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Morning Musume

From generasia
Morning Musume '24 promoting "Nandaka Sentimental na Toki no Uta / SaiKIYOU" (2024)

Morning Musume (モーニング娘。), currently known as Morning Musume '24 (Two-Four), is a Japanese pop girl group managed by Up-Front Promotion and part of Hello! Project as its flagship group. They are also known as "Momusu" (モー娘。) for short, and have adopted the name "Jou An Sao Nu Jou" (pinyin: Zǎo Ān Shào Nǚ Zǔ; traditional Chinese: 早安少女組。) for the Chinese market. Starting in 2014, Morning Musume's name reflects the present year as a way to help audiences identify members over the group's history.

Morning Musume was formed in 1997 on the talent show ASAYAN and produced by Sharam Q vocalist Tsunku, who was responsible for a majority of production elements from composition of songs and lyrics to designing CD-sleeve covers and costumes and make-up for live shows. Tsunku stepped down as producer of Hello! Project in 2014, but still writes their songs and lyrics. Morning Musume quickly became, and still remains, one of Japan's top all-girl groups with a number of hit records and albums. They have sold over 17,746,446 copies in Japan alone. The group has been known for its ever-changing line-ups, with auditions and graduations creating different styles and dynamics to their music and performances.

Members

Current Members

Member History

First Generation (1997)
Second Generation (1998)
Third Generation (1999)
  • Goto Maki (後藤真希, graduated September 23, 2002)
Fourth Generation (2000)
Fifth Generation (2001)
  • Takahashi Ai (高橋愛, graduated September 30, 2011) (Yellow)
  • Konno Asami (紺野あさ美, graduated July 23, 2006) (Light Pink)
  • Ogawa Makoto (小川麻琴, graduated August 27, 2006) (Blue)
  • Niigaki Risa (新垣里沙, graduated May 18, 2012) (Yellow-Green)
Sixth Generation (2003)
  • Fujimoto Miki (藤本美貴, left June 1, 2007) (Red)
  • Kamei Eri (亀井絵里, graduated December 15, 2010) (Orange)
  • Michishige Sayumi (道重さゆみ, graduated November 26, 2014) (LemonPink)
  • Tanaka Reina (田中れいな, graduated May 21, 2013) (Light Blue)
Seventh Generation (2005)
  • Kusumi Koharu (久住小春, graduated December 6, 2009) (GreyRed)
Eighth Generation (2006/2007)
  • Mitsui Aika (光井愛佳, graduated May 18, 2012) (Lavender)
  • Junjun (ジュンジュン, graduated December 15, 2010) (Blue)
  • Linlin (リンリン, graduated December 15, 2010) (Emerald Green)
Ninth Generation (2011)
Tenth Generation (2011)
  • Iikubo Haruna (飯窪春菜, graduated December 16, 2018) (ChocolateHoney)
  • Ishida Ayumi (石田亜佑美) (Royal Blue)
  • Sato Masaki (佐藤優樹, graduated December 13, 2021) (Emerald Green)
  • Kudo Haruka (工藤遥, graduated December 11, 2017) (Orange)
Eleventh Generation (2012)
Twelfth Generation (2014)
Thirteenth Generation (2016)
Fourteenth Generation (2017)
Fifteenth Generation (2019)
Sixteenth Generation (2022)
Seventeenth Generation (2023)

History

1997–1999

Morning Musume's origins began with Sharam Q's auditions to find a female vocalist, broadcasted on ASAYAN. Although the winner was Heike Michiyo, band member Tsunku called back five of the finalists - Nakazawa Yuko, Ishiguro Aya, Iida Kaori, Abe Natsumi, and Fukuda Asuka - and proposed to them a challenge. If the five could sell 50,000 copies of their debut single, "Ai no Tane", in five days, they will be given a record deal, and their group is named Morning Musume. The challenge was completed, and the group began preparing for their major debut, starting with the single "Morning Coffee" in early 1998.

