Morning Musume

is a Japanese girl group. They are what is known as an "idol group", although they have distanced themselves from the "idol" stereotype (unlike the idols, they can dance and sing well). 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 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.
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, Twelfth and Sixteenth 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.
Members
Current members
* All colour values are approximate
Former members
First generation (1997)
Yuko Nakazawa (Zhong Ze Yu Zi , graduated April 15, 2001) - First leader
Aya Ishiguro (Shi Hei Cai , graduated January 7, 2000)
Kaori Iida (Fan Tian Gui Zhi , graduated January 30, 2005) - Second leader
Natsumi Abe (An Bei natsumi, graduated January 25, 2004) - "Ace"
Asuka Fukuda (Fu Tian Ming Ri Xiang , graduated April 18, 1999)
Second generation (1998)
Kei Yasuda (Bao Tian Gui , graduated May 5, 2003)
Mari Yaguchi (Shi Kou Zhen Li , left April 14, 2005) - Third leader
Sayaka Ichii (Shi Jing Sha Ye Xiang , graduated May 21, 2000)
Third generation (1999)
Maki Goto (Hou Teng Zhen Xi , graduated September 23, 2002) - "Ace"
Fourth generation (2000)
Rika Ishikawa (Shi Chuan Li Hua , graduated May 7, 2005) - "Ace"
Hitomi Yoshizawa (Ji Ze hitomi, graduated May 6, 2007) - Fourth leader
Nozomi Tsuji (Sip Xi Mei , graduated August 1, 2004)
Ai Kago (Jia Hu Ya Yi , graduated August 1, 2004)
Fifth generation (2001)
Ai Takahashi (Gao Qiao Ai , graduated September 30, 2011) - Sixth leader, "ace"
Asami Konno (Gan Ye asaMei , graduated July 23, 2006)
Makoto Ogawa (Xiao Chuan Ma Qin , graduated August 27, 2006)
Risa Niigaki (Xin Yuan Li Sha , graduated May 18, 2012) - Seventh leader
Sixth generation (2003)
Miki Fujimoto (Teng Ben Mei Gui , left June 1, 2007) - Fifth leader, "ace"
Eri Kamei (Gui Jing Hui Li , graduated December 15, 2010)
Sayumi Michishige (Dao Zhong sayumi, graduated November 26, 2014) - Eight leader, longest tenure of the group
Reina Tanaka (Tian Zhong reina, graduated May 21, 2013) - "Ace", "the best singer", "perfect Morning Musume member"
Seventh generation (2005)
Koharu Kusumi (Jiu Zhu Xiao Chun , graduated December 6, 2009) - "Miracle"
Eighth generation (2006/2007)
Aika Mitsui (Guang Jing Ai Jia , graduated May 18, 2012)
Jun Jun (ziyunziyun, graduated December 15, 2010)
Lin Lin (rinrin, graduated December 15, 2010)
Ninth generation (2011)
Riho Sayashi (Qiao Shi Li Bao , graduated December 31, 2015) - "Ace", "The best dancer"
Kanon Suzuki (Ling Mu Xiang Yin , graduated May 31, 2016)
Tenth generation (2011)
Haruna Iikubo (Fan Wa Chun Cai , graduated December 16, 2018)
Masaki Sato (Zuo Teng You Shu , graduated December 12, 2021) - "Ace"
Haruka Kudo (Gong Teng Yao , graduated December 11, 2017)
Twelfth generation (2014)
Haruna Ogata (Wei Xing Chun Shui , graduated June 20, 2018)
Thirteenth generation
Kaede Kaga (Jia He Feng , graduated December 10, 2022)
Fourteenth generation (2017)
Chisaki Morito (Sen Hu Zhi Sha , graduated June 23, 2022)
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. 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.