Morning Musume

Morning Musume
Native name モーニング娘。
Also known as Momusu
早安少女組。
Origin Tokyo, Japan
Genres
Years active 1997 (1997)–present
Labels
Associated acts
Website www.helloproject.com/morningmusume
Members Mizuki Fukumura (2011–)
Erina Ikuta (2011–)
Kanon Suzuki (2011–2016)
Haruna Iikubo (2011–)
Ayumi Ishida (2011–)
Masaki Sato (2011–)
Haruka Kudo (2011–)
Sakura Oda (2012–)
Haruna Ogata (2014-)
Miki Nonaka (2014-)
Maria Makino (2014-)
Akane Haga (2014-)
Past members Riho Sayashi (2011–2015)
Sayumi Michishige (2003–2014)
Reina Tanaka (2003–2013)
Aika Mitsui (2006–2012)
Risa Niigaki (2001–2012)
Ai Takahashi (2001–2011)
Linlin (2007–2010)
Junjun (2007–2010)
Eri Kamei (2003–2010)
Koharu Kusumi (2005–2009)
Miki Fujimoto (2003–2007)
Hitomi Yoshizawa (2000–2007)
Makoto Ogawa (2001–2006)
Asami Konno (2001–2006)
Rika Ishikawa (2000–2005)
Mari Yaguchi (1998–2005)
Kaori Iida (1997–2005)
Ai Kago (2000–2004)
Nozomi Tsuji (2000–2004)
Natsumi Abe (1997–2004)
Kei Yasuda (1998–2003)
Maki Goto (1999–2002)
Yuko Nakazawa (1997–2001)
Sayaka Ichii (1998–2000)
Aya Ishiguro (1997–2000)
Asuka Fukuda (1997–1999)

Morning Musume '16 (モーニング娘。 '16 Mōningu Musume '16.), formerly simply Morning Musume (モーニング娘。 Mōningu Musume.) and sometimes referred to as Momusu (モー娘。 Mōmusu.), is a Japanese female idol group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon charts as of February 2012,[1] with the Oricon record of most top ten singles with an amount of 50, and they have sold over 21 million copies in Japan alone.

Morning Musume was formed in 1997 by rock singer-songwriter turned record producer Tsunku, who later composed a vast majority of the group's songs over the decade. They are the lead group of Hello! Project that specialises in upbeat, pop-oriented music coupled with dance performance. The group produced several splinter groups, and often collaborates with other Hello! Project acts, including Country Musume, Berryz Kobo, Cute, Melon Kinenbi, and v-u-den. The group's name can be translated as "Morning Girls"[2] or "Morning Daughters";[3] as the name suggests, it consists of members mostly in their late adolescence and early 20s. The average age of the group members has remained more or less unchanged since its original formation because the group maintains a "school-like" system for their continuous line-up changes, with older members "graduating" and new, usually younger, members selected from nationwide auditions admitted to the group almost annually.

Current members

Name Birth date Age Date joined Generation Member colour*[4][5] Notes
Mizuki Fukumura October 30, 1996 19 January 2, 2011 9      Hot Pink Leader
Erina Ikuta July 7, 1997 18      Yellow Green[6] Sub-leader
Kanon Suzuki August 5, 1998 17      Green Graduating at the end of Morning Musume 16's Spring Tour
Haruna Iikubo November 7, 1994 21 September 29, 2011 10      Honey[6] Sub-leader
Ayumi Ishida January 7, 1997 19      Royal Blue
Masaki Sato May 7, 1999 16      Emerald Green
Haruka Kudo October 27, 1999 16      Orange
Sakura Oda March 12, 1999 16 September 14, 2012 11      Lavender
Haruna Ogata February 15, 1999 16 September 30, 2014 12      Sea Blue
Miki Nonaka October 7, 1999 16      Purple
Maria Makino February 2, 2001 15      Light Pink
Akane Haga March 7, 2002 13      Light Orange

* All colour values are approximate.

History

Member changes and singles history

1997-1998: Formation and beginnings

Japanese producer Tsunku started the group in 1997 through an audition for a female rock vocalist for his band Sharan Q.[7] The audition was held on the Japanese TV show Asayan. The winner was Michiyo Heike, later to become a soloist under what would eventually become known as Hello! Project. Tsunku decided to form a girl group consisting of five of the runners-up: Natsumi Abe, Yuko Nakazawa, Kaori Iida, Asuka Fukuda, and Aya Ishiguro. They were issued a challenge to sell 50,000 copies of their demo single, "Ai no Tane", with just five days of promotion events.[7] They managed the feat in four promotion days (spread out over November, 1997) in a very grassroots manner, and Tsunku began his mission to create the most famous all-girl group in Japan.

In early 1998, the girls were ready with their first official single, "Morning Coffee".[8] The success of this single (hitting number six on the Japanese pop charts) brought them three new members known as the second generation: Kei Yasuda, Mari Yaguchi, and Sayaka Ichii, bringing the total member count to eight. The second single, Summer Night Town,[9] was the first single of the new lineup—a mature pop tune about unsuccessfully attempting to hide one's true feelings. Their third single, "Daite Hold on Me!",[10] continued in the same vein musically as Summer Night Town, and managed to hit number one on the charts. Leader Nakazawa also started her solo career.

First Time[11] was released in July 1998, featuring the singles "Ai no Tane", "Morning Coffee" and "Summer Night Town".

That year, Tsunku also formed Tanpopo, the first subgroup of Morning Musume, with Kaori Iida, Aya Ishiguro, and Mari Yaguchi. Tanpopo touted slower, more mature songs.

1999: Groundbreaking success with "Love Machine"

The group released its fourth single "Memory Seishun no Hikari" in early 1999,[12] reaching number two on Oricon, second to Glay's "Winter, Again" which had 1st week sales of 955,780 copies, verse Memory Seishun no Hikari's 195,720).

The song features rap passages by L The Headtoucha and intense vocal harmonization by the group's members. This was Asuka Fukuda's last single with Morning Musume, making her currently the shortest-lived member at 2 years. Asuka claimed that she was leaving in order to focus on her studies, only to drop out of school soon after.

"Manatsu no Kōsen"[13] was released in May and was a summer tune. It went to number three on the charts, and the sales dropped by half from Memory Seishun no Hikari. Morning Musume's chart position was visibly lagging at the time: their sixth single, "Furusato",[14] only sealed the fact. Natsumi Abe was the only one who sang the melody on "Furusato"; the other members just harmonized discreetly. This was their fifth single, and the sales once again decreased by half.