Not long after, Tsunku announced that three new members would be added to the group, and emerging from the auditions were Yasuda Kei, Yaguchi Mari, and Ichii Sayaka, known as the group's second generation. The group's debut album, First Time, was released, and was followed up by "Daite HOLD ON ME!", which became Morning Musume's first single to hit #1 on the Oricon charts.

1999 began with Morning Musume's first graduation, that of Fukuda Asuka, who decided to return to her studies. Now with only seven members, the group released two more singles, "Manatsu no Kousen" and "Furusato", which was followed by their second album, Second Morning. However, these releases performed poorly sales-wise, and so it was time to add in new members. Although the audition was expected to find two more members, only the young Goto Maki was chosen, and as an eight-piece group again, Morning Musume released their seventh single, "LOVE Machine". The single went on to sell over one million copies, becoming the group's best-selling single to date. Goto quickly became a fan favorite as well as a prominent face within the group.

2000–2002

The new millenium began with Ishiguro Aya's departure from the group, where she would pursue a career in fashion design. Although at seven members again, "Koi no Dance Site" was still a superb follow-up to "LOVE Machine", being the only other single to sell over one million copies. The follow-up album, 3rd -LOVE Paradise-, is also their best-selling original album to date. In the spring, four new members were added - Ishikawa Rika, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Tsuji Nozomi, and Kago Ai - known as the fourth generation. A month after the release of their CD debut, "Happy Summer Wedding", Ichii Sayaka graduated from the group, to pursue her own career in music.

2002–2004

The group's first single for the year, "Souda! We're ALIVE", became their third consecutive #1 single on the Oricon charts. That streak was broken by "Do it! Now", which only reached #3. Not surprisingly, it was the last single for Goto Maki, who graduated from the group in September to continue her solo career. However, the single "Koko ni Iruzee!" managed to reach #1. Near the end of the year, it was announced that Fujimoto Miki, a fellow solo artist in Hello! Project, would be added to Morning Musume's sixth generation. The Morning Musume LOVE Audition 2002 decided three more members to join Fujimoto, and they were Kamei Eri, Michishige Sayumi, and Tanaka Reina.

Although the sixth generation was announced at the beginning of 2003, they did not make their proper debut until Yasuda Kei's graduation in May. The single "Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutanjima" was the group's first cover. After the group's fifth album, No.5, and the single "AS FOR ONE DAY", which reached #1 on the Oricon charts, Yasuda graduated from Morning Musume. This marked the time where Morning Musume had the most number of members, at sixteen before Yasuda's departure. Now at fifteen members, the sixth generation made their CD debut with the single "Shabondama". With so many members, Morning Musume had formed two "splinter" groups, known as Morning Musume Otomegumi and Morning Musume Sakuragumi, to promote activities separately and in smaller numbers. The year-end single "Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~" also coincided with the formation of Hello! Project's futsal team, Gatas Brilhantes H.P..

In 2004, after the release of the single "Ai Araba IT'S ALL RIGHT", Abe Natsumi graduated from Morning Musume to continue her solo career.

2005–2009

2005 opened with a new single, "THE Manpower!!!", and the graduation of Iida Kaori, which took place on January 30, 2005, at the conclusion of Hello! Project's winter tour. Yaguchi Mari became leader and Yoshizawa Hitomi became sub-leader. In February, the Morning Musume Lucky 7 Audition took place, where Tsunku described his search for an "ace" member that would represent the seventh generation. Surprisingly, no new members turned up, but after the follow-up Morning Musume Audition 2005, Kusumi Koharu was selected, and she was inducted into the group in May. Incidentally in April, Yaguchi was caught in a scandal, and in response, she left the group without a proper graduation, though the single "Osaka Koi no Uta" was still released even after this announcement. Yoshizawa became leader and Fujimoto Miki became sub-leader. Ishikawa Rika graduated from the group at the conclusion of their 2005 spring tour, and would continue on as the leader of v-u-den. Now with a ten-member line-up that included Kusumi, Morning Musume released their twenty-seventh single, "Iroppoi Jirettai".

