Aya Matsuura ("Sankaku Kankei"--Love Triangle), and the other by Reina Tanaka, Megumi Murakami and Airi Suzuki ("Suki ni Nacchaikenai Hito"--"The Person I Shouldn't Fall In Love With).
[edit] H.P. All Stars
Members: Morning Musume, Melon Kinenbi, Berryz Koubou, ℃-ute, v-u-den, W, Country Musume, Coconuts Musume, and soloists Yuko Nakazawa, Natsumi Abe, Kei Yasuda, Maki Goto, Atsuko Inaba, Yuki Maeda and Aya Matsuura.
Lead Singer: None, but Matsuura, Abe, Kago, Goto, Tsuji, Ishikawa, and Fujimoto all have solo lines in the bridge.
Song & Style: "All for One & One for All!" - a simple upbeat pop song.
Note: Everyone wore school uniforms befitting their group.
[edit] 2005: Elegance Groups
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Winner: None. All 3 songs released on the same maxi-single/mini-album, so the sales for all 3 groups are the same.
B-side: None.
[edit] Elegies
Members: Ai Takahashi and Reina Tanaka (Morning Musume); Ayumi Shibata (Melon Kinenbi); Mai Satoda (Country Musume).
Lead Singers: None
Song: "Inshouha Renoir no You ni" (Like the Impressionist Renoir)
[edit] Sexy Otonajan
Members: Miki Fujimoto (Morning Musume); Miyabi Natsuyaki (Berryz Koubou); Megumi Murakami (℃-ute).
Lead Singers: Miki Fujimoto
Song: "Onna, Kanashii, Otona" (Woman, Lonely, Adult)
[edit] Puripuri Pink
Members: Former Morning Musume members Yuko Nakazawa, Kaori Iida, Kei Yasuda, and former T&C Bomber member Atsuko Inaba.
Lead Singers: None
Song: "Hitoshirezu Mune wo Kanaderu Yoru no Aki" (The Autumn of Night that Plays the Hidden Heart)
[edit] External links
- Hello! Project shuffle units at HelloProject.com
- ThePPN:Shuffle Units