Second Morning[15] was released in July 1999, and contained the singles "Daite Hold on Me!", "Memory Seishun no Hikari", "Manatsu no Kōsen", and "Furusato". "Daite Hold on Me!" and "Manatsu no Kōsen" were remixed.

Eager to add new life to the group, Tsunku held auditions for the third generation of Morning Musume. Two girls were expected to be admitted, but eventually only Maki Goto was added. Goto was 13, the youngest member of Morning Musume at the time. The group's seventh single, "Love Machine",[16] sold 1,760,000 copies, making it a major hit; it is still their highest-selling single as of 2012. The song touted an image of Japan as the future "envy of the world" and cheered the masses during a period of economic recession. It was Maki Goto's first single and Aya Ishiguro's last. Its wild success dramatically increased the popularity of the group.

Soon Goto was paired with Kei Yasuda and Sayaka Ichii to form the subgroup Petitmoni (also known as Pucchi Moni). Petitmoni's first single, "Chokotto Love", rivaled the success of "Love Machine", selling over 1,123,610 copies.

2000: Koi no Dance Site, continued commercial success & the 4th generation

2000 first saw the release of "Koi no Dance Site",[17] which hit number two and sold over a million—400,000 copies away from reaching Love Machine's success. The single had the highest 1st week sales than any other Morning Musume's singles, an enormous amount of 600,860 copies. Even with this large number, the single did not reach number one because Southern All Stars's biggest hit single, Tsunami, which sold total of 2.93 million copies, was released at the same date as Koi no Dance Site. Aya Ishiguro left the group before the single was released in order to marry Shinya, drummer of visual kei rock band Luna Sea, leaving the group with seven members.

The second event of 2000 was the creation of "shuffle units", in which all members of Tsunku's then 16-member family, Hello! Project, were shuffled around to form three one-time groups: Akagumi 4, Kiiro 5, and Aoiro 7. The idea was to battle for the highest single sales. This was achieved by Akagumi 4 which, to no surprise, boasted Maki Goto as the lead vocals.

In March, their third studio album, 3rd: Love Paradise[18] was released. Despite having "Love Machine" and "Koi no Dance Site" on its track list, it did not manage to claim the number one spot, but did sell more than 800,000 copies, making it Morning Musume's highest-selling studio album to date.

This year also brought a new generation search. The fourth generation consisted of Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Nozomi Tsuji, and Ai Kago, lending a completely different feel to the group by adding the 12-year-old duo of Tsuji and Kago. After their debut single, "Happy Summer Wedding",[19] (continuing the legacy of number one hits with 1,370,000 copies sold,) Sayaka Ichii left to pursue her own music career. She became the vocalist of Japanese group Cubic Cross and later married fellow member Naoki Yoshizawa (no relation to Hitomi Yoshizawa).

With Ishiguro and Ichii gone, both Tanpopo and Petitmoni revised their lineups—Hitomi Yoshizawa joined Petitmoni, and Ai Kago and 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 all the members being less than 150 cm (about 5 ft) tall. Mika Todd of Coconuts Musume was later added into the group and Tsunku made them official. Their debut single, "Minimoni Jankenpyon!", was a number one hit on the Oricon.

As an idol group, they were extremely successful, drawing comparisons to the popularity of former girl idol group Speed. "I Wish"[20] and "Renai Revolution 21"[21] (Yuko Nakazawa's last single) continued the trend of happy pop songs becoming staple hits for the group. Morning Musume also began their tradition of performing in musicals each year, breaking new ground as idols with their musical Love Century: Yume wa Minakerya Hajimaranai.

2001: "The Peace"

In April 2001, group leader Yuko Nakazawa left to focus on her solo career (stating her age as a factor as well—she felt it was limiting her ability to meet the physical demands of the group's activities) making Kaori Iida and Kei Yasuda Morning Musume's co-leaders. During this time, the Rika Ishikawa was "lent" out to the rather inactive group, Country Musume. She did not officially join, but participated as a feature singers in number of their singles.

By July 2001 the string of number one hits had yet to be broken with the release of the single "The Peace!".[22] The Peace! features a distinctive call and response chants, with Rika Ishikawa as the center focus.

British newspaper The Guardian described the promotional video echoed the song's "strangeness" by placing the group in the middle of what appeared to be a gigantic public bathroom, displaying the girls dancing amongst the urinals and posing for photographs in the stalls; supposedly as a response to hidden camera footage of the members that had recently surfaced, filmed from a toilet in their production offices.[23]

At the end of January 2001, the best selling Hello! Project album to date was released: Best! Morning Musume 1.[24] It sold 2,259,510 copies. It featured 15 tracks, the only original song being "Say Yeah! -Motto Miracle Night-".

At the end of 2001, four new members 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. Their first single "Mr. Moonlight: Ai no Big Band",[25] (done in the style of big band) featured fourth generation member Hitomi Yoshizawa as the central focus and main vocalist of the song.

2002

In February, "Sōda! We're Alive",[26] another hit, was released. It featured many different styles combined into one song, centered on Mari Yaguchi.

In July 2002, "Do It! Now"[27] was released. This single finally broke the line of number one hits and came in at number three—a surprising fact to many, considering it was Maki Goto's last single.

Morning Musume's fourth studio album, 4th Ikimasshoi![28] was released in March 2002 after a two-year wait. It is the first studio album from the group to reach number one on Oricon. It featured the singles "Renai Revolution 21", (rerecorded with the current 13-person formation,) "The Peace!", (in a 'full', longer version,) "Mr. Moonlight: Ai no Big Band", (with added dialog at the beginning,) and "Sōda! We're Alive".

Late 2002 was marked by the leaving 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 Kinenbi to join Rika Ishikawa. Tanpopo only released one single with this lineup 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 Mini Moni, Mari Yaguchi was replaced by Ai Takahashi and the new lineup went on to put out several singles and a second album until member Mika Todd left in May 2004, adding Mini Moni to the list of "indefinite hiatus" subgroups.

In October "Koko ni Iruzee!"[29] was released, a fast-paced, feel-good song about making the most of life and music's ability to unite the world. It was number one on Oricon.

2003

The unique childlike tune "Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyōtanjima"[30] was released in February 2003 as the group's seventeenth single. It is significant because it was a cover song, marking the first time Tsunku did not write a single's lyrics.

April brought the notably successful single "As for One Day"[31]—a synthesizer-driven song about lost love—which sold 129,893 copies and hit number one in Oricon charts, and was the last time a Morning Musume single hit number one until "Aruiteru" (released late 2006). This single was the last for Kei Yasuda.