In 2006, Morning Musume released their seventh original album, Rainbow 7, and followed up with their twenty-ninth single, "SEXY BOY ~Soyokaze ni Yorisotte~". During their spring tour, it was announced that Konno Asami and Ogawa Makoto would graduate from the group, both members to further pursue their studies. Konno graduated from Hello! Project on July 23, at the conclusion of Hello! Project's summer tour. During the month of August, the remaining Morning Musume members starred with v-u-den, Abe Natsumi, Tsuji Nozomi, Matsuura Aya, and Takarazuka Revue in Ribbon no Kishi The Musical, an adaptation of Tezuka Osamu's manga. Ogawa graduated at the end of its run on August 27, and took an indefinite hiatus from Hello! Project appearances. With only eight members in the line-up, the Morning Musume Happy 8ki Audition commenced, running from August to December. In that time, Morning Musume's thirty-first single, "Aruiteru", reached #1 on the Oricon charts, a title unachieved ever since "AS FOR ONE DAY" in 2003. At the end of the year, Mitsui Aika was added into the group, and at the 58th Kouhaku Uta Gassen, Morning Musume performed a medley with GAM.

2007 marked Morning Musume's tenth anniversary, and a special group was formed, named Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai, to begin promotional activities throughout the year. Yoshizawa Hitomi's graduation was also announced. As spring season came about, Mitsui's CD debut was on the single "Egao YES Nude", and the group released their eighth original album, SEXY 8 BEAT. In March, Tsunku made a surprise announcement on Hello! Morning - two members from China, Junjun and Linlin, would be joining the eighth generation as "exchange students." Currently, those two are the only non-Japanese members to have been part of the group. After the release of the single "Kanashimi Twilight", Yoshizawa graduated on May 6, and Fujimoto Miki and Takahashi Ai took the positions of leader and sub-leader. However, no less than a month later, Fujimoto was caught in scandal - a scene quite parallel to Yaguchi Mari's departure two years back - and she left the group, in addition to taking a temporary hiatus from Hello! Project appearances following her spring concert tour with GAM. Takahashi and Niigaki Risa became leader and sub-leader, now fronting a line-up of nine, beginning with the single "Onna ni Sachi Are". In the autumn season, Morning Musume released their biggest singles compilation to date, a double album featuring all thirty-four singles, with the album covers being recreations of the covers for "Morning Coffee", their debut single, and "LOVE Machine", their best-selling single. The year was concluded with the release of the single "Mikan" and the appearance at the 58th Kouhaku Uta Gassen. Morning Musume performed a special medley with Berryz Kobo and °C-ute under the name "Hello Pro Wonderful All Stars". However, it was their last appearance on the show to date, thus breaking their consecutive ten-year streak.

Morning Musume released their first 2008 single, "Resonant Blue", and continued their 10th anniversary promotions with their spring concert tour, which had a set list containing all their singles to date. In addition to performing in Japan, the group had special stopovers in Shanghai, China and Seoul, South Korea, to further promote the expansion into Asia. For the summer season, Morning Musume collaborated with Takarazuka Revue again to perform Cinderella The Musical, an adaptation of Rogers and Hammerstein's musical with lyrics translated into Japanese. During the autumn season, the group began a series of tributes to legendary songwriter Aku Yuu. Takahashi and Niigaki portrayed Pink Lady in a special titled Hitmaker Aku Yuu Monogatari. The group's thirty-seventh single, "Pepper Keibu", was a cover of the famous Pink Lady song. To top it off, a tribute album titled COVER YOU was released, featuring covers of famous Aku Yuu-penned hits. 2008 marked the first year where there were no changes in Morning Musume's line-up.

