In 2023, Hello Project celebrates its 25th anniversary! Project, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2023.Project, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2023.
Project is the most powerful idol group with a long history of members and groups.I would like to write about Hello! Project members and groups from various perspectives.First of all, I would like to introduce “Morning Musume.
Project, which has a long history and is still evolving.I would like to introduce the early days of Morning Musume before the “golden age” as it is called by the fans.In 1997, the “Female Rock Vocal Audition” was held on TV Tokyo’s “ASAYAN” program.Among the women who took part in the audition, there was a member who would become Morning Musume.
The result of this audition was “Hiraike Michinami” (a member of Morning Musume。).The result of this audition was “Michiyo Heike”.Huh? Who is Morning Musume。 I thought you might have wondered “Who is Morning Musume?
Did you think that I was thinking that? There is a continuation.Among several women who were not selected, five were approached and they were Yuko Nakazawa, Aya Ishiguro, Keori Iida, Natsumi Abe, and Asuka Fukuda.The girls thought they could debut, but a condition was imposed on them:
they had to sell 50,000 CDs by hand in five days to make their debut.Although it was a TV project, the girls vowed to take their frustration as a springboard for a new challenge.On September 14, 1997, Morning Musume。 was formed and born.
November 3, 1997: Indies single “Ai no Tane” released.
Lyrics by Kenzo Saeki, music composed and arranged by Tetsutaro Sakurai
On the first day of hand-selling, 15612 copies were sold in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, making Morning Musume the world’s largest single CD sales in one day at a single store.
We were able to sell 50,000 copies in Fukuoka, Sapporo, and on November 30 at Nagoya stadium.
The schedule was set for recording and music video shooting immediately after the decision was made.
The following year, the song became the coupling track for their major label debut single.
January 28, 1998: Major debut single “Morning Coffee” released.
It reached No. 6 on the Oricon Weekly Chart!
From this work, Sharan Q Tsunku produced the song.
The costume for the debut single was a white knit and red checked skirt, Natsumi Abe was chosen to play the center role, and Yuko Nakazawa, who was the oldest at the time, was chosen as the leader.
Initially, Keiori Iida was said to be the center of the group, but after the recording process, Natsumi Abe’s voice was placed in the center of the song, and Keiori Iida was moved to the hammory side!
The “Nacchi call” during Natsumi Abe’s solo in this song is still amazing. The current members of the group also continue to sing the song with the calls of the members of the group from time to time.
Morning Musume。 s 20th anniversary, a collaboration of the early members and the current members was recorded and became a big topic of conversation on music programs at the time.
The second single was released in May of the same year, and it was announced on “ASAYAN” that they were looking for new members, which shocked the members and fans.
The members who won the audition and became members were
The three members who won the audition and became members were Kei Yasuda, Mari Yaguchi, and Sayaka Ichii.
Kei Hoda put a lot of effort into the audition, dropping out of high school and taking the audition while working part-time, but her work performance was said to exceed that of the employees.
Mari Yaguchi’s dream was to become a singer, and she had other auditions in addition to this one.
May 27, 1998 [Summer Night Town] released.
It reached No. 4 on the Oricon Weekly Chart and exceeded the sales of the previous album.
From this album, exposure on music programs increased.
TBS “Uta-ban”, CX “HEYHEYHEY”, NTV “Shuso! Uta no Daichikuten,” etc. Although these programs have now ended, I have great memories of Morning Musume。
This is where Morning Musume。 Morning Musume。’s rapid ascent began from here.
The story behind the music video is that there is a scene where the members are walking side by side in the city at night, and Keiori Iida gets sauce from her lunch box on her costume,
She hides it with her hand, so please try to find it.
On August 5, 1999, Yuko Nakazawa released an enka song [Karasu no Nyobo] under the name “Yuko Nakazawa” (The Crow’s Wife), but it seems that she was too busy to erase her memories from the music video. From this point on, the manager started to check if Mr. Nakazawa could remember yesterday’s memories and what happened at work.