Before the auditions for the sixth generation were held, the group released the album No. 5.[32] It was unique in a few ways. It was the last studio album to feature Kei Yasuda and Natsumi Abe as full members of the group. It was also the first Morning Musume studio album to feature a former member, as Maki Goto guests on "Megami (Mousse na Yasashisa)" and "Ganbacchae!". It only featured two singles: "Do It! Now" and "Koko ni Iruzee!".

In mid-2003, four new girls were added as the sixth generation: Miki Fujimoto, Eri Kamei, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka. Eri Kamei, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka successfully passed the traditional auditions; however, Miki Fujimoto was a solo singer in Hello!Project at the time. After appearing on the New Year's music program "Kōhaku Uta Gassen" with several Morning Musume members dancing as backup, Tsunku added her as part of the sixth generation.

The sixth generation's first single was "Shabondama",[33] which featured "break-up" lyrics, a seemingly spontaneous dance routine, and rolled "r"s.

Mari Yaguchi became Morning Musume's sub-leader after Kei's departure and was also put in charge of training and assisting the trainee group of Hello! Project Kids, eventually forming a group with five 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 could not support a 15-member troupe). Morning Musume Sakuragumi, which focused on slower and more traditional love songs, included Natsumi Abe, Mari Yaguchi, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Ai Kago, Ai Takahashi, Risa Niigaki, Asami Konno and Eri Kamei. Morning Musume Otomegumi, which had more upbeat pop songs with a slight rock flavor, featured Kaori Iida, Rika Ishikawa, Nozomi Tsuji, Makoto Ogawa, Miki Fujimoto, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka. Sakuragumi released two singles: "Hare Ame Nochi Suki" and "Sakura Mankai", and Otomegumi released two singles as well: "Ai no Sono: Touch My Heart!" and "Yūjō: Kokoro no Busu ni wa Naranee!".

The last single of Morning Musume in 2003 to feature the entire group was "Go Girl: Koi no Victory",[34] which had the members girlishly proclaiming the victory of their love.

2004

In January 2004, Natsumi Abe (known as "the face of Morning Musume" to the general public) left to pursue a soloist career. Her last single was "Ai Araba It's All Right",[35] Morning Musume's last song to sell more than 100,000 copies until 'One Two Three / The Matenrou Show'. "Ai Araba It's All Right" had uplifting lyrics (as would be expected, with the title), and a cheery dance sequence.

The group soon released another single, "Roman: My Dear Boy".[36] The song showcased an almost rock flavor and centered its lyrics around offering "a dance" to a boy. This was followed by their twenty-third single, "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari",[37] which is unique in that it was actually about the Morning Musume girls themselves—each member got a verse about their personality. This song would later be remade several times as "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari 2" and "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari 3", included in their sixth and seventh album respectively. This single also marked the leaving of fourth-generation members Nozomi Tsuji and Ai Kago in August, to focus on "W", their new duo group.

In April 2004, Rika Ishikawa was caught in a rare scandal, as an audio recording revealed her saying of the groups fans at a show, "look at them. Grownups screaming like that! I can't believe it. So stupid!" [7]

In mid-2004, Morning Musume's second best-of album, Best! Morning Musume 2[38] was released and featured "Yah! Aishitai" as the only new track. It had a lukewarm reception at best, compared to their first best-of compilation.

Auditions for the seventh generation (named "Lucky 7" to commemorate the seventh generation, the seventh year of Morning Musume, and seven audition sites across Japan) were held in various Japan cities in late 2004, resulting in six finalists. However, on January 9, 2005, Tsunku surprised everyone by announcing that no one in the Lucky 7 audition would be added to Morning Musume, citing that he had set his expectations extra-high this year in hopes of finding an "ace". This was the first time an audition had ended with no new members.

In November 2004, Morning Musume released "Namida ga Tomaranai Hōkago",[39] a ballad that featured Asami Konno, Sayumi Michishige, and Rika Ishikawa.

Following this single Morning Musume Early Single Box[40] was released. It was a 9-CD set containing their first eight singles with a bonus track on each one, as well as a karaoke CD of some of their more popular tunes from the early years.

Finally, at the end of 2004, the group's yearly album was released. Their sixth studio album, named Ai no Dai 6 Kan,[41] hit stores in December. It contained three singles: "Roman: My Dear Boy", "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari", and "Namida ga Tomaranai Hōkago". This was Ai Kago, Nozomi Tsuji, Kaori Iida, Mari Yaguchi, and Rika Ishikawa's last credited studio album.

2005

On January 30, 2005 - then-leader and the last member from the first generation Kaori Iida left to pursue a solo singer/artist career, with Mari Yaguchi taking on leadership role with Hitomi Yoshizawa as subleader. Her last single was "The Manpower!!!",[42] which sung about the abilities of the human race and was also the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles theme song. The beginning of 2005 also saw the beginning of Musume Document 2005, which covered behind-the-scenes material, historical footage, and interviews.

In February 2005, Tsunku started another audition for Morning Musume's seventh 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 10, 2005, photos were taken of Mari Yaguchi with Shun Oguri (scheduled to be published in a gossip magazine Friday! on the 15th). On April 14, 2005, Yaguchi announced that she would "retire" from Morning Musume and would continue on with solo activities. In her public statement, Yaguchi said that due to the scandal and its publicity, she could no longer sustain an "idol" image befitting of Morning Musume. Because of the nature of her departure, Yaguchi did not receive a leaving concert. Sub-leader Hitomi Yoshizawa took over as the leader of Morning Musume, and Miki Fujimoto became sub-leader as of July 15, 2005.

Just days after Yaguchi resigned, on April 27, 2005, the group's twenty-sixth single, "Osaka Koi no Uta"[43] was released. The final version featured Yaguchi still, presumably because they did not have enough time to rerecord and remix it. The lyrics are in an Osaka dialect. This single was also Rika Ishikawa's last. She left on May 7, 2005, to assume full-time leadership of the Hello! Project trio known as v-u-den.

Kusumi's first single with Morning Musume was July's "Iroppoi Jirettai",[44] a flamenco styled song, which was considered to be the biggest hit of the year—selling around 20,000 more copies than anything else. A 3 city handshake event was organized for the promotion of this single.

Morning Musume's last single of 2005 was "Chokkan 2: Nogashita Sakana wa Ōkiizo!",[45] which was a remake of a previous album-only song about the importance of using your intuition and not taking good things for granted. "Koi wa Hassō Do The Hustle!" was going to be the title track for the single, but due to poor preview results, became the coupling track instead.

On December 31, 2005, former Morning Musume members Mari Yaguchi, Kaori Iida, Natsumi Abe, Yuko Nakazawa, Ai Kago, Nozomi Tsuji, Rika Ishikawa, Maki Goto, and Kei Yasuda joined the current lineup of Morning Musume to perform the group's signature hit "Love Machine" on the 2005/2006 edition of Kōhaku Uta Gassen.[46] The performance was Yaguchi's first since leaving Morning Musume eight and a half months earlier.

