Weather Girls

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Weather Girls
Origin Taiwan Republic of China
Genres J-Pop
Years active August 2010 – present
Labels Japan Pony Canyon
Website (See below)
Members NueNue
Hijon
Esse
Mia
Mini
Yumi
Past members Dara

Weather Girls (Japanese: ウェザーガールズ Uezā Gāruzu, Chinese: 天氣女孩; pinyin: Tiānqì Nǚhái) is a group of Taiwanese female idols originally acting as weather forecasters on televisions and internet for Taiwan and the United States[1] and later entering entertainment business in Japan.

In Japan, the group is under Pony Canyon and is represented by Ritz Productions.[2]

History

Pre-debut

Next TV Broadcasting Ltd., which runs the Next Media Animation TV or NMA television station, wanted to produce daily weather forecast programs to be distributed in English in Taiwan and the United States, with a group of cute young girls dancing to the reports.[1] In August 2010, NMA formed a group called "Weather Girls", consisting of thirty eight members. Each day of the week is hosted by a different weather girl who would deliver a short message to viewers in an adorable manner, and each month is a different theme.[1][2][3] The themes include the graduation season, in which the girls dressed up in Japanese school uniforms and spoke in Japanese.[1] The ninja and tokusatsu themes have also been used.[4]

2012: debut in Japan

After having been introduced by several Japanese programs in April 2012, the group attracted much attention in Japan. Seven of its members who are most skilled in singing and dancing were then chosen to be debuted in Japan as a musical group. They are reportedly the first Taiwanese girl group to come to Japan.[2][3][5]

The news of Weather Girls officially debuting as an idol girl group was announced on 8 August 2012.[5] The group held their debut performance as the opening act of the A-Nation Festival on 10 August 2012.[6]

For their Japanese career, the seven girls were required to take Japanese courses, in addition to dance lessons and performance rehearsals. Their language studies were broadcast on televisions once a week.[3] The group has also been fixed guests on the program Akihabara@TV since 23 September 2012. The program, which airs every Sunday, aims to educate viewers on different forms of Japanese culture.[7]

The group's first single, called "Koi no Tenkiyohō", was announced in September 2012, and its music video was officially released on 30 September 2012. The single was later revealed to have been produced by Jeff Miyahara.[2][8] On 17 October 2012, the single was physically released in two editions, both containing the song "Koi no Tenkiyohō" and a b-side single titled "Loving Pass – Koi no Password".[9]

The second single, titled "Koi wa Tokimeki Chūihō", was announced on 25 December 2012 and was released on 6 February 2013.[10]

2013: debut album, Weather Girls, and continued promotions in Japan

The group's third single, "Koi no Love – Sunshine", was released on 5 June 2013.[11] The concept costumes are sailor swimsuits designed by Junko Isogai from Dexi.[12]

On 17 May 2013, it was revealed that, in January 2014, the group will take Japanese National Weather Forecasting Licence Examination to become legitimate weather forecasters in the country, in addition to their idol careers. The examination has been biannually held since 1994, reportedly with a 5 percent pass rate.[13] For the sake of the examination, the group takes meteorological classes where licensed weather forecasters give lectures and the fans are also allowed to be present.[13]

Their first album, named Weather Girls,[14] was also announced on 17 May 2013 and was released on on 3 July 2013.[13] The eponymous album was entirely produced by Jeff Miyahara and his team and contains six new studio recordings, in addition to the other four songs from the previous singles.[13][15] The songs vary from dance-pop to ballad.[15] With the theme of clouds, the concept art of the album is described as follows: "Weather Girls, wearing fluffy marshmallow clouds, come to Japan riding on 'bomb anticyclone'."[16] The concept costumes, the cloud outfits, were also designed by Junko Isogai from Dexi.[17]

From their debut to the end of July 2013, the group has made a total of 111 performances.[18] On 11 August 2013, the group performed at the A-Nation festival again as the opening act.[19]

On 19 August 2013, it was announced that their fourth single will be released in autumn 2013.[20] The release date was later announced to be 20 November 2013.[21] Titled "Hey Boy – Wèishéme?",[22] the single will also be the ending of Attack Shimasukedo Nani Ka?, a new television show hosted by Weather Girls.[20][23] The show starts airing on several networks from 19 October 2013.[24]

On 6 September 2013, Secret Chores Group, a 31-episode science fiction/action/dramedy series produced by NMA, started airing in Japan. The story is set in 2030 and is about a group of six police girls played by the Weather Girls members, except Mia.[25]

In October 2013, Dara was removed from the group. According to an official statement released by Ritz Productions on 15 October 2013, the removal was due to her repeated abandonment of work, despite its successive warnings and encouragement.[22]

