Morning Musume (モーニング娘) is a Japanese girl group formed in 1997 by rock singer-songwriter turned record producer Tsunku, who later composed a vast majority of the group’s songs over the decade. They are the lead group of Hello! Project that specialises in upbeat, pop-oriented music coupled with dance performance. The group produced several splinter groups, and often collaborates with other Hello! Project acts, including Country Musume, Berryz Kobo, Cute, Melon Kinenbi, and v-u-den. The group’s name can be translated as Morning Girls; as the name suggests, it consists of members mostly in their late adolescence and early 20s. The average age of the group members has remained more or less unchanged since its original formation because the group maintains a “school-like” system for their continuous line-up changes, with older members “graduating” and new, usually younger, members selected from nationwide auditions admitted to the group annually.
Morning Musume are one of the most successful Japanese pop idol girl groups, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles with an amount of 50, and they have sold over 21 million 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. Beginning in 2014, the group is now identified as Morning Musume ’14 (pronounced One-Four), as a way to help audiences identify member rosters over its fifteen-year history.
Current Members
- Sayumi Michishige (道重 さゆみ) (Leader)
- Mizuki Fukumura (小田 さくら) (Sub-leader)
- Erina Ikuta (工藤 遥 )
- Riho Sayashi (佐藤 優樹)
- Kanon Suzuki (石田 亜佑美)
- Haruna Iikubo (飯窪 春菜) (Sub-leader)
- Ayumi Ishida (鈴木 香音)
- Masaki Sato (鞘師里保)
- Haruka Kudo (生田 衣梨奈)
- Sakura Oda (譜久村 聖)
Morning Musume
Background Information
- Native Name モーニング娘
- Also known as Momusu
- Years active 1997 – Present
- Official Website www.helloproject.com/morningmusum
- YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/morningmusumechannel
- Official Twitter https://twitter.com/MorningMusumeMg
- Official Facebook N/A
Tags: Japanese girl group, Morning Musume, Tsunku
Categorised in: J-Pop, Kawaii, Pop Culture
This post was written by Mathew Ryan
Morning Musume (モーニング娘) is a Japanese girl group formed in 1997 by rock singer-songwriter turned record producer Tsunku, who later composed a vast majority of the group’s songs over the decade. They are the lead group of Hello! Project that specialises in upbeat, pop-oriented music coupled with dance performance. The group produced several splinter groups, and often collaborates with other Hello! Project acts, including Country Musume, Berryz Kobo, Cute, Melon Kinenbi, and v-u-den. The group’s name can be translated as Morning Girls; as the name suggests, it consists of members mostly in their late adolescence and early 20s. The average age of the group members has remained more or less unchanged since its original formation because the group maintains a “school-like” system for their continuous line-up changes, with older members “graduating” and new, usually younger, members selected from nationwide auditions admitted to the group annually.
Morning Musume are one of the most successful Japanese pop idol girl groups, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles with an amount of 50, and they have sold over 21 million 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. Beginning in 2014, the group is now identified as Morning Musume ’14 (pronounced One-Four), as a way to help audiences identify member rosters over its fifteen-year history.
Current Members
- Sayumi Michishige (道重 さゆみ) (Leader)
- Mizuki Fukumura (小田 さくら) (Sub-leader)
- Erina Ikuta (工藤 遥 )
- Riho Sayashi (佐藤 優樹)
- Kanon Suzuki (石田 亜佑美)
- Haruna Iikubo (飯窪 春菜) (Sub-leader)
- Ayumi Ishida (鈴木 香音)
- Masaki Sato (鞘師里保)
- Haruka Kudo (生田 衣梨奈)
- Sakura Oda (譜久村 聖)
Morning Musume
Background Information
- Native Name モーニング娘
- Also known as Momusu
- Years active 1997 – Present
- Official Website www.helloproject.com/morningmusum
- YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/morningmusumechannel
- Official Twitter https://twitter.com/MorningMusumeMg
- Official Facebook N/A
Tags: Japanese girl group, Morning Musume, Tsunku
Categorised in: J-Pop, Kawaii, Pop Culture
This post was written by Mathew Ryan