2006

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 group to accept the award.[47][48]

In February, the group released their seventh studio album, Rainbow 7.[49] It was the first album for Kusumi and the last for Konno and Ogawa. The album features "The Manpower!!!", "Osaka Koi no Uta", "Iroppoi Jirettai", and "Chokkan 2: Nogashita Sakana wa Ōkiizo!" (in a remixed form). Kaori Iida, Rika Ishikawa and Mari Yaguchi are not credited anywhere in the liner notes although their vocals appear. Three of the songs on the album are performed by smaller clusters of several group members, and are credited in the liner notes to the featured members involved, rather than to the entire group.

In March 2006, "Sexy Boy: Soyokaze ni Yorisotte" was released. It featured an easy-to-learn dance and a parapara style. It was considered to be a relative success.

On April 28, 2006, it was announced by Tsunku from his official website that fifth-generation members Asami Konno and Makoto Ogawa would be leaving the group. Konno graduated on July 23, 2006, to attend University and Ogawa left on August 27, 2006, to study English abroad. Both left Morning Musume, but only Konno left Hello! Project entirely; Ogawa intended to return after completing her studies. However, as of 2007, Konno returned to Hello! Project to join the new group Ongaku Gatas, making it the first time ever that a girl who left Hello! Project actually returned. Ogawa, on the other hand, returned in June 2008 by appearing on an episode of Morning Musume's television show Haromoni@.

Konno and Ogawa's last single was "Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii Jan",[50] which, yet again, featured a parapara type arrangement, with a rock 'n' roll flair. It was the group's 30th single, and a limited-edition CD of all past 30 singles mixed into a thirteen-minute track was included on the first pressing. Unfortunately, sales did not meet the hype, and Ambitious! clocked in as Morning Musume's lowest-selling single yet.

In mid-2006, the group performed the musical Ribbon no Kishi. Ai Takahashi took the main role; the secondary role was played by alternating members. There was also a mini-concert at the end of each performance, which served as Ogawa's real "leaving concert"—the Wonderful Hearts 2006 concert was initially intended for Konno's departure only, although Ogawa wore a special outfit and read her leaving comments as well. As for Ribbon no Kishi, an album with a selection of songs was released: Ribbon no Kishi The Musical Song Selection.[51]

In mid-2006, Tsunku announced the audition for the eighth generation, called Morning Musume Happy 8 Audition. The audition started on August 27, 2006, and ended in Tokyo on October 22, 2006. On December 10, 2006's Hello! Morning, it was announced that the only new member was Aika Mitsui.[52] The show had a piece of audition footage each week leading up to December 10, 2006.

The last single release in 2006 was "Aruiteru",[53] which was a huge hit. It was the first single at the number one spot after 3½ years (their last number one hit being "As for One Day".) The song's lyrics were credited for its success, with lines like "walking, you're not alone because everyone's here with you, praying for peace".[54] It was a bit of a turn from the hyperactive singles the group had been releasing. Tsunku's group, Sharan Q, also made a rock cover of this song.

Their first mini-album, 7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini!,[55] was released in December. It featured five tracks by solo and/or smaller combinations of group members. It also featured the single "Aruiteru".

2007

In early 2007, Morning Musume Tanjō 10nen Kinentai, a unit consisting of Kaori Iida, Natsumi Abe, Maki Goto, Risa Niigaki, and Koharu Kusumi, was created to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Morning Musume. They released a commemorative single called "Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia".[56] The members chosen symbolize the beginning of the group; how they had five members ranging in age from 14–24. Additionally, each member was from an odd-numbered generation (Kaori Iida and Natsumi Abe from the first generation, Maki Goto from the third, Risa Niigaki from the fifth, and Koharu Kusumi from the seventh).

On January 2, 2007, an announcement was made during Hello! Project's 2007 Winter concert that the group's leader at the time Hitomi Yoshizawa would leave Morning Musume on May 6, 2007, the last day of Morning Musume's 2007 spring tour. The concert would take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Yoshizawa's hometown.[57]

In February, the first single with the eighth generation member Aika Mitsui was released, "Egao Yes Nude".[58] This was the first PV of Morning Musume to appear on the Dohhh!Up site (a streaming website of Hello! Project media). The single went up against tougher competition than "Aruiteru" had, only landing them a number four spot, although it sold relatively the same number of copies. The song has a funky, disco feel, and is highly reminiscent of some of the older songs of Morning Musume, most notably Summer Night Town.

On the March 11, 2007, edition of the weekly TV show Hello! Morning, producer Tsunku revealed he would make an important announcement in the following episode. Several days later, on March 15, he announced that two other eighth generation members would be joining the group—Li Chun and Qian Lin, both Chinese nationals, were to join as "exchange students".[59] Tsunku stated the two new members would be an important key for their group's planned expansion into Asia and gave them the stage names "Junjun" and "Linlin" respectively. The two made their stage debut on May 6, at Saitama Super Arena.[60] They were the first non-Japanese members of the group.

On March 21, 2007, the group's eighth studio album, Sexy 8 Beat, was released.[61] It was the first album for Aika Mitsui and the last album for Hitomi Yoshizawa and Miki Fujimoto. It featured the singles "Aruiteru", "Egao Yes Nude", "Sexy Boy: Soyokaze ni Yorisotte", and "Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii Jan".

On April 25, 2007, Morning Musume released their 33rd single, "Kanashimi Twilight".[62] The song style was a huge departure from almost anything Morning Musume had released prior to it, displaying a loud, rock arrangement and the angriest lyrics since Shabondama. This would be the group's last single with members Hitomi Yoshizawa and Miki Fujimoto.

With the success of Kanashimi Twilight, on May 1, 2007, Morning Musume became the "best single selling female group in Japan" with 11,085,000 copies sold—their fifth Oricon record. The achievement surpasses the previous record set by Pink Lady of 11,037,000 copies sold.[1]

On May 6, 2007, Hitomi Yoshizawa left. Miki Fujimoto took her place as leader and Ai Takahashi replaced Fujimoto as sub-leader.

As of June 1, 2007, Miki Fujimoto resigned from Morning Musume, due to the tabloid magazine Friday running an article depicting Fujimoto and comedian Tomoharu Shoji in a relationship.[63][64] Ai Takahashi replaced Fujimoto as leader (a position the latter occupied for the briefest period in the group's history—26 days), and Risa Niigaki became subleader.

