|
11Water
was a Japanese idol project group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2000 and associated with Hello! Project. Beginning in 2000, the Shuffle Unit project was a yearly collaboration among existing Hello! Project acts, where members were recombined into three different groups to release a single for each. After a four-year hiatus, the project was briefly revived in 2009, where several old sub-groups saw a return under new names and new members. After 2009, the project became defunct. History 2000-2005: Initial beginnings Beginning in 2000, Tsunku created a music collaboration project with members of Hello! Project rearranged into three separate teams. The first theme, "color", consisted of , , and . All groups released their singles on March 8, 2000, with Akagumi 4's single "Akai Nikkichō" charting the highest at #2 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Charts. In 2001, the groups were rearranged under the theme "party", with the three groups , , and . All groups released their singles on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Up-Front Promotion
is a Japanese holding company for various entertainment companies. Its subsidiaries include the talent agency Up-Front Promotion and Up-Front Works, a music production and sales company that manages such record labels as Zetima, Piccolo Town, and Hachama. Artists Up-Front Promotion All groups under Up-Front Promotion are collectively known as Hello! Project. Groups * Morning Musume * Angerme * Juice=Juice * Camellia Factory * Beyooooonds ** Chica#Tetsu ** Rain Forest River Ocean ** SeasoningS * Ocha Norma Soloists/Entertainers * Sayumi Michishige * Chinami Tokunaga * Risako Sugaya Trainees * Hello Pro Kenshūsei Up-Front Works Groups * Bitter & Sweet * Brothers 5 * Dream Morning Musume * Lovendor * Pink Cres. * Sharam Q * Up Up Girls Kakko Kari Soloists/Entertainers * Ai Takahashi * Airi Suzuki * Akira Inaba * Akira Kagawa * Chisato Moritaka * Chisato Okai * Eric Fukusaki * Erina Mano * Gen Takayama * Hirofumi Bannba * Jirou Sugita * Junko Yanagisawa * Kan * Mai Sato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents ; the city proper has a population of 13.99 million people. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city became politically prominent in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was moved to Edo, which was renamed "Tokyo" (). Tokyo was devastate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company intends to be the initial focus of promotional efforts and radio airplay and hopefully become a hit record. The B-side (or "flip-side") is a secondary recording that typically receives less attention, although some B-sides have been as successful as, or more so than, their A-sides. Use of this language has largely declined in the 21st century as the music industry has transitioned away from analog recordings towards digital formats without physical sides, such as CDs, downloads and streaming. Nevertheless, some artists and labels continue to employ the terms ''A-side'' and ''B-side'' metaphorically to describe the type of content a particular release features, with ''B-side'' sometimes representing a "bonus" track or other material. The t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natsumi Abe
is a Japanese singer and actress, a former member of Morning Musume, and currently a member of Dream Morning Musume. Biography Career She was born in Muroran, Hokkaidō, Japan. On August 13, 2003, she released her first single, "22 Sai no Watashi," which means "Me, 22 years old," just a few days after her 22nd birthday. Her first full-length album, ''Hitoribotchi'', was then released on February 4, 2004, containing many solo versions of Morning Musume songs. In August 2005, her fifth single, "Koi no Hana," which means "Flower of Love," was released, and she also became a member of the Hello! Project special unit Def.Diva together with Maki Goto, Rika Ishikawa and Aya Matsuura in October. The single "Takaramono" was also released in November credited as "Sen", who is the main character of the drama "Takaramono", played by Abe. In the spring of 2006, Abe released a new single, "Sweet Holic", together with a new album, "2nd ~Shimiwataru Omoi~". June 2006 saw Abe release "The Stre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maki Goto
is a Japanese singer, lyricist, and former actress. Born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo, Goto began her musical career in 1999 when she joined Morning Musume as the only third generation member. Her first single with the group, " Love Machine", topped the Oricon singles charts and sold over a million copies. Goto was the lead vocalist of the group up until her graduation from the group in 2002. While still a member of Morning Musume, Goto released her debut solo single, "Ai no Bakayarō", in 2001, which topped the Oricon charts. In 2003 she released her debut album, '' Makking Gold 1'', which debuted at number four on the Oricon album charts. In 2007, at her ''G-Emotion II: How to Use Sexy'' concert, Goto announced that she was graduating from Hello! Project. In 2008, Goto signed with Avex Group sub-label Rhythm Zone and returned to the music scene at A-nation '08. In 2009, under the stage name Sweet Black feat. Maki Goto, she released her debut mini album ''Sweet Black''. Goto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yuko Nakazawa
is a Japanese pop and enka singer, and actress, best known as one of the original members of the all-female J-pop group Morning Musume. She is also a member of Japanese pop group Dream Morning Musume. Biography Yuko Nakazawa was born in Kyoto Prefecture. She was one of five runners-up in a 1997 talent contest for a new Japanese rock idol. After the contest, musician and producer Tsunku offered Nakazawa and the four other runners-up (Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Aya Ishiguro, and Asuka Fukuda) the chance to be taken under his wing under one condition: they must sell 50,000 CDs of their debut song "Ai no Tane" with five days of live promotion. The quintet accomplished that task in four and thus Morning Musume was born. The group has since grown increasingly popular, it 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 almost annually. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ZYX (pop Group)
