Morning Musume

is a Japanese girl group. They are what is known as an "idol group", although sometimes they have distanced themselves from the "idol" stereotype. Most of their songs are happy songs with upbeat music, but they have sad and angry songs too. The group can also be called . They are the most important group in the Hello!Project idol company. The group is managed by Tsunku, who writes all the lyrics and most of the music the songs, and even produces them. They were the best-selling female group in Japan for several years, but their sales dropped quite a lot later on, perhaps due to the loss of certain popular members, or because of decisions made by Tsunku or someone else at Hello! Project or their management company Up-Front Works. In the past couple of years, however, they have regained some of their popularity in Japan, and they have also gained more foreign fans.

Morning Musume モーニング娘。
Platinum 9 Tour Spring 2009, May 2009 Linlin, Reina Tanaka, Eri Kamei, Koharu Kusumi, Risa Niigaki, Aika Mitsui, Sayumi Michishige, Ai Takahashi, Junjun
Background information
Also known as	Momusu 早安少女組。
Origin	Tokyo, Honshū, Japan
Genres	J-pop
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Zetima
Associated acts	Country Musume, GAM, Mini Moni, Petitmoni, Tanpopo, v-u-den, W
Website	Hello! Project Japanese Official Website Hello! Project Chinese Official Website
Members	Sayumi Michishige Mizuki Fukumura Riho Sayashi Erina Ikuta Kanon Suzuki Haruna Iikubo Ayumi Ishida Masaki Satou Haruka Kudo Sakura Oda
Past members	Reina Tanaka Ai Takahashi Aika Mitsui Risa Niigaki Junjun Linlin Eri Kamei Koharu Kusumi Miki Fujimoto Hitomi Yoshizawa Makoto Ogawa Asami Konno Mari Yaguchi Rika Ishikawa Kaori Iida Ai Kago Nozomi Tsuji Natsumi Abe Kei Yasuda Maki Goto Yuko Nakazawa Sayaka Ichii Aya Ishiguro Asuka Fukuda

History

Member's change and singles history

In late 1997, in Japan,a male singer-songwriter called Tsunku, held a contest to find a girl to be the lead singer of the band Sharam Q, which he was the frontman of. A lot of young girls came to the contest, and some of them became finalists. There is where Tsunku came up with the idea of making a girl group. This new group was called Morning Musume (Morning Daughters). The group was formed by Kaori Iida, Yuko Nakazawa, Asuka Fukuda, Aya Ishiguro and Natsumi Abe. They became known as the "First Generation" of the group. There have now been twelve of these "Generations". Most of these "Generations" have a few members. But the Third, Seventh and Twelfth Generations only had one member each.

From the start, the songs performed by these girls sold well. They became very famous in Japan (their fame later reached other countries too, thanks to their fans on the World Wide Web), and Tsunku formed other small groups inspired by Morning Musume. He created Hello!Project to hold them all.

Over time, when the girls become older and mature, they usually graduate from the group (but they can be kicked out for not behaving in the way that idols are supposed to behave). After that, they usually become soloists or models. New girls apply for a spot in the group whenever auditions are held. Thousands of girls apply, but very few make it in.

Morning Musume today

Morning Musume is still a top selling female group. In fact, its sales make it one of the best-selling girl groups in the World today, ranking around 9th - 11th place among girl groups worldwide in recent years, although much of this is probably due to the sheer amount of material released. At present it is known as "Morning Musume '14", which is pronounced as "Morning Musume One Four". It has new girls and makes singles every few months, plus studio albums about once a year. These singles and studio albums often come in "limited" versions with different cover photos and photo cards or posters included. In addition, there are also many live DVD and Blu-Ray releases, as well as photobooks and DVDs featuring certain members wearing clothes that show off how attractive they are. All the girls from the group appear frequently on TV and Radio. Their TV appearances are in the morning, especially for young people. They also make music videos and perform a lot of concerts in Japan, as well as sometimes performing concerts in other countries. Their music videos also come in different versions most of the time.

Discography

Albums

1. First Time

2. Second Morning

3. 3rd-Love Paradise

4. 4th Ikimasshoi!

5. No.5

6. Ai no Dai 6 Kan

7. Rainbow 7

8. Platinum 9 Disc

10. 10 My Me

11. "Fantasy! Jyuuichi"

12. "12, Smart"

13. "13 Colorful Character"

Cover albums

1. Cover You

EPs

1. 7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini!

Singles

0. "Ai no Tane"

1. "Morning Coffee"

2. "Summer Night Town"

3. "Daite Hold on Me!"

4. "Memory Seishun no Hikari"

5. "Manatsu no Kōsen"

6. "Furusato"

7. "Love Machine"

8. "Koi no Dance Site"

9. "Happy Summer Wedding"

10. "I Wish"

11. "Renai Revolution 21"

12. "The Peace!"

13. "Mr. Moonlight: Ai no Big Band"

14. "Souda! We're Alive"

15. "Do It! Now"

16. "Koko ni Iruzee!"

17. "Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyōtanjima"

18. "As for One Day"

19. "Shabondama"

20. "Go Girl: Koi no Victory"

21. "Ai Araba It's All Right"

22. "Roman: My Dear Boy"

23. "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari"

24. "Namida ga Tomaranai Hōkago"

25. "The Manpower!!!"

26. "Osaka Koi no Uta"

27. "Iroppoi Jirettai"

28. "Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii Jan"

31. "Aruiteru"

32. "Kanashimi Twilight"

34. "Onna ni Sachi Are"

35. "Mikan"

36. "Resonant Blue"

37. "Pepper Keibu"

38. "Naichau Kamo"

39. "Shōganai Yume Oibito"

40. "Nanchatte Renai"

41. "Kimagure Princess"

42. "Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai

43. "Seishun Collection"

44. "Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game"

45. "Maji Desu ka Ska!"

46. "Only you"

47. "Pyoko Pyoko Ultra"

49. "Ren'ai Hunter"

50. "One • Two • Three / The 摩天楼ショー"

51. "Wakuteka Take A Chance"

52. "Help Me!!"

53. "Brainstorming / Kimi Sae Ireba Nani mo Iranai"

54. "Wagamama kinomama ai no joke / Ai no gundan"

55. "Egao no Kimi wa Taiyou sa/Kimi no Kawari wa Iyashinai/What is LOVE?" (as "Morning Musume '14") — their first triple-A side.

Other websites

• Official Hello! Project profile (Japan)
• Hello Online - English Hello!Project community.

[[Category:J-pop bands|J-pop