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 ...
group, similar to the
Hello! Project shuffle units
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 ...
, that released one single called "Shall We Love?".
The formation of Gomattō was announced in October 2002. The idea behind the trio was an R&B style dance-based group featuring Hello! Project soloists
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 (Mo ...
,
Aya Matsuura
is a former Japanese pop singer and actress, from Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
Career
2000–2009: Hello! Project
Aya auditioned in 2000 for the fourth Morning Musume & Heike Michiyo Protegee Audition and was selected along with Sheki-Dol to become ...
and
Miki Fujimoto
(born February 26, 1985), professionally known by her birth name of , and nicknamed Mikitty, is a Japanese actress, singer and YouTuber. After failing the audition to join girl group Morning Musume with the fourth generation members, Fujimoto deb ...
, and was both conceived and named by producer
Tsunku
, known professionally as , is a Japanese singer, record producer, and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Sharam Q.
As a songwriter, Tsunku is the primary producer for Morning Musume and other Hello! Project acts, such as Co ...
. Maki Goto functioned as the leader of the group. Gomattō made their first television appearance in November, and later released their first (and only) single called "Shall We Love?" on November 20, 2002. On December 11, 2002, Goto and Fujimoto performed with
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 Ky ...
, a fellow member of Hello! Project, as a one-off performance. This incarnation of the group was called "Gonattō" (replacing the "ma" of "Matsuura" with the "na" of "Nakazawa").
All three members later recorded solo versions of the song, all with different arrangements. Miki Fujimoto's version was a more down-tempo
soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
inspired version, and both Maki Goto and Aya Matsuura's versions were—like the original version—inspired by the productions of Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs. The single was also featured on the 2008 compilation album "Hello! Project Special Units Mega Best".
Goto and Matsuura would later work together with
Natsumi Abe
is a Japanese singer and actress, a former member of Morning Musume, and a member of Dream Morning Musume.
Biography
She was born in Muroran, Hokkaidō, Japan.
Career
On August 13, 2003, she released her first single, "22 Sai no Watash ...
in the one-off unit
Nochiura Natsumi
was a one-off Hello! Project unit formed in 2004. The members were Maki Goto, Aya Matsuura and Natsumi Abe.
The group was composed of soloists, similar to Gomattou, and released their only single, , on October 6, 2004. It reached 4th place on ...
, which later morphed into
Def.Diva
Def.Diva (often stylized as DEF.DIVA) was a "special group" formed in 2005 from the Hello! Project idol umbrella, and consisted of Aya Matsuura, Maki Goto, Natsumi Abe and Rika Ishikawa. The band's name is an abbreviation of the phrase "Definite ...
with the addition of
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 disb ...
's
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, a ...
. Fujimoto joined
Morning Musume
, formerly and commonly known as and colloquially referred to as , is a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most to ...
(Goto's former group) and also became a supplementary member of
Country Musume
was a Japanese female idol music group that is a part of Hello! Project.
On November 5, 2014, Country Musume was rebooted and renamed with new members.GAM, and their first single was released in September of the same year (though they released only 3 singles before becoming inactive after March 2007).
All three members graduated from Hello! Project in March 2009 with the rest of the Elder Club.