2009 was a year teeming with activity. The group released their thirty-eighth single, "Naichau Kamo", and their ninth original album, Platinum 9 DISC. The album was followed up with the single "Shouganai Yume Oibito", which reached #1 on the Oricon charts. Its coupling track, "3, 2, 1 BREAKIN' OUT!", was the theme song for Anime Expo 2009 in Los Angeles, California, which Morning Musume attended as Guests of Honor and which marked their first performance in North America (not counting their fan club visits in Hawaii). The group's fortieth single, "Nanchatte Renai", reached #2 only to Hamasaki Ayumi's "Sunrise / Sunset ~LOVE is ALL~", but was an achievement in sales; selling over 70,000 copies, a feat unachieved since 2005. However, the year concluded with Kusumi Koharu's graduation from Hello! Project, which took place on December 6. "Kimagure Princess" was the last single to feature Morning Musume's most stable line-up.

2010–2014

2010 progressed almost like the year before. The eight-member Morning Musume released their forty-second single, "Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai", followed by their tenth original album, 10 MY ME, only a month later. In the spring, Morning Musume attended the Japan Expo 2010 in Paris, France, marking their first performance in Europe. The theme song for the event was "Tomo", the coupling track to their forty-third single "Seishun Collection", which in turn was the theme song for Morning Musume's musical during June, titled Fashionable. However, a surprising twist was made during the summer. Kamei Eri, Junjun, and Linlin would be graduating from Hello! Project, Kamei to tend to her atopic dermatitis and Junjun and Linlin to pursue careers in China. In turn, auditions commenced for the group's ninth generation, who would make their debut at the start of the new year. After another single, "Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game", and another album, Fantasy! Juuichi, the triple graduation took place on December 15.

Morning Musume's ninth generation was introduced in January. Ikuta Erina, Sayashi Riho, and Suzuki Kanon were the winners selected from the audition, while Fukumura Mizuki made her debut from Hello! Pro Egg. However, only a week later, Takahashi Ai's graduation from Hello! Project was announced, to occur at the end of September. In turn, auditions commenced for Morning Musume's tenth generation. The ninth generation made their CD debut with the single "Maji Desu ka Ska!", which was followed by "Only you", and "Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!", the final single for Takahashi. This line-up would still be featured on their twelfth original album, 12, Smart, released in October.

The tenth generation members were introduced on September 29th. Iikubo Haruna Ishida Ayumi Sato Masaki & Kudo Haruka were introduced the day before then leader Takahashi Ai graduated and appeared again in the final and gave their graduation messages to Ai and also sang with the existing members. Their addition makes the group stand at 12 members, the largest the group has been since 2005. Once Takahashi graduated, she passed leadership of both Morning Musume and Hello! Project to Niigaki Risa her fellow 5th generation member. This now makes Risa the longest serving member of the group and the 1st member to go from youngest in the group at entering to becoming leader. The Tenth generation made their CD debut with the single "Pyocopyoco Ultra", followed by "Renai Hunter", Risa's last single.

On January 3, 2012, at the beginning of the Hello! Project 2012 Winter concert tours, Risa announced her graduation from Morning Musume and Hello! Project, to take place at the end of the 2012 Morning Musume Spring concert tour. Her leadership of Morning Musume will be passed on to Michishige Sayumi after she graduates. Risa stated that she originally planned to graduate at the same time as Takahashi Ai, but decided to stay for a while longer after the tenth generation members were introduced. It was suddenly announced on May 4, 2012 that Mitsui Aika would graduate from Morning Musume, but not Hello! Project, alongside Niigaki Risa at the end of the 2012 Morning Musume Spring concert tour due to worries over possible repeat injury to her ankle.

on July 4th, Morning Musume released their 50th single "One Two Three", the first single released under the leadership of Michishige Sayumi. It became the highest selling single since 2003, selling over 100,000 copies.

On September 14th, Morning Musume held a 15th anniversary event which was a special rehearsal of their upcoming concert tour open to the fans. The eleventh generation was announced at the event, and Oda Sakura, was introduced. Morning Musume released their 51st single "Wakuteka Take a chance" on October 10th.

