was a Japanese female idol music group that is a part of

Hello! Project is a Japanese musical collective consisting of all female recording artists and groups under Up-Front Promotion, a subsidiary of Up-Front Group. The name was initially used as Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume's fan club name in 1999, but has s ...

. On November 5, 2014, Country Musume was renamed .『カントリー娘。』改め『カントリー・ガールズ』について
" (in Japanese). November 5, 2014.

History

Country Musume era

Country Musume was formed in 1999 and was termed as "Country Girls from

Hokkaidō is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

." The initial group consisted of native members of Hokkaidō, Rinne Toda, Azusa Kobayashi, and Hiromi Yanagihara. Before the release of their first single in July 1999, Hiromi Yanagihara died in a car accident. After the accident, Azusa Kobayashi departed from the group and Rinne Toda carried on as a solo artist and released two singles under the "Country Musume" name by herself. In the summer of 2000,

Asami Kimura was a Japanese female idol music group that is a part of Hello! Project. On November 5, 2014, Country Musume was renamed .Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, 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 ...

Rika Ishikawa , is a Japanese actress and model associated with Hello! Project and best known as a former member of the pop group Morning Musume. She was the leader of the Japanese pop idol trio v-u-den until June 2008. She has performed as a solo singer, as ...

—who is from

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

—was lent to the group in April 2001. Country Musume had their first charting single in Japan with the release of "Hajimete no Happy Birthday." The trio, under the name "Country Musume ni Rika Ishikawa," released two singles and an album. Early in 2002,

Mai Satoda is a former member of the Hello! Project group Country Musume, singer, model and talent. Personal life Her husband is Japanese baseball player Masahiro Tanaka, who pitched for the New York Yankees from 2014 to 2020. Biography She was also a me ...

was recruited to the group, although she initially auditioned to be a Morning Musume member. The quartet released one single before Toda, the remaining original member bid farewell at the end of 2002. Afterwards, Kimura, Ishikawa and Satoda released one more single. In mid-2003, Country Musume had a major shift in its roster.

Miuna Saito was a Japanese female idol music group that is a part of Hello! Project. On November 5, 2014, Country Musume was renamed .Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

, was recruited to the group. Instead of Rika Ishikawa, the group featured

Asami Konno , known by her birth name is a Japanese television presenter and former singer and actress. She debuted in August 2001 with the girl group Morning Musume and participated in musical projects within Hello! Project. After leaving the group on Ma ...

and

Miki Fujimoto (born February 26, 1985), professionally known by her birth name of , and nicknamed Mikitty, is a Japanese actress and former pop singer. After failing the audition to join girl group Morning Musume with the fourth generation members, Fujimoto d ...

, who are both

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, 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 ...

and

natives. In this new formation (named "Country Musume ni Konno to Fujimoto"), the quintet has released three singles. In 2004, Country Musume (except the featured singers) participated in the fifth edition of Hello! Project's Folk Song series, where various H!P artists sang covers of Japanese and Western folk songs. Asami Kimura and Miuna Saito graduated from Country Musume and Hello! Project on its 10th anniversary concert on January 28, 2007, leaving Satoda as the only remaining member.