Summer Night Town” was released on CD in 2004 as a self-cover by Morning Musume。 It was made into a CD by Otome-gumi as a self-cover.
September 9, 1999 [Embrace and HOLD ON ME!
This song was used as the ending theme for a movie starring Michiyoshi Hiraie and Morning Musume。 It became the ending theme song for a movie starring Michiyoshi Hiraie and Morning Musume and reached No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart.
It was released at the same time as MAX and JUDYANDMARY and reached No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart.
Won the Best New Artist Award at that year’s Record Awards
The song won the Japan Gold Disc Award, Best Hit Artist (All Japan Cable Broadcasting Awards), and the 36th Golden Arrow Award, and also made an appearance in the year-end Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Singing Contest).
This song was her first attempt at rapping!
After the release of the song, Takaaki Ishibashi of Tunnels saw the performance of the song, and his face when he said “Hey, smile,” became known to the world, earning him the nickname “Johnson.
Morning Musume。ヌs seemingly on the upswing, however, has been hit with yet another shock. The new shock hit Morning Musume。
February 10, 1999: “Memory Seishun no Hikari” released.
Asuka Fukuda, an early member of the group, graduated from the group. It was the first time in the Heisei era.
Asuka Fukuda sang the main part of the song and other members sang in the chorus. This song was the first coupling song to be performed in the media and became a topic of conversation.
There was another coupling song, “HappyNight,” which later became a precursor to the “Golden Period” songs. The CD jacket is by Natsumi Abe.
The CD jacket shows Natsumi Abe in the front and Asuka Fukuda in the back, with the other members blurred out. It is now a talking point for the OG members (laughs).
In the music video, Natsumi Abe is shown a lot, while Kei Yasuda has a solo scene for a few seconds, and a “Kei Yasuda game” was held by some fans.
The content of the game is to sing along to the music video at karaoke, and when Kei Yasuda’s solo scene comes on, they drink all the alcohol at once.
Back to the story.
On April 18, 1999, the graduation performance was held at Tokyo Kosei-Nenkin Kaikan as the tour finale and Morning Musume。 Morning Musume。 became seven members instead of eight.
In 2004, Natsumi Abe covered the song on her first solo album.
May 12, 1999: “Midsummer Ray” released.
This was an unusually bright song for Morning Musume。 The music video was shot in Saipan, and the car scene with Yuko Nakazawa driving looks very fun. Keiori Iida had an episode there as well (laugh).
There is a scene on the beach where about three members of the group are shown together and there is also a scene where all the members are singing together, but she seems to have suffered from sunstroke, so she had to endure it and finish shooting the music video. He said that he was also dizzy, but he did not want to bother others and kept quiet about it at the time.
The CD jacket shows her in blue, but she often sang in yellow on music programs.
This song is for people in their mid to late 30s or older who know Morning Musume。 This song is a famous song that many people in their mid to late 30’s know.
It is a song that conjures up images of summer, blue skies, and sunshine. Please give it a listen.
July 7, 1999【Furusato】Released
This song was released under the name of Morning Musume。 The other members perform in the chorus.
In the music video, the highlight is a scene in which the two are talking with each member’s mother, and the lyrics fully express the feelings of a daughter who has left the countryside for the city.
The release date of this song was coinciding with the release date of Ami Suzuki’s new song “BE TOGETHER” on “ASAYAN”.
The result was Morning Musume。 The result was Morning Musume・・・・’s 5th place and Ami Suzuki’s 1st place.
Ami Suzuki came in first.
The sales were also at a record low. The sales of “BE TOGETHER” was the lowest ever, and we were in a pinch.
However, Morning Musume。 entered the “golden period,” a period that shook the world, which will be introduced in the next issue.
Let’s take a look at the early days of Morning Musume。 How was the early period of Morning Musume。 It’s been 25 years ago, so it’s been a nostalgic time for me, and I would like to introduce Morning Musume。 I would like those who have recently come to know Morning Musume。