On January 19th, 2014, Michishige Sayumi and Tanaka Reina have been in Morning Musume for 10 years.

On January 23rd, Morning Musume released their 52nd single Help me!!", the debut single for eleventh generation Oda Sakura. The single reached #1 on the Oricon weekly charts.

On April 17th, Morning Musume released their 53rd single, a double A-side, "Brainstorming / Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai" and reached #1 on the Oricon weekly charts. This would be the last single for Tanaka Reina.

On May 21, 2013 Tanaka Reina graduated from Morning Musume and Hello! Project, with her focus shifting to the new band Lovendor. After Reina's graduation 9th generation member Fukumura Mizuki and 10th generation member Iikubo Haruna became joint sub-leaders.

On September 12, Their 54th single "Wagamama Ki no Mama Ai no Joke / Ai no Gundan" ranked #1 on the first week of sales. It is the highest selling Hello! Project single of 2013. And it became Morning Musume's highest selling single since "Koko ni Iruzee!".

On January 1st, 2014, Morning Musume changed their to name to Morning Musume '14 (One Four).

On January 21, Tsunku announced at the au Presentation Spring 2014 that Morning Musume '14 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 Taiyou sa / Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai / What is LOVE?". This was their first single released as Morning Musume '14. The single reached #1 on the Oricon weekly charts, becoming their fourth #1 single in a row – the longest streak of number ones in the group's history.

In February, "Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai" was the official cheer song for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics Japanese Team.

On March 15, the Twelfth generation auditions were announced called Morning Musume '14 <Golden> Audition!

On April 16th, Morning Musume '14 released their 56th single "Toki wo Koe Sora wo Koe / Password is 0", which reached #1 on the Oricon weekly charts.

On April 29, during the Morning Musume '14 Concert Tour Spring ~Evolution~ concert held in Yamaguchi, Michishige Sayumi announced her graduation. She will be graduating at their Fall 2014 concert tour.

On September 30, 2014 the 12th generation members, Ogata Haruna, Nonaka Miki, Haga Akane, and Makino Maria, were introduced at the first Nippon Budoukan performance of the fall Morning Musume concert tour "GIVE ME MORE LOVE ~Michishige Sayumi Sotsugyo Kinen Special~". Their full activities with Morning Musume begin officially in 2015 as Morning Musume '15 (One Five).

On November 26th, Michishige Sayumi officially graduated from Morning Musume and Hello! Project, passing the leadership of Morning Musume to 9th generation member Fukumura Mizuki and 9th Generation member Ikuta Erina and Iikubo Haruna became joint sub-leaders.

2015–present

The now thirteen-member group starts the year off as Morning Musume '15. This is the first lineup in which there are four full generations in the group at the same time. On February 9, it was announced that Morning Musume '15 would be releasing a song for the upcoming Pretty Cure movie, in which Iikubo Haruna, Ishida Ayumi, and Oda Sakura would be providing their voices to 3 spirits whose artwork they designed themselves. That same month it was announced that Iikubo Haruna would be the official mentor to the 12th generation, bringing back the mentor system.

They released their fifty-eighth single, "Seishun Kozou ga Naiteiru / Yuugure wa Ameagari / Ima Koko Kara" as Morning Musume '15 on April 15, 2015. This is the 12th generation's debut single and their first single without Michishige Sayumi.

Their fifty-ninth single, "Oh my wish! / Sukatto My Heart / Imasugu Tobikomu Yuuki", was released on August 19.

On October 29, Sayashi Riho announced that she would graduate from Morning Musume '15 on December 31st during Countdown Live.

The Morning Musume 13th Generation Shinseiki Audition was announced on January 2, 2016 at the "Hello! Project 2016 WINTER ~DANCING! SINGING! EXCITING!~" concert. The next month on February 7, 2016, Suzuki Kanon announced that she would graduate from Morning Musume '16 at the end of their Spring Tour.