Members

Current

# Stage name Chinese name Date of birth In charge of Position
Romanised
(officially)		 Japanese Romanised Chinese Day Element Colour
1 NueNue ニューニュー
(Nyūnyū)		 Zhào Jìngyí
or Niūniū		 趙靜儀
or 妞妞		 4 October Sunday Wind Yellow
2 Hijon ハイジャン
(Haijan)		 Zhèng Hāijiǎng
or Hāijiǎng		 鄭嗨獎
or 嗨獎		 27 September Monday Lightning Green
3 Esse エース
(Ēsu)		 Liú Àisī
or Àisī		 劉愛絲
or 愛絲		 18 August Tuesday Rain Orange
4 Mia ミア Zhuāng Xīnyí 莊心怡 12 June Thursday Sun Blue
5 Mini ミニ Lín Yíhuì
or Mǐní		 林怡慧
or 米尼		 30 June Friday Snow Pink
6 Yumi ユミ Lín Cǎiwēi 林采薇 5 March Saturday Fog Purple Leader[2]

Former

# Stage name Chinese name Date of birth In charge of Active period Grounds for retirement
Romanised
(officially)		 Japanese Romanised Chinese Day Element Colour
1 Dara ダラ Xiǎo Nǎixī 小奶昔 7 September Wednesday Cloud Red 2010–2013 Contract termination owing to repeated abandonment of work[22]

Discography

Singles

# Title Release date[21] Peak position on Oricon Weekly Medium[21]
Editions Format Catalogue number
1 "Koi no Tenkiyohō"
(恋の天気予報; "Weather Forecast of Love") 		17 October 2012 Debut: #29 (17 October 2012)
Closing: #12 (21 October 2012)[26]		 Regular,
Limited		 CD,
CD+DVD		 PCCA-70344
PCCA-03702
2 "Koi wa Tokimeki Chūihō"
(恋はトキメキ注意報; "Heartbeat Storm Warning is Love") 		6 February 2013 Debut: #35 (6 February 2013)[26] PCCA-70360
PCCA-03774
3 "Koi no Love – Sunshine"
(恋のラブ♥サンシャイン; Koi no Rabu – Sanshain; "Love of Love – Sunshine") 		5 June 2013 Debut: #18 (4 June 2013)[27]
Closing: #27 (13 June 2013)[26]		 PCCA-70370
PCCA-03834
4 "Hey Boy – Wèishéme?"

(Hey Boy～為什麼？; Hey Boy～ウェイシェンモ？, Hey Boy – Ueishenmo?;
"Hey Boy – For What Reason?")

 20 November 2013 Regular,
Limited 1,
Limited 2		 CD,
CD+DVD,
CD+DVD

Albums

# Title Release date Peak position on Oricon Weekly Medium
Format Catalogue number
1 Weather Girls 3 July 2013 #67[28] CD PCCA-3859

DVDs

# Title Release date Medium
Format Catalogue number
1 Weather Girls TV Vol. 1 20 March 2013 DVD PCBP-52242

Filmography

Series

# Title Year
1 Secret Chores Group
(雜務特勤組 Záwù Tèqín Zǔ; ザツムトッキングミ Zatsumutokkingumi) 		2013[25]

Television shows

  • 2013: Attack Shimasukedo Nani Ka? (アタックしますけど何か？ Atakku Shimasukedo Nani Ka?)[20]

