Major changes with the arrival of Maki Goto [Golden Period.

I would like to introduce the early days of Morning Musume。 Here we introduce the early days of the “Golden Period,” as it is called by fans of Morning Musume。

The golden period was the time when Morning Musume。 Maki Goto’s arrival in Japan

The “Golden Period” lasted for about 5 years, so I will write about it in 2-year intervals, from the summer of 1999 (following the previous article) to December 2000.

In the last album “Furusato”, Morning Musume。ヌs team lost to Ami Suzuki in the program planning. However, Morning Musume。

In the summer, an audition was held to add more members, and on September 9, 1999, the nine members decided to compete, but something happened here that changed the future of Morning Musume。 s future changed.

I, Dachi, the writer of this article, auditioned for Morning Musume。 I, “Dacchi” as I write this article, auditioned for Morning Musume。

(lol) It is true that I did, but I was not selected due to my gender, but I am still waiting to see what will happen next!

Not, Maki Goto passed the audition by herself. That was a big deal, but she was surprised when she met the members when she joined the group as a blonde in her second year of junior high school.

As you can see in the picture, she was chosen to play the center role in their debut album! According to Tsunku-san, “One of the best talents in 10 years.

The original plan was for two members to join the group, but due to her “outstanding talent,” only one member, Maki Goto, joined the group.

We will introduce Maki Goto separately.

September 9, 1999: “LOVE Machine” released.

This song became a million-seller and was ranked No. 1 for 17 consecutive weeks in the karaoke ranking, and won the “Best Work Award” and “Best Composition Award” at that year’s Record Awards.

This song was originally supposed to be a song for TSUNKU’s band “Sharan Q” but was rejected. However, Tsunku reworked the song and passed it on to Morning Musume。

The title was changed from “Manju-Musume” or “Tits-Musume” to “LOVE Machine” (LOL).

I think that was a good thing (laughs).

(Laughs). At the time, Japan was at the bottom of a recession, and the “Great Prophecy of Nostradamus” was causing panic throughout the country because the earth was going to be destroyed, so it brightened the country.

The music itself did not have such a unique atmosphere.

The dance was also initially very chic, but Tsunku made some changes near the completion of the song, and the dance choreographer at the time, Mayumi Natsu, had to use her head.

The posing at the beginning of the song is said to be “waiting or looking for a restroom. The CD sales of the song were approximately 1.64 million copies, making it the group’s first million-seller.

The derivative unit “Putchimoni” was born in November

November 25, 1999 [Chokotto LOVE] was released.

This unit, consisting of 2nd term members Sayaka Ichii and Kei Yasuda and 3rd term member Maki Goto, also became a million-seller.

The record for the most CD sales by a female trio is still held today by 2025. Sayaka Ichii was sick during the jacket shoot, but she persevered and participated in the entire event.

The back cover of the lyric card shows her shedding tears. Sayaka Ichii’s fame rose dramatically with this work.

The music video was also made by Morning Musume。 The music video is a sequel to Morning Musume’s “LOVE Machine,” or rather, an extra version, so it is fun to compare the two!

What will happen at the beginning of 1999? Disbandment? There was some anxiety about what would happen in the beginning of 1999, but after the summer, the group became so well-known that it shook Japan.

We entered the year 2000 on a high note, but at the beginning of January, Aya Ishiguro, one of the initial members, graduated from the group!

The seven-member Morning Musume。 Morning Musume。

January 26, 2000 [Koi no Dance Site] released.

This song also became a million-seller, and was No. 1 on the day of release with sales exceeding 600,000 copies, but Southern All Stars’ “TSUNAMI,” released on the same day, surpassed it in sales from the second day and became No. 2 on the weekly ranking. The final sales totaled approximately 1.26 million copies!

The momentum was just amazing for this song. Ami Suzuki, who competed in the program last year, also released a single, and that one was No. 5. This information is not surprising. It was the same release date.

The music video for “Koi no Dance Site” is a continuation of her previous work “LOVE Machine,” with the members dancing in an Arabian-style setting, like the place where the plane arrived.

Mari Yaguchi’s masterpiece, “Sexy Beam,” is a work in which the width of the fingers represents the “size of the nipples” (laughs).

And it is also a song that allows call and response, so you can shout.

The sticker was attached to the CD as an initial bonus.

CD purchase benefits were rare for Morning Musume。 I still remember that it was a rarity for Morning Musume。 After this album, 8cm CDs were discontinued in favor of 12cm singles.

In March, Hello! Project formed their first shuffle unit, which became a big topic of conversation!

