Yes they have decided the top 25 finalists! The list of videos are currently on display on Up Front Works website and can be viewed here.

I have to say this contest was pretty exciting and I am glad to be a part of it. Congratulations to all the nominees and good luck with the final selection!

I will upload my video on Youtube and for download in a few days so keep watching out for that!

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Popularity: 20% [?]

Dohhhup website has been recently updated with an official version of the PV.

You can view video on this link. 321 Breakin Out

Popularity: 16% [?]

Here is the link to my entry.  http://www.tsunku.org/mm321opv

Please rate and review if you have time.

Thank you.

Site Author

Popularity: 23% [?]

As you may have noticed Dohhhup has been constantly updating their site about Members review of users contest submissions. Atm, there are about 134 entries supposed to reach at least 250-300 in the next few weeks. Please submit your entries as many as possible as it also shows your support for the group.

Here is the latest video from Dohhup! Please support the group and Tsunku’s music anyway you can.

- A word from the site owner.

Previous review videos can be seen on the Dohhhup mainpage.

Popularity: 42% [?]

According to Yaguchi Mari’s blog, Morning Musume’s latest single Shouganai Yume Oibito has ranked at No.1 in the Oricon Weekly Charts! The first time since 2006 and Aruiteru!

Sales figures haven’t been released just yet though indications are pointing to quite low sales.

Original Post

Popularity: 52% [?]

Morning Musume is Undergoing Changes

On March 31, the Hello Project Elder Club members (Abe Natsumi, Yaguchi Mari, Matsuura Aya, etc) all graduated. It was a new beginning for the junior members. What might be called the core of Hello Project from now on, Morning Musume, under the leadership of Takahashi Ai, may be approaching an ideal time right now as the group undergoes these changes. We spoke with Takahashi Ai, Kamei Eri, and JunJun.

(via Hotexpress.co.jp)

– Of course, I’d like to talk about “Shouganai Yumeoibito” today, but first, I’d like to discuss this February’s Hello Project concert and Elder Club Graduation Special. What kind of a day was that for Morning Musume?

Takahashi Ai: It felt like a graduation ceremony, but because it was our elders graduating, it didn’t feel real. It felt sad reading the farewell speech, saying, “We may never get a chance to sing together again…” But it didn’t mean we’d never see each other again. It’s still a strange feeling today.

Kamei Eri: When I open up the mobile site “Pocket Morning”, I can still see the graduated members’ faces anytime. So it feels like they’re still Hello Project members. But when I think about it more, it’s just Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, °C-ute, Mano (Erina)-chan, and the Hello Project Eggs.

Takahashi Ai: I’m sure there will be more Hello Project concerts, and it might feel more real then. But (former Hello Project leader) Nakazawa (Yuko)-san has handed the baton off to me, making me feel like, “I have to work hard now.”

– With the Elder Club gone, who is currently the oldest in Hello Project?

Takahashi Ai: That’s me. But ever since we started the separate Elder Club and Wonderful Hearts concerts, I was the oldest in Wonderful Hearts. So, it doesn’t really feel special now. (Looking at Kamei) There’s not much difference. The age range has narrowed. Amongst Berryz Koubou, °C-ute, and the 5th generation of Morning Musume, our histories are about the same.

– By the way, before the three of you joined Morning Musume, was there any Hello Project member you admired, or maybe one member you respected once you’d joined?

Takahashi Ai: Goto (Maki)-san really touched my heart. She graduated just after I joined. It was the first