Morning Musume's 34th single, "Onna ni Sachi Are", a song with a beatmania style was released on July 25, 2007. It features the debut of new eighth generation members from China, Junjun and Linlin. The single reached number two on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart, with sales of 43,364 copies.

On October 26, 2007, Ai Takahashi, Risa Niigaki, and Koharu Kusumi visited Korea to promote their singles collection album Morning Musume All Singles Complete: 10th Anniversary, which was released on October 24, 2007.[65] Also, Takahashi and Niigaki appeared as special guests in a Korean radio show called Maybee's Turn Up the Volume (메이비의 볼륨을 높여요). Later that same month, on October 29, 2007, all nine members traveled to Taiwan for three days to promote the album.[66] This was the first time Morning Musume held a non-Fan Club promotional event as a group outside Japan. During their visit, they attended press conferences, appeared for radio and TV show recordings, and held the first-ever public handshaking event outside Japan.[67]

November 21, 2007, marked the release of Morning Musume's 35th single, "Mikan". Initial sales were poor for the song. It became the group's lowest-selling single (even lower than the initial indies release of "Ai no Tane", which sold 50,000 copies), both in terms of first week sales and absolute sales figures. As a result, unlike all previous singles, Mikan failed to appear on Oricon's Top 5 Chart, breaking the group's previously held record.

On December 31, 2007, Morning Musume performed in the 58th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen with a remixed version of their song "Love Machine" along with Cute and Berryz Kobo. Similar to the previous Kōhaku, the red team (females) lost to the white team (males) after attaining votes from the viewers and judges.

2008

Ai Takahashi, Eri Kamei, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka participated in the musical Ojigi 30 Degrees at the Shinjuku Theater from February 26 to March 2. Morning Musume's 36th music single, "Resonant Blue", had been announced for release on March 5, 2008, but was postponed until April 16, 2008, because of the busy schedule in the winter/early spring season. Multiple promotional videos were released. With the original, another version, a studio dance shot version, a night scene version, and a one-cut dance version, it makes the most PVs ever released for one single. Also notable is the smoky eye make-up used on the members, a daring new look for Morning Musume as they attempt to expand into Asia.

The management of Morning Musume revealed in an interview in March that they were going to take a new approach to promoting the group, pushing the individual members so that they could do more personal work and become more well known, as was the case in the first line-up of the group.[7]

On April 5, 2008, Morning Musume’s Aika Mitsui complained of a stomach ache after a concert at Hachiōji Citizen Hall. She was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and was ordered to rest for two weeks. Mitsui subsequently missed the concerts on April 12 and 13.[68]

"Resonant Blue", the 36th single, was released on April 16, 2008, after being delayed due to hectic schedules. The single debuted at number two and finished third in the Oricon Weekly ranking. Overall, the single marked a rebound from poor sales of the previous single, "Mikan". In its first week, it sold 48,086 copies, 20,004 copies more than "Mikan" and around 5,000 more copies than Onna ni Sachi Are.

The group held a concert at Taipei Nankang Exhibition Hall, Taiwan, on May 24, 2008. the first time ever for Morning Musume to have a concert outside Japan.

From August 6 to August 25, 2008, Morning Musume performed with several members of the all-female Takarazuka theater troupe in a version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. Ai Takahashi starred in the main role of Cinderella, with Risa Niigaki as the Prince, and Eri Kamei and Reina Tanaka as the stepsisters. The other members performed in minor roles as fairies and guards.

Morning Musume's 37th single, "Pepper Keibu",[69] was released on September 24, 2008. Unlike past singles (with the exception of Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyōtanjima), this song is a cover. It is originally known as Pink Lady's debut single, released in 1976. In the first week of the release, it sold approximately 10,000 copies less than Resonant Blue and 10,000 copies more than Mikan.

Berikyū! and Haromoni@ finished their run and were replaced with Yorosen! (よろセン!)., which began on October 6, 2008. The show starred Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo, and Cute.[70]

2008 was the first year in which there were no changes in Morning Musume's lineup.

2009

Morning Musume released their 38th single on February 18, 2009. This was their first single of 2009, titled "Naichau Kamo". The title translates to "I Might Cry" and was released in two limited versions, A and B, each including a DVD.[71] On March 18, 2009, they released their ninth studio album, called Platinum 9 Disc.[72]

Platinum 9 Tour in spring 2009

Morning Musume released their 39th single, "Shōganai Yume Oibito", on May 13, 2009,[73] attaining a rank of number one on the Oricon weekly chart for the first time since their "Aruiteru" single in late 2006.[74] It also became the group's first number one single to feature eighth generation members Aika Mitsui, Junjun, and Linlin.[75]

Following the success of "Shōganai Yume Oibito",[73] the group released their 40th single, "Nanchatte Renai", on August 12. Because "Nanchatte Renai" was the group's 40th single, a commemorative edition was released along with the usual regular edition plus two limited editions. The commemorative edition has a different c/w track on it than the regular and limited editions. The group hadn't had two different c/ws since their 4th single, "Memory Seishun no Hikari" in 1999, which has two c/w tracks in one edition. The single came in at number two on the Oricon chart, only behind the new single of powerhouse Ayumi Hamasaki, Sunrise/Sunset (Love Is All). This single marked their best opening week since "Iroppoi Jirettai" in 2005.

Their latest Greatest Hits Album (B-side collection album) was released featuring all B-side songs from their debut single to 40th single on 3 discs.

Morning Musume released their 41st single, "Kimagure Princess", on October 28, 2009. There are four versions of the single (Regular, Limited A, B, and C). This marked the first time a Morning Musume single released a C version. The C version contained 10 interchangeable covers, much like 30th single "Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii Jan", which came with 10 different covers.

The announcement was made that 7th Generation member Koharu Kusumi would leave Morning Musume and Hello! Project on December 6, after the first performance of Morning Musume's Fall Concert Tour 2009 Nine Smile, in order to pursue a modelling career.[76][77] This was the first departure since fourth-generation member Hitomi Yoshizawa in 2007, ending the longest stable line-up for Morning Musume.

2010

Morning Musume released their 42nd single, "Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai", on February 10, 2010[78] It was released in four versions: Regular, and Limited A, B, and C. This was the group's first single released with the new eight-member lineup, following the departure of seventh generation member Koharu Kusumi. Their tenth album, 10 My Me, was released on March 17. Their forty-third single, "Seishun Collection", was released on June 9.[79]

On August 8, producer Tsunku announced at that day's concert, and later on his blog, that sixth-generation member Eri Kamei and eighth generation members Junjun and Linlin would be gleaving Morning Musume at the end of the autumn tour, and that the ninth-generation audition would be held later in the year.[80] The triple departure left Morning Musume temporarily at five members for the first time since its creation. Kamei stated that the reason for her leaving was to spend more time on the treatment of her atopic dermatitis, a chronic form of eczema, while Junjun and Linlin left to pursue careers in China. JunJun and LinLin's departure would make them the first Morning Musume members to leave during the same generation they joined in.