Controversy

Due to the success of Weather Girls, the Mainland China Guangdong Satellite TV set up a group of girl meteorologists called "Apple Pie" (Chinese: 苹果派; pinyin: Píngguǒ Pài) to produce the like programs in December 2011.[29] In January 2012, NMA responded to the Chinese group with a press release describing the programs as "plagiarism" and condemning the Chinese authority for its lack of copyright protection laws.[29]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Steven (2011-06-20). "Taiwan’s Weather Girls: Come For The Forecast, Stay For The Miniskirts". RocketNews24. Retrieved 01-12-2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "'Weather Girls' from Taiwan to make their CD debut in Japan". Tokyohive. 09-08-2012. Retrieved 01-12-2012. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Will the Sun Shine on Weather Girls’ Japan Debut?". Japan Real Time. 2012-08-30. Retrieved 01-12-2012. 
  4. ↑ Steven (10-08-2011). "Taiwan’s Weather Girls Form Girl Group in Japan, First Single "Weather Forecast of Love" Coming This October!". RocketNews24. Retrieved 01-12-2012. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "台湾お天気お姉さん"晴れて"日本デビュー！(1/2ページ)" (in Japanese). Sanspo. Retrieved 2012-12-25. 
  6. ↑ "AKB48がミニスカでトリ！K-POPガールズは"悪魔ちゃんダンス"で会場をメロメロに＜ライブレポート＞" (in Japanese). modelpress. Retrieved 2012-12-25. 
  7. ↑ "日曜日の特別授業！ウェザーガールズのニッポンを勉強するバラエティ" (in Japanese). tv.atcommons. Retrieved 2012-12-25. 
  8. ↑ "台湾お天気お姉さん"晴れて"日本デビュー！(2/2ページ)" (in Japanese). Sanspo. Retrieved 2012-12-25. 
  9. ↑ "ウェザーガールズ/恋の天気予報 [CD+DVD] [限定]" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved 2012-12-25. 
  10. ↑ "お天気アイドル、ウェザーガールズの2ndシングルは「恋はトキメキ注意報」！" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved 2012-12-25. 
  11. ↑ "Weather Girls – Koi no Love Sunshine". jpop-idols. 2013-04-27. Retrieved 2013-05-21. 
  12. ↑ "ウェザーガールズ　『恋のラブサンシャイン』 衣装製作" [Costume Production for Weather Girls' "Koi no Love – Sunshine"] (in Japanese). Dexi. n.d. Retrieved 2013-09-01. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 Master Blaster (2013-05-17). "Taiwanese Weather Reporting Idol Group to Take Japan’s Grueling National Weather Forecasting License Exam". Rocket News. Retrieved 2013-05-21. 
  14. ↑ "Weather Girls - 日本語タイトル: WEATHER GIRLS / ウェザーガールズ" (in Japanese). CDJapan. n.d. Retrieved 2013-06-12. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Sexyお天気アイドルのウェザーガールズ"ふわふわのマシュマロ"" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2013-06-12. 
  16. ↑ "Weather Girls reveals the details on their 1st album". Tokyohive. 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2013-06-15. 
  17. ↑ "ウェザーガールズ　１stアルバム　衣装製作" [Costume Production for Weather Girls' First Album] (in Japanese). Dexi. n.d. Retrieved 2013-09-01. 
  18. ↑ "台湾"Weather Girls"亮相东京偶像女团音乐节" (in Chinese). RecordJapan. 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2013-08-04. 
  19. ↑ "「IDOL NATION 2013」に15組のアイドルが一挙集結！" (in Japanese). OKMusic. 2013-08-11. Retrieved 2013-08-21. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "あべ、綾部ら「バトスピ応援団」結成もSPサポーターはCOWCOWに" (in Japanese). Yoshimoto News. 2013-08-19. Retrieved 2013-08-21. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "ウェザーガールズ" (in Japanese). Ritz Store. 2013-08-30. Retrieved 2013-08-30. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "ウェザーガールズ」メンバー、ダラ脱退に関するお知らせ" (in Japanese). Ritz Productions. 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2013-10-15. "「ウェザーガールズ」メンバーのダラに関して、アーティスト活動の放棄などの違反行為により、ファンの皆様および関係各位に大変なご迷惑をおかけし、弊社にも多大な損害を生じさせました。ダラに対しては指導と説得を行いましたが、残念ながら改善が見られませんでした。 そのため、ダラとの専属契約を続けていくことが困難だと判断し、ダラとの専属契約を解除する運びとなりました。すでにリリース準備を終えている4thシングル「HEY BOY～ウェイシェンモ？～」におきましては、ダラ名義が入った状態で、予定通り11月20日（水）にリリースを致します。ただし、シングルリリースに関連するプロモーション活動およびその他のイベント等に、ダラは参加致しませんので、何卒ご理解くださいますようお願い申し上げます。" 
  23. ↑ Weather Girls (2013-08-19). ぽにきゃん！アイドル倶楽部#15　ウェザーガールズのとこだけ [Ponykyan! Idol Club No. 15 (only Weather Girls cut)] (in Japanese). ein さん. Retrieved 2013-08-21. 
  24. ↑ "新番組「アタックしますけど何か？」番宣情報" (in Japanese). Ritz Productions. 2013-10-03. Retrieved 2013-10-15. "【アタックしますけど何か？】- 放送局：メ～テレ（名古屋テレビ）- 放送日：2013年10月19日（土）から毎週土曜25：20～ - 放送局：TOKYO MX - 放送日：2013年10月21日（月）から毎週月曜25：00～" 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "雑務特勤組～ザ・ショム×B57～" (in Chinese). C-Pop TV. 2013-09-06. Retrieved 2013-09-07. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 "ウェザーガールズのシングル売り上げランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. n.d. Retrieved 2013-06-13. 
  27. ↑ "2013年06月04日のCDシングルデイリーランキング（2013年06月04日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2013-06-04. Retrieved 2013-06-07. 
  28. ↑ "ウェザーガールズのアルバム売り上げランキング" (in Japanese). Oricon. n.d. Retrieved 2013-08-04. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Eric Jou (2012-03-26). "Taiwanese Weather Girls Ripped Off By Chinese Weather Girls". Kotaku. Retrieved 01-12-2012. 

External links

Main Japanese websites
Main Chinese websites
Others
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