was a Japanese idol project group associated with Hello! Project. It was formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2003. Its members consisted of Morning Musume member Mari Yaguchi and Hello! Project Kids members Erika Umeda, Saki Shimizu, Maimi Yajima, Momoko Tsugunaga, and Megumi Murakami. The group remained active until 2004. History The name ZYX is a kind of acronym using a somewhat intricate play in notation. "Z" and "Y" are taken from the phrase "Bai ni," meaning "double in size," is represented not as "B" but as a multiplication sign "×" which was then represented by the letter "X." Also, the letters ZYX are the last letters of the English alphabet in reverse order. In Hello! Project, this inverted order naming is followed by the groups " W" created in 2004, " v-u-den" in 2005, "The Possible" in 2006, and SI☆NA in 2008. This line-up of groups continues the reverse alphabetical naming (ZYX-W-VU-T-S). On February 28 and March 1, 2015, ZYX reformed for Berryz Kobo Matsuri with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petit Moni
was a sub-unit of the Japanese Japanese idol, idol girl group Morning Musume and associated with Hello! Project. It was formed by Up-Front Promotion in November 1999 as the second sub-group of Morning Musume. History Founded November 1999, the group initially consisted of Morning Musume members Kei Yasuda, Sayaka Ichii, and Maki Goto. Shortly after their formation, the group released their first single, "Chokotto Love," which sold more than 1 million copies. After the release of the first single, on May 21, 2000, Sayaka Ichii graduated from both Morning Musume and Petitmoni. In order to fill the third member's position, their producer Tsunku placed 4th generation member Hitomi Yoshizawa into the group, forming the second generation. Petitmoni went on to release three more singles, with their only album, ''Zenbu! Petitmoni'', released in August 2002. The album was a collection of all of their singles and B-side tracks, along with three extra tracks. Goto graduated from both Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V-u-den
was a Japanese idol girl group associated with Hello! Project. The group was formed in August 2004 and consists of members Rika Ishikawa (Morning Musume), Erika Miyoshi, and Yui Okada, with Ishikawa being the leader. The group officially disbanded on June 29, 2008 after their last concert during their ''v-u-densetsu 5'' tour. Members * Rika Ishikawa * Erika Miyoshi * Yui Okada Legacy In 2009, V-U-den was revived as a Hello! Project Shuffle Unit under the name . The new line-up consisted of Morning Musume members Sayumi Michishige and Jun Jun; Berryz Kobo member and Risako Sugaya. The group released songs for Hello! Project's compilation album ''Champloo 1: Happy Marriage Song Cover Shū''. They also performed as a concert-only unit until 2011. In 2013, Zoku V-U-den reappeared with Rika Ishikawa to perform "Koisuru Angel Heart". Discography Albums (first generation) Singles (first generation) * Though the romanization of this song would imply the translation would ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanpopo
was a sub-group of the Japanese idol girl group Morning Musume and associated with Hello! Project. It was formed by Up-Front Promotion in November 1998 as Morning Musume's first sub-group. While the main group Morning Musume features predominantly upbeat songs with a fast tempo, Tanpopo featured slower tempo, sentimental and retro-style songs. History The group was founded in November 1998, consisting of three Morning Musume members: Aya Ishiguro, Kaori Iida, and Mari Yaguchi. After the formation, the group immediately released their first single, "Last Kiss," which was used on the anime ''Sorcerous Stabber Orphen''. The single has a "sexy" vibe that they used on their second single and first album. However, they created a fresh image when they released "Tanpopo". This new image did not become as popular as the first image they had created. After the release of the group's fourth single, Aya Ishiguro graduated from Morning Musume and left the group. The remaining members conti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mini-Moni
was a sub-unit of the Japanese idol girl groups Morning Musume and Coconuts Musume. It was formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2000 and associated with Hello! Project. The group was founded by Morning Musume members Mari Yaguchi, Nozomi Tsuji, and Ai Kago, with Coconuts Musume member Mika later added as a member. After Yaguchi's departure in 2002, Morning Musume member Ai Takahashi was added into the group. Throughout their career, Mini-Moni appeared in media aimed at children, having two animated series from 2001 to 2002, variety shows, as well as a 2002 film based on their stage personas titled ''Mini-Moni the Movie: Okashi na Daibōken!''. In addition to that, they also appeared in several ''Hamtaro'' movies, performing the theme songs under the name . The group later disbanded in 2004, after Todd left Hello! Project and Tsuji and Kago left Morning Musume to debut in W. In 2009, Mini-Moni was revived as a Hello! Project Shuffle Unit and concert-only unit under the name Shin Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High-King
was a Japanese girl group associated with Hello! Project. The group was created to promote Morning Musume's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's ''Cinderella'', titled . Their sound is said to have an R&B feel. History The group's debut single, , was released on June 11, 2008, under the Zetima label in two versions. The regular version contains the CD-single only, while the limited version contains a bonus DVD. The Single V was also released for the song two weeks later, on June 25, 2008. High-King returned in 2009 along with other shuffle units, releasing two new songs to compilations in 2009, "Diamonds", a cover song and a new original song later in 2009 called "DESTINY LOVE". High-King ceased activities in September 2011 when Ai Takahashi graduated Morning Musume and Hello! Project, effectively graduating from High-King as well. In 2013, High-King briefly returned to perform "C/C (Cinderella Complex)" as Ai Takahashi with High-King, making High-King officially a three- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