Morning Musume's 44th single, "Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game", was released on November 24, and Morning Musume's eleventh studio album, Fantasy! Jūichi, was released on December 1. These were the last single and album to feature Kamei, Junjun and Linlin and the album contains only two singles. On December 15, the last day of the autumn tour, Eri Kamei, Junjun and Linlin left Morning Musume and Hello! Project.

In 2010, It was announced that a new group has been created, "Dream Morning Musume", consisting of former-Morning Musume members: Yuko Nakazawa, Kaori Iida, Natsumi Abe, Kei Yasuda, Mari Yaguchi, Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Makoto Ogawa, Miki Fujimoto, Koharu Kusumi. They released an album titled DoriMusu 1 which consisted of two new songs, as well as remakes of older Morning Musume songs.

2011

The three audition winners, Riho Sayashi, Kanon Suzuki and Erina Ikuta, were announced on stage by Tsunku at the Hello! Project 2011 Winter: Kangei Shinsen Matsuri concert on January 2, 2011. He then announced that Mizuki Fukumura, a Hello! Pro Egg, would also be joining Morning Musume.[81]

On January 9, also at the Winter concert, it was announced that leader Ai Takahashi would be leaving Morning Musume and Hello! Project at the group's Autumn 2011 concert. The decision came after Tsunku suggested that Takahashi should consider leaving soon. After Takahashi's departure, Risa Niigaki took over her role as leader, and Sayumi Michishige took over as sub-leader. Takahashi continued her musical and theatre careers after leaving.[82]

On February 3, 2011, Morning Musume's 45th single, "Maji Desu ka Ska!", was announced. The single was set to be released on March 23, 2011; however, due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the single was postponed until April 6.[83] The new single reached number 5 on the Oricon weekly charts.

Morning Musume 46th single, "Only You", was released on June 15, 2011. There were five versions to the single: Regular, Limited A, Limited B, Limited C, and Limited D. The single reached number 4 on the Oricon Weekly charts.

On April 13, Morning Musume launched a weekly 1-hour Ustream show called UstreaMusume. On their official website, there is an e-mail provided, so fans can submit questions, messages and requests.[84]

It was announced May 8 that 10th Generation Audition "Genkijirushi" submissions were starting until June 13.[85]

During the summer, Morning Musume did a Fanclub Tour in Hawaii from July 20–26.[86]

On September 14, Morning Musume released their 47th single.[87] This was the previous leader, Ai Takahashi's last single with Morning Musume after a tenure of 10 years with the group. In order to celebrate Ai Takahashi's long career with Morning Musume, their 47th single was released as a double A sides. This is the first time in history that Morning Musume has purposely done a double A side single. There were five versions of the single: Regular, Limited A, Limited B, Limited C and Limited D. The single names were as follows: "Kono Chikyū no Heiwa o Honki de Negatterun Da yo! / Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!" as the double A side and Takahashi's solo song was revealed as "Jishin Motte Yume o Motte Tobitatsu Kara". The 47th single reached number 2 on the Oricon daily and weekly charts.

On September 29, the second last day of the fall tour and the day before Ai Takahashi's departure, Tsunku announced the four winners of the tenth-generation audition, Haruna Iikubo, Ayumi Ishida, Masaki Sato, and Haruka Kudo from Hello! Pro Egg.[88][89][90] This brings the group to 12 members, excluding Ai Takahashi, which is the highest number of group members since late-2004 and early-2005 before Iida Kaori's departure. On September 30, Takahashi left, handing over her position as leader of Morning Musume and Hello! Project to Risa Niigaki.[91]

2012: One Two Three / The Matenrou Show & the 11th generation

It was announced on January 2 that new leader Risa Niigaki would leave Morning Musume and Hello! Project on the last day of their spring concert tour, May 18, at the Nippon Budokan. The tour started on February 19. Niigaki's successor was not announced, but Sayumi Michishige had expressed her desire to be the next leader.[92]

Morning Musume's 49th single, "Renai Hunter", was released on April 11, 2012. This was Risa Niigaki's last single in Morning Musume and it came in Limited A, B, C, and D editions and also had a solo cover song by Risa called Egao Ni Namida, originally sung by Matsuura Aya. It was also the last single to feature Aika Mitsui.

On May 4, Aika Mitsui announced that she would leave Morning Musume, due to an unhealed stress fracture in her left foot. She left along with Niigaki at Nippon Budokan on May 18. Sayumi Michishige was declared as the new leader at the concert,[93] along with the announcement of the 11th generation 'Suppin Utahime' audition.[94]

On July 4, Morning Musume's 50th single, "One Two Three / The Matenrou Show" was released, and sold 56,139 copies on its first day, charting at number 2. These first-day sales surpassed the first week sales of all Morning Musume singles since 'Iroppoi Jirettai' in 2005. The single came in seven different editions: Regular, Limited A and Limited B (featuring sixth-generation), Limited C and D (featuring ninth-generation) and Limited E and Limited F (featuring tenth-generation). The Limited A, B, C, D, E and F had tracks featuring the respective generations.

"One Two Three/The Matenrou Show" placed at number 3 weekly, selling over 100,000 copies in its first week, thus becoming the group's first single since "Koko ni Iruzee!" (released in 2002) to sell over 100,000 units in its first week, as well as first single since "Ai Araba It's All Right" (2004) to sell over 100,000 units total and receive a gold certification. This also became the group's 50th top-ten single, breaking their own previous record of 49 singles and becoming the first artist to do so.

Morning Musume's 13th album, 13 Colorful Character, was released on September 12.

On September 14, 2012, at Morning Musume's 15th Anniversary Concert Tour Rehearsal, Hello! Project producer Tsunku, announced the winner of the 'Morning Musume 11th Generation Suppin Utahime Auditions'. Sakura Oda was chosen out of 7,000 applicants and was the only one out of the six finalists to be chosen making her the third sole generation of Morning Musume, previously being Maki Goto (third-generation) and Koharu Kusumi (seventh-generation).

2013

Morning Musume's 52nd single would be called "Help me!!" was released on January 23, 2013, and was the first single to feature eleventh-generation member Sakura Oda. It was Morning Musume's first single since "Shouganai Yume Oibito" in 2009 to achieve the weekly number 1 spot on the Oricon charts. On February 28, a loose shot version of a new song titled "Brainstorming" was posted onto YouTube, a few days later a dance shot version of another new song titled "Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai" was also posted. It was then confirmed that both tracks would be released as a double A-side single on April 17.

