Country Musume
| Country Musume | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Kan Musume, Kan Musu, Country Musume ni Rika Ishikawa, Country Musume ni Konno to Fujimoto |
| Origin | Japan |
| Genres | Pop |
| Years active | 1999-present |
| Labels | zetima |
| Associated acts |
Morning Musume Ongaku Gatas H!P Summer Shuffles v-u-den |
| Website | Profile on Hello! Project Official Website |
| Members |
Mai Satoda Momoko Tsugunaga Risa Yamaki Manaka Inaba Chisaki Morito Uta Shimamura Mai Ozeki |
| Past members |
Asami Kimura Miuna Saito Miki Fujimoto Asami Konno Rika Ishikawa Rinne Toda Azusa Kobayashi Hiromi Yanagihara |
Country Musume (カントリー娘。 Kantorī Musume), is an all-female idol Japanese pop group within Hello! Project.
On November 5, 2014, Country Musume was renamed to Country Girls (カントリー・ガールズ Kantorī Gāruzu).[1]
History
Country Musume was formed in 1999 and was billed as "Country Girls from Hokkaidō". The initial group consisted of members and Hokkaidō natives Rinne Toda, Azusa Kobayashi, and Hiromi Yanagihara.
Shortly before release of their first single in July 1999, Yanagihara died in a car accident. After the tragedy, Kobayashi departed from the group and Toda carried on as a soloist, releasing two singles under the "Country Musume" name by herself. In summer of 2000, Asami Kimura was added to the group and the duo released one more single.
Their popularity rose when Morning Musume's Rika Ishikawa—who is from Kanagawa and is not from Hokkaidō—was lent to the group in April 2001; Country Musume had their first charting single in Japan with the release of "Hajimete no Happy Birthday." The trio, under the name "Country Musume ni Rika Ishikawa", released two singles and an album. Early in 2002, Mai Satoda was recruited for the group although she initially auditioned to be a Morning Musume member.
The quartet released one single before Toda (the remaining original member) bid farewell at the end of 2002. Afterwards, Kimura, Ishikawa, and Satoda released one more single.
In mid-2003, Country Musume had a major shift in its roster. Miuna Saito, who is from Shizuoka, was recruited into the group. Instead of Rika Ishikawa, the group featured Asami Konno and Miki Fujimoto, both from Morning Musume and are Hokkaidō natives. Under this new formation (named "Country Musume ni Konno to Fujimoto"), the quintet has released three singles as of date. In 2004, Country Musume (except the featured singers) participated on the fifth edition of Hello! Project's Folk Songs series, where various H!P artists sing covers of Japanese and Western folk songs.
Kimura and Saito graduated from Country Musume and Hello! Project in its 10th anniversary concert on January 28, 2007[2] leaving Satoda as the only remaining member.
On February 11, 2014 it was announced during the Hello! Project 2014 WINTER ~GOiSU MODE~ concert held at Sendai Sun Plaza Hall that audition applications for Country Musume will be accepted until March 31, 2014.[3] On August 7, it was announced that the Country Musume audition has come to an end without any additions.
On November 5, 2014, it was announced that Hello Pro Kenshūsei members Risa Yamaki and Manaka Inaba, Morning Musume '14 auditionees Chisaki Morito, Uta Shimamura and Mai Ozeki were selected to join Country Musume.[1] Berryz Kobo member Momoko Tsugunaga was also added to the group to become their "playing manager," while Mai Satoda takes the role of "supervisor."[1] I was also announced that Country Musume was renamed to Country Girls,[1] hoping for the group to attract fans from overseas.
Discography
Albums
| # | Title | Release date | Members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Country Musume Daizenshu 1 (カントリー娘。大全集 ①) | 2001-12-12 | Toda, Kimura, Ishikawa |
| 2 | Country Musume Daizenshu 2 (カントリー娘。大全集 ②) | 2006-08-23 | — |
Singles
| # | Title | Release date | Members | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country Musume | |||||
| 1 | "Futari no Hokkaido" (二人の北海道) | 1999-07-23 | Yanagihara, Kobayashi and Toda | ||
| 2 | "Yukigeshiki" (雪景色) | 1999-11-30 | Toda | ||
| 3 | "Hokkaido Shalala" (北海道シャララ) | 2000-04-27 | |||
| 4 | "Koi ga Suteki na Kisetsu" (恋がステキな季節) | 2000-07-31 | Toda and Kimura | ||
| Country Musume ni Ishikawa Rika | |||||
| 5 | "Hajimete no Happy Birthday" (初めてのハッピーバースディ!) | 2001-04-18 | Toda, Kimura and Ishikawa | ||
| 6 | "Koibito wa Kokoro no Ōendan" (恋人は心の応援団) | 2001-10-17 | |||
| 7 | "Iroppoi Onna ~Sexy Baby~" (色っぽい女 ～Sexy Baby～) | 2002-04-17 | Toda, Kimura, Satoda and Ishikawa | ||
| 8 | "Bye Bye Saigo no Yoru" (Bye Bye 最後の夜) | 2002-11-13 | Kimura, Satoda and Ishikawa | ||
| Country Musume ni Konno to Fujimoto | |||||
| 9 | "Uwaki na Honey Pie" (浮気なハニーパイ) | 2003-07-24 | Kimura, Satoda, Saitou, Konno and Fujimoto | ||
| 10 | "Senpai ~Love Again~" (先輩 ～Love Again～) | 2003-12-05 | |||
| 11 | "Shining Itoshiki Anata" (シャイニング 愛しき貴方) | 2004-08-04 | |||
| Country Girls | |||||
| 12 | "Itōshikutte Gomen ne / Koi Dorobō" [ja] (愛しくてごめんね／恋泥棒) | 2015-03-25 | Tsugunaga, Yamaki, Inaba, Morito, Shimamura and Ozeki | ||
DVD
- 2003-11-17 Country Musume Single V Clips 1 (カントリー娘。シングルVクリップス 1)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "『カントリー娘。』改め『カントリー・ガールズ』について" (in Japanese). 2014-11-05.
- ↑ Hello! Project official site announcement. Retrieved 2006-11-26.
- ↑ Suskin, Jeremy Country Musume Seeking New Members and Possible Reformation 02-11-2014