is a Japanese singer. She is a member of

Up-Up Girls is a Japanese female idol group. The group was formerly named . The name of the group is abbreviated or . History 2004 to 2011 In 2004, Hello! Project held a nationwide audition titled "Hello Pro Egg Audition 2004". Out of over 10,000 appl ...

and a former member of

Hello! Pro Egg (formerly known as until January 2012) is a pre-debut training group established by Japanese entertainment agency Up-Front Group is a Japanese holding company for various entertainment companies. Its subsidiaries include the talent agenc ...

, a

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...

trainee program under the

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 ...

umbrella. She was also an original member of

Shugo Chara Egg! , also known as ''My Guardian Characters'', is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by the manga author duo, Peach-Pit. The story centers on elementary school girl Amu Hinamori, whose popular exterior, referred to as "cool and spicy" by her clas ...

, and played the role of Amulet Spade in the live action segment of the highly acclaimed television series Shugo Chara! Party!. She completed her training in Hello! Pro Egg on April 18, 2011, and joined Up-Front Girls on May 3, 2011. On May 16, 2011, she was also added to UFZS, a K-Pop dance cover group.

History

Akari Saho was chosen as one of 32 winners from 10,570 applicants in the search for talent for a new trainee group under the Hello! Project umbrella called Hello! Pro Egg in June 2004. Akari replaced the graduated member Ayumi Yutoku in Tomoiki Ki Wo Uetai (We Want To Plant Trees) in November 2007, although this group is rarely active. In late 2008, along with

Ayaka Wada is a Japanese singer and idol signed to YU-M Entertainment. She was a first generation member and the leader of Angerme as well as the leader of Hello! Project. * Biography Wada joined Hello! Project as a member of Hello! Pro Egg in June 20 ...

Yuuka Maeda is a former Japanese singer and actress. After joining Hello Pro Egg, a trainee program associated with Hello! Project, she achieved early fame as Amulet Heart in Shugo Chara Egg! before debuting in S/mileage, a Japanese idol girl group as ...

and

Kanon Fukuda , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer and Voice acting in Japan, voice actress. She is a member of Metamuse and a former member of Hello! Project idol group Angerme and Shugo Chara Egg!. Biography Hello!Pro Egg Fukuda Kanon joined H ...

, Akari became a member of

, a group formed to sing the opening theme song of the second season of the anime series

Shugo Chara! , also known as ''My Guardian Characters'', is a Japanese ''shōjo'' manga series created by the manga author duo, Peach-Pit. The story centers on elementary school girl Amu Hinamori, whose popular exterior, referred to as "cool and spic ...

(Shugo Chara!! Doki). In July 2009 it was revealed that Akari was to replace

Reina Tanaka is a Japanese singer and actress. She is the leader of the Japanese rock band Lovendor. From 2002 to 2013, she was one of the main vocalists of the girl group Morning Musume and participated in other music acts under the Hello! Project name. ...

in the revived Hello! Project group

Aa! was a Japanese girl group in Hello! Project, formerly made up of leader and Morning Musume member Reina Tanaka, Miyabi Natsuyaki and Airi Suzuki, two Hello! Project Kids. History The group's name was chosen by producer and writer Tsunku to rep ...

for a cover album project, Champloo 1: Happy Marriage Song Cover Shū. In addition, the group was also featured in another compilation album and numerous concert appearances. In August, Shugo Chara Egg! changed its lineup for season 3 of "Shugo Chara! Party!". Akari stayed while Ayaka, Yuuka and Kanon left to concentrate on their newly formed group

S/mileage , 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! ...

. Akari was soon joined by

Irori Maeda is a Japanese pop singer and former member of the Japanese idol group AKBN0 (later known as N Zero). She is a former Hello Pro Egg member. She joined Hello! Project in 2006 as a member of Hello! Pro Egg. In 2011, she left Hello Project for AKB ...

and

Mizuki Fukumura is a Japanese singer, dancer, and actress. She is a ninth-generation member, current leader of the pop group Morning Musume as well as the current and seventh leader of Hello Project. Prior to becoming part of Morning Musume, Fukumura was known ...

. They sang the theme for the anime portion, Shugo Chara!!! Dokki Doki, while appearing in the live action segments as characters from the anime. During these segments, they advertised auditions to cast a new member of Shugo Chara Egg!. Eventually they were joined by

Nanami Tanabe , also known as ''My Guardian Characters'', is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by the manga author duo, Peach-Pit. The story centers on elementary school girl Amu Hinamori, whose popular exterior, referred to as "cool and spicy" by her clas ...

, the winner of the auditions. Akari appeared as one of the backup dancers in three consecutive

Erina Mano is a Japanese idol singer and actress formerly associated with Hello! Project. She joined in 2006 as a member of Hello Pro Egg, as a trainee. In 2007, she became a member of the Hello! Project futsal team Gatas Brilhantes H.P. and its musical ...

music videos, "

Haru no Arashi Haru is a Japanese word that means "spring (season)". Haru is also a Korean word that means " day" in Korean. Haru may also refer to: *Haru (woreda), a woreda (district) in Ethiopia *Haru (given name), a unisex Japanese given name *Haru (actress ...

", " Onegai Dakara..." and "

Genkimono de Ikō! is the 8th major label single released by Japanese idol Erina Mano, and her 11th overall. The single was released on 15 September 2010 on the Hachama label. The single was released in three different types: Limited Editions A and B, and a normal ...

" On April 18, 2011, the official Hello! Pro Egg website announced that Akari had finished her training. On May 3, 2011, Akari officially joined Up-Front Girls, a new group under

Up-Front Agency 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, ...

. Her joining was announced during a live performance streamed on Nico Nico Douga. On May 16, 2011, Akari, along with fellow Up-Front Girls member,

Minami Sengoku Minami (kanji 南, hiragana みなみ) is a Japanese word meaning " south". Places Japan There are several Minami wards in Japan, most of them appropriately in the south part of a city: *Minami, Tokushima, a village in Tokushima Prefectur ...

, was added to UFZS, a K-Pop dance cover group. Currently, all seven members of Up-Front Girls are also members of UFZS. On June 26, 2011, Up-Front Girls was renamed to

. The lineup remained unchanged. On July 1, 2011, it was announced that Up-Up Girls would become regular performers at an idol theater called MAP Theater, located in Akihabara. They are scheduled to perform every Thursday. In July, 2011, it was revealed that Akari, along with fellow Up-Up Girls member, Ayano Sato, would make an appearance in a TV drama entitled Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro (勇者ヨシヒコと魔王の城). On August 12, 2011, Takamasa Sakurai Tweeted that Akari, along with former

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 ...

member,

Linlin Qian Lin (born March 11, 1991), better known in Japan as , is a Chinese singer. She is a former Morning Musume member and leader of the Hello! Project sub-group Shin Minimoni. She was announced to be joining as the eighth generation of Morning ...

, would be forming a special unit. They will be performing a mini live at a Harajuku fashion show in

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

, China. On March 10, 2012, Up-Up Girls will release the first version of their debut single, Going My ↑ (pronounced "Going My Way") as an event-only release.

Discography

Filmography

Movies

* 2010 –

TV series

* 2009 – 2010: '' Shugo Chara! Party!''

References

External links

Official Hello! Project Website

Akari Saho
at Hell! Project
Official Up Up Girls Blog

Official Up Up Girls News Blog

MAP Theater Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saho, Akari Japanese idols Aa! members Living people 1995 births Musicians from Tokyo