On March 16, Tsunku announced the twelfth-generation audition, called 'Morning Musume Mirai Shoujo audition'. On August 4, he announced that no one had passed the audition. He stated that this was partly due to the level of talent being lower than necessary, and partly due to the recent success of the current line-up. All audition finalists were accepted into the Hello!Project Kenshuusei program.

Morning Musume '14

On January 1, Morning Musume began the new year with their new group name, Morning Musume '14. On January 21, Tsunku announced at the au Presentation Spring 2014 that Morning Musume would be part of a commercial along with comedians Morisanchuu, forming a new unit called Morimusu. On January 29, Morning Musume '14 released their 55th single, "Egao no Kimi wa Taiyo sa / Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai / What is Love?". This was their first single released as Morning Musume '14. The single peaked at number 1 on the Oricon charts, becoming their fourth number 1 single in a row – the longest streak of number ones in the group's history. In February, Morning Musume cheered and sang an official song produced by Tsunku, titled "Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai", for the 2014 Sochi Olympics Japanese Team.

On April 16, Morning Musume '14 released their 56th single, "Toki o Koe Sora wo Koe / Password is 0", which also peaked at number 1 on the Oricon weekly chart. On April 29, during the Morning Musume '14 Concert Tour Haru: Evolution concert held in Yamaguchi, Sayumi Michishige announced that she would be leaving the group at their fall 2014 concert tour. On August 16, it was announced that the last date of the tour would take place on November 26, 2014 at Yokohama Arena.

The 12th-generation members were officially revealed on September 30. They were Haruna Ogata, Miki Nonaka, Maria Makino, and Akane Haga.

On October 15, Morning Musume '14 released their 57th single, "Tiki Bun / Shabadaba Dū / Mikaeri Bijin". It was the final single featuring sixth-generation member Sayumi Michishige. On November 26, Michishige left Morning Musume during the concert "Aki Give Me More Love: Michishige Sayumi Sotsugyo Kinen Special". Mizuki Fukumura was appointed new leader and Erina Ikuta joined Haruna Iikubo as sub-leaders.

Morning Musume '15

On January 1, 2015 Morning Musume '14 changed their name to Morning Musume '15. Announced on February 9, 2015, Morning Musume '15 performed the "Ima Koko Kara" (イマココカラ, Starting From Here) for the Pretty Cure All Stars: Spring Carnival movie that aired a month later. Haruna Iikubo, Ayumi Ishida, and Sakura Oda provide their voices in the movie for the role of a trio of spirits that they designed themselves. On February 14, 2015, it was announced that Haruna Iikubo would be the official mentor to the 12th generation, bringing back the mentor system.. On October 29, 2015, it was announced that Sayashi Riho will be graduated from Morning Musume '15 on December 31, 2015 during the countdown live. In October 2015, YouTube blocked UP-FRONT GROUP Co., Ltd.'s videos and related videos in many Western countries including the United States due to YouTube Red contract issues. (UP-FRONT GROUP Co., Ltd is the holdings company involved in Hello Project and Morning Musume.) The issue was later resolved when UP-FRONT worked out a solution with YouTube. Morning Musume ’15 released their new single "Tsumetai Kaze to Katamoi / ENDLESS SKY / One and Only" on 29th December 2015. It is a triple A-side single and was Riho’s last single as a member of Morning Musume ’15. "One and Only" was the first Morning Musume song to be sung completely in English.

Morning Musume '16

On January 1, 2016, Morning Musume '15 renamed to Morning Musume '16. On January 2, Morning Musume '16 Shinseki Audition was announced during the Hello! Project 2016 WINTER ~DANCING! SINGING! EXCITING!~ concert, to look for the 13th Generation members. In March, Morning Musume will have their first concert with the new name. On February 7, Kanon Suzuki announced she will graduate from Morning Musume '16 and Hello! Project at the end of the Morning Musume '16 Spring Concert Tour Haru ~EMOTION IN MOTION~. On February 26 to February 28, 2016, Morning Musume '16 will be main guests at Anime Matsuri in Houston, Texas to celebrate the convention's 10th anniversary.

Life in the group

The audition process has been described by Ai Takahashi as involving a training camp of three days and two nights, in which participants were expected to learn a new song, a dance routine and a script.[7]

The girls are afforded three holidays a year of five days each, in winter, summer and for New Year's.[7]

In the past, the group has always had a leader and sub-leader, though neither comes with any responsibility. Takahashi has said that the role merely includes encouraging the others to do their best, while Niigaki has said that as sub-leader, "there is nothing I have to do, but I want to support [the leader]".[7]

Activities outside Japan

In addition to already having official fan clubs in Taiwan and South Korea, Hello! Project and Morning Musume began actively extending its fanbase outside Japan and primarily into the rest of Asia starting from the middle of 2007 and into 2008.

In March 2007, Morning Musume inducted its first two non-Japanese members from China, Li Chun (Junjun) of Hunan and Qian Lin (Linlin) of Hangzhou. The duo left in 2010 after the group failed to break into China due to piracy levels, leading to the group focusing on European and American fans and performing at anime EXPOs.[7]

In addition to the unveiling of Hello! Project's Taiwanese website in 2007, Hello! Project has also launched the Taiwan H.P. New Star Audition as well; an audition aimed at recruiting new members to join Hello! Project as Hello Pro Egg members.[95][96] At this audition, Morning Musume also performed as well.

Morning Musume also held their 10th Anniversary Live Tour in Korea in June 2008.[97]

In France, Morning Musume music videos are aired on a television channel called Nolife, a channel that features video games and Japanese music.[98]

On February 12, 2009, it was announced that Morning Musume would be performing in the United States at the 2009 Anime Expo, the nation's largest anime convention, as one of the first official guests of honor.[99] Niigaki stated that "The movies that Disney makes are full of dreams, but when I have children, I'd like them to know about war, the pain of death and such things, so I hope they will watch anime."[99]

It was also announced that "3, 2, 1 Breakin' Out!", the coupling track of their upcoming single "Shōganai Yume Oibito", would be the official theme song for Anime Expo 2009.[100] The convention was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California on July 2 to July 5.[101]

On Friday, July 1, 2010, Morning Musume made their first appearance at the Japan Expo 2010 in Paris, France as guest of honor.[102] "Tomo", the coupling track to the group's 43rd single, "Seishun Collection", was the event's theme song.[103]

On Sunday, October 5, 2014, Morning Musume '14 made their first appearance at the Best Buy Theater in New York City, New York.[104] The concert was sponsored by New York Comic Con. Of the experience Sayumi Michishige shares "We had an overwhelming welcome from the New York fans, and we really could feel that they've really been waiting for us all along. It made us very happy." [105]

Discography

Milestones

Subgroups

Morning Musume Subgroups are groups founded by active members (with the exception of the 10th Anniversary Group - Tanjō 10nen Kinentai), and should not to be mistaken with shuffles units or other separate groups of Hello! Project.

Splinter groups

See also

References

All Up-Front Works discography pages are in Japanese.

  1. 1 2 3 "AKB48、女性歌手初の6作連続ミリオン　33年半ぶり新記録" (in Japanese). Oricon. February 21, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  2. ↑ "J-Pop's dream factory". The Guardian. 2005-08-21.
    "Morning Musume not ready to graduate yet". The Japan Times. 2009-03-13.
    Setsuko Kamiya (2002-09-29). "Morning Musume: It’s a family affair". The Japan Times.
  3. ↑ Alisa Freedman,Laura Miller,Christine Yano (2013-04-17). Modern Girls on the Go: Gender, Mobility, and Labor in Japan. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0804781145.
    Brian Ashcraft (2014-05-14). Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential: How Teenage Girls Made a Nation Cool. Tuttle Publishing (1st Edition: Kodansha International Ltd., 2010-07-01, ISBN 978-4770031150). ASIN B00J75N5BA.
  4. ↑ Ai Takahashi (2011-04-25). "高橋愛ブログ記事". Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  5. ↑ Hello! Project Official Site
  6. 1 2 De View (2012-07-28). モーニング娘。13枚目ニューアルバム9月発売、そしてメンバー・飯窪春菜から重大(!?)発表 (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2012-07-29.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Robert Michael Poole (2009-03-13). "Morning Musume not ready to graduate yet". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  8. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Morning Coffee
  9. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Summer Night Town
  10. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Daite Hold on Me!
  11. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – First Time
  12. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Memory Seishun no Hikari
  13. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Manatsu no Kōsen
  14. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Furusato
  15. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Second Morning
  16. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Love Machine
  17. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Koi no Dance Site
  18. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – 3rd-Love Paradise
  19. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Happy Summer Wedding
  20. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – I Wish
  21. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Renai Revolution 21
  22. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – The Peace!
  23. ↑ J-Pop's dream factory
  24. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Best! Morning Musume 1
  25. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Mr. Moonlight: Ai no Big Band
  26. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Souda! We’re Alive
  27. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Do It! Now
  28. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – 4th Ikimasshoi!
  29. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Koko ni Iruzee
  30. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyōtanjima
  31. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – As for One Day
  32. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – No.5
  33. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Shabondama
  34. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Go Girl: Koi no Victory
  35. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Ai Araba It's All Right
  36. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Roman: My Dear Boy
  37. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari
  38. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Best! Morning Musume 2
  39. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Namida ga Tomaranai Hōkago
  40. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Morning Musume Early Single Box
  41. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Ai no Dai 6 Kan
  42. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – The Manpower!!!
  43. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Osaka Koi no Uta
  44. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Iroppoi Jirettai
  45. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Chokkan 2: Nogashita Sakana wa Ōkiizo!
  46. ↑ Cult of Pop » Hello! Project’s Kouhaku Medley
  47. ↑ "Ikimasshoi".
  48. ↑ (Japanese) MSN Mainichi Interactive
  49. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Rainbow 7
  50. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii Jan
  51. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Ribbon no Kishi The Musical Song Selection
  52. ↑ つんく♂オフィシャルコメント
  53. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Aruiteru
  54. ↑ (Japanese) BARKS - news article on Aruiteru
  55. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – 7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini!
  56. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Bokura ga Ikiru My Asia
  57. ↑ Hello! Project -Official Site- (Japanese)
  58. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Egao Yes Nude
  59. ↑ Official Hello! Project site news
  60. ↑ 兩名中國女孩加盟日本流行組合"早安少女組" (in Chinese). 2007-03-16.
  61. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Sexy 8 Beat
  62. ↑ Up-Front Works Discography – Kanashimi Twilight
  63. ↑ "Nikkan Sports" (in Japanese). 2007-06-01.
  64. ↑ "Yahoo! News Japan" (in Japanese). 2007-06-01.
  65. ↑ "J Pop Band Morning Musume to Visit Korea". KBS. Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  66. ↑ "早安今抵台 彩繪巴士勾粉絲". Liberty Times. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
  67. ↑ "早安握手會 千名粉絲捧銀票捧場". Liberty Times. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  68. ↑ "Morning Musume announcement about Aika Mitsui" (in Japanese). Hello! Project. 2008-04-11.
  69. ↑ "Pepper Keibu" (in Japanese). Hello! Project.
  70. ↑ "Crunchyroll - Yorosen!". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  71. ↑ "Naichau Kamo" (in Japanese). Hello! Project.
  72. ↑ "Platinum 9 Disc" (in Japanese). Up-Front Works.
  73. 1 2 "Shōganai Yume Oibito" (in Japanese). Hello! Project.
  74. ↑ ＜モーニング娘。＞２年半ぶりのオリコン１位、３９枚目「しょうがない　夢追い人」で (in Japanese). Yahoo!. 2009-05-19. Archived from the original on 2009-05-19.
  75. ↑ 8期メンバーで初、モーニング娘。が2年半ぶりに首位獲得 (in Japanese). Oricon Style. 2009-05-19.
  76. ↑ "Regarding 7th Generation Morning Musume Member "Kusumi Koharu"" (in Japanese). Hello! Project Official Fanclub. 2009-09-19. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
  77. ↑ Kusumi, Koharu. "To all Hello! Project Official Fanclub Members" (in Japanese). Hello! Project Official Fanclub. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
  78. ↑ "Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai" (in Japanese). Hello! Project.
  79. ↑ "[CD] 青春コレクション [通常盤] / モーニング娘。". Neowing. 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  80. ↑ "Junjun, Linlin and Kamei to Graduate from Morning Musume". Tokyohive. 2010-08-08. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  81. ↑ "9th Generation Members Revealed". Tokyofever via Hello!Project. 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
  82. ↑ "Ai Takahashi Graduating Morning Musume". Tokyofever via Hello!Project. 2011-01-09. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  83. ↑ "新譜リリース延期について (About Postponement of New Releases)" (in Japanese). 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2011-03-18.
  84. ↑ "Morning Musume to have weekly Ustream show". Asia Pacific Arts. 04/12/2011. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  85. ↑ Archived August 9, 2011 at the Wayback Machine
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1998 		Succeeded by
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