The group was composed of Michiyo Heike, Morning Musume, and Coconut Musume. Coconut Musume, T&C Bomber (T&C Bomber) Project created three units by mixing up the members of Morning Musume, Coconut Musume, and T&C Bomber (Taiyo to Ciscomoon).

Released on March 8, 2000

Yellow 5→Michiyo Heike, Natsumi Abe, Kei Yasuda, RuRu, Ayaka

BOOMBOOMBOOM in the yellow sky

Blue 7→Keiori Iida, Mari Yaguchi, Sayaka Ichii, Takako Inaba, Miwa Kominato, Lefa, Mika

[Man in blue sports car]

Red 4→Yuko Nakazawa, Maki Goto, Miho Nobuta, Daniel

Red Diary

These three albums dominated the Oricon Weekly Chart at No.2, No.3, and No.4, and became a topic of conversation.

Behind the scenes, Morning Musume。 Morning Musume。 was shooting a movie behind the scenes.

Pinch Runner.

Fans at the time were chasing them as they ran the actual course of the Ekiden relay race, and the scene was also included in the movie (laughs).

Natsumi Abe’s famous line, “I…run!

Kei Yasuda There was an episode in which a member of the group was practicing running between concerts at the time, but didn’t run on the day of the event.

The 4th term members of Morning Musume, Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Nozomi Tsuji, and Ai Kago, made their screen debuts in this film.

They were photographed in front of Family Mart because Family Mart was the sponsor.

May 17, 2000 [Happy Summer Wedding] released.

This is the graduation song for 2nd term member Sayaka Ichii! This is the debut album for 4th term members Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Nozomi Tsuji, and Ai Kago!

The case is different between the introductory production version and the regular version, and the lyric card is also different.

The song costumes were often performed in two patterns: short dress costumes of different colors for the members and gold Arabian wedding costumes.

The song reached No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart, and during the song, Yuko Nakazawa, who was in charge of the lines at the time, used the word “Sugimoto-san” (who is Ms. Sugimoto? became a topic of conversation.

On May 21, 2000, Sayaka Ichii graduated at the group’s first Nippon Budokan concert, which was held on May 20 and 21 and attracted 22,000 people.

This summer, the group will be releasing a derivative unit and Yuko Nakazawa.

July 5, 2000Tampopo [Otome Pasta impressed me].

July 12, 2000: Yuko Nakazawa [Shanghai Wind

July 26, 2000Puchimoni [Seishun Jidai 1.2.3! /Baiseko a great success]

And in September, Morning Musume。’s song was used as one of the theme songs for the Sydney Olympics. was used as one of the theme songs for the Sydney Olympics.

September 6, 2000【I WISH】is released.

This song was No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart, and Natsumi Abe, who had sung in the center of the song until then, did not have a solo part in this song.

The song featured Maki Goto (3rd term) and all the members of the 4th term, and Natsumi Abe’s supporters were surprised at the time. The song is still sung in 2021, and was re-recorded with the members of Morning Musume・22, and a music video was shot.

The original music video is set up like a story, with the members dressed as shopkeepers and townspeople, longing for the castle in the back and coming out of their shells, showing the two sides of the members.

The song here was also later made into a solo cover soundtrack by Maki Goto.

December 13, 2000 [Love Revolution 21] released.

This one has different costumes for the first pressing limited edition and the regular edition. This song became the last single of Yuko Nakazawa, who was the leader of the group at that time.

This song was No. 2 on the Oricon Weekly Chart and No. 1 was Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Ⅿ,” and although it did not reach No. 1 in the second week, it was the theme song for Salty Banco, the choreography was unique, and the costumes were black space suits? The choreography was unique, the costumes were black space suits, and the hairstyles of all the members were distinctive. Some members had spiky hair, others had tousled hair, and still others had regent-like hair.

The lyrics of the song were “Super, super, super, super nice! Super, super, super, super nice!”

The music video featured a scene on an alien planet, with a novel choreography that ended with everyone swaying.

Later, in 2010, the song was used in a commercial for “Ramen Revolution 21” and Nissin, and in 2013 and 2023, the members re-recorded the song in a version called “updeted” and released it as a CD!

The costumes for the songs were shown on many special music programs at the end of the year, but for me, the black space suit was the most distinctive costume. I think the black space suit was the most distinctive costume.

How was it? The flow of the show was very fast and furious, with a lot of member turnover, and the entire Hello! Project as a whole was shuffled and CDs were released!

But it doesn’t stop. This is a start dash. Next, I would like to introduce the beginning of the middle of the [golden period].