Country Girls era

On February 11, 2014, it was announced during the ''Hello! Project 2014 WINTER ~GOiSU MODE~ ''concert held at Sendai Sun Plaza Hall that audition applications for Country Musume would be accepted until March 31, 2014. On August 7, it was announced that the Country Musume audition has come to an end without any additions. On November 5, 2014, it was announced that Hello! Pro Kenshūsei members Risa Yamaki and Manaka Inaba, Morning Musume '14 auditionees Chisaki Morito, Uta Shimamura and Mai Ozeki were selected to join Country Musume. Berryz Kobo member Momoko Tsugunaga was also added to the group to become their "playing manager," while Mai Satoda takes the role of "supervisor." It was also announced that Country Musume was renamed to Country Girls, hoping for the group to attract fans from overseas. On March 25, 2015, Country Musume released their first single as Country Girls and their twelfth single overall with "Itōshikutte Gomen ne / Koi Dorobō". On June 12, 2015, Uta Shimamura resigned from Country Girls due to issues between Up-Front and Uta's parents regarding the terms of her contract. Country Girls will continue as a five-member group, excluding group supervisor, Mai Satoda. On June 24, Country Girls performed at the TV Tokyo Music Festival(2) along many other artists, including Morning Musume '15 and Morning Musume OG. On August 5, Country Girls released their 2nd single "Wakatteiru no ni Gomen ne / Tamerai Summer Time." On November 5, during Country Girls' first anniversary event in Shinjuku, it was announced that Funaki Musubu and Yanagawa Nanami would be joining the group. On December 2, Country Girls performed at the UPDATE girls LIVE, alongside idol groups, Lyrical School and Tokyo Performance Doll. On February 9, during the 67th Sapporo Snow Festival, Country Girls performed a special live entitled 'Country Girls Boogie Woogie LIVE'. It took place in Odori Park in front of the HTB Snow Square. On February 18, Country Girls performed a joint live with Idol Renaissance for the DOUBLE COLOR session11 at Shinjuku BLAZE. On February 28, Country Girls performed at the SKY PerfecTV! Ongakusai 2016. On March 9, Country Girls released their 3rd single "Boogie Woogie LOVE / Koi wa Magnet / Ranrarun ~Anata ni Muchuu~". It is Yanagawa Nanami and Funaki Musubu's debut single. On April 28, it was announced that Inaba Manaka would be taking a break from Country Girls' activities due to asthma. After consulting with her doctors, it was initially decided that she would be returning to Country Girls when she recovered from her illness. However, on August 4, she graduated from the group. On September 28, Country Girls released their 4th single "Dou Datte Ii no / Namida no Request." In November 5, during the Country Girls Live Tour 2016, Fuyu day concert at Shinjuku ReNY, Country Girls' second anniversary, Tsugunaga announced that she will be graduating from the group and Hello! Project on June 30, 2017. On November 19, 2019, it was announced that all four members will be graduating from the group and Country Girls will suspend all activity. A final performance was held in December 26 at LINE CUBE SHIBUYA.

Members

Country Girls

Former

The group was supervised by

(a former member of Country Musume) *Uta Shimamura *Manaka Inaba (Former later member of

Juice=Juice Juice=Juice, pronounced "Juice Juice", is a nine-member Japanese idol girl group formed in 2013. The group originally consisted of six trainee members of Hello! Project. They have released one studio album and twelve singles. Juice=Juice was ...

) *

Momoko Tsugunaga is a former Japanese singer, actress, and radio personality. Tsugunaga joined Hello! Project as a member of Hello! Project Kids at the age of 10 and later became part of the girl groups Berryz Kobo and Buono! Following Berryz Kobo's hiatus, sh ...

(Former member of

Berryz Kobo was a Japanese girl group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2004 and associated with Hello! Project. The group's members consisted of Hello! Project Kids members Saki Shimizu, Momoko Tsugunaga, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Chinami Tokunaga, Maasa Sudo, Yuri ...

) *

Nanami Yanagawa Nanami Yanagawa (梁川奈々美; born January 6, 2002) is a former Japanese pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the n ...

(Former concurrent member of

) *Risa Yamaki (Former concurrent member of College Cosmos) *

Chisaki Morito Chisaki Morito (森戸知沙希; born February 19, 2000) is a Japanese pop singer, dancer, and a 14th-generation member of Japanese girl group Morning Musume and is a former member of Country Girls up until their disbandment in 2019. Biography E ...

(Former concurrent member of

) *Mai Ozeki *

Musubu Funaki Musubu Funaki (船木結) (born May 10, 2002) is a Japanese pop singer. She is a former 6th generation member of Japanese girl group Angerme and a former member of Country Girls. Biography Musubu was born on May 10, 2002, in Osaka, Japan. She ...

(Former concurrent member of

Angerme , formerly , is a Japanese idol girl group from the musical collective Hello! Project, which originally consisted of four former Hello! Pro Egg (''Hello! Project'' trainees) members that left Egg in 2010 and became full-time members of ''Hello! P ...

)

Country Musume

Former

*Rinne Toda *Azusa Kobayashi * Hiromi Yanagihara *

Asami Kimura was a Japanese female idol music group that is a part of Hello! Project. On November 5, 2014, Country Musume was renamed .Mai Satoda is a former member of the Hello! Project group Country Musume, singer, model and talent. Personal life Her husband is Japanese baseball player Masahiro Tanaka, who pitched for the New York Yankees from 2014 to 2020. Biography She was also a me ...

Miuna Saito was a Japanese female idol music group that is a part of Hello! Project. On November 5, 2014, Country Musume was renamed .