It was later revealed on May 31, 2016 that no winners had been found in the 13th generation audition. It was announced that the audition would run again and applications would be accepted from June 15th to August 7th. Several months later it was yet again announced that no winners had been found from the general public applications, and that the 13th generation members would be chosen from among the Hello Pro Kenshuusei.

The members of the 13th generation were revealed to be Kaga Kaede and Yokoyama Reina on December 12, 2016 during the final performance of the "Morning Musume '16 Concert Tour Aki ~MY VISION~" concert at Nippon Budokan, marking the first ever two member generation for the group.

10th generation member Kudo Haruka announced her graduation from Morning Musume and Hello! Project on April 29, 2017, to later take place at the Morning Musume Tanjou 20 Shuunen Kinen Concert Tour 2017 Aki ~We are MORNING MUSUME~ Kudo Haruka Sotsugyou Special concert finale on December 11, 2017.

On June 26, 2017 it was revealed that Country Girls member Morito Chisaki would become a new member of Morning Musume, through a special edition of the Hello! Project webshow "Hello Station". Though her position within a generation was not directly stated during the video announcement, sub-leader Iikubo Haruna later posted on her blog about the addition referring to Chisaki as the 14th generation (14期). The reveal followed the news that three Country Girls members would transfer their main activities to other groups, two others would focus on school and the Country Girls group itself would be relegated to only being active during school holidays.

On September 14, Morning Musume hold a event in celebration of the 20th Group Anniversary at Shinkiba STUDIO COAST, fans could mix and match members and choose songs to be performed.

The following year on March 27, 2018 it was announced that 12th generation member Ogata Haruna would graduate from the group and Hello! Project at the end of the "Morning Musume Tanjou 20 Shuunen Kinen Concert Tour 2018 Haru ~We are MORNING MUSUME~" on June 20th. She planned to leave the entertainment industry and attend a junior college.

Sub-leader and 10th generation member Iikubo Haruna announced her graduation from Morning Musume and Hello! Project on August 17, 2018 through her blog, to take place at the end of the "Morning Musume'18 Concert Tour Aki~GET SET, GO!~" on December 16, 2018. She stated her intention to continue in entertainment, wanting to challenge herself using the many things she'd learned during her time in the group. The 10th generation member Ishida Ayumi was appointed to a sub-leader position during the "Hello! Project 20th Anniversary!! Hello! Project COUNTDOWN PARTY 2018 ~GOOD BYE & HELLO!~" on December 31, 2018.

Morning Musume announced announced the "Morning Musume '19 LOVE Audition" to find 15th generation members on January 2, 2019 during the opening date of the "Hello! Project 20th Anniversary!! Hello! Project 2019 WINTER" concert tour. The 15th generation members were revealed in a special YouTube live stream on Morning Musume's official channel at 5:00 PM JST on June 22, 2019. The audition winners were Kitagawa Rio and Okamura Homare, and the third member was Yamazaki Mei from Hello Pro Kenshuusei Hokkaido. They would be introduced live during the "Hello! Project 2019 SUMMER" concert tour, and would begin regularly performing with the group during the "Morning Musume '19 Concert Tour Aki".

On January 23, 2020 it was announced that Morning Musume would visit Vladivostok, Russia in mid-June as part of Hello! Project's participation in a Japan-Russia Regional Exchange Program surrounding music, tourism, and general cultural exchange.

Discography

Albums

Mini-Albums

Best Albums

Soundtrack Albums

Other Albums

Singles

Vinyls

Other Singles

Digital Releases

Compilations / Other

Video Releases

Concerts / Live

Music Video Collection

Stage Play

Single V / Event V

Documentary

DVD Magazines

Filmography

Movies

Awards of the Japanese Academy - Won Popularity Award Most Popular Film see in: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347353/awards

Drama

Works

TV

Programs

Auditions

Auditions are held periodically to find and add new members to Morning Musume. Follow the links for more details.

For other Hello! Project auditions see Hello! Project#Auditions.

Timeline

See: Morning Musume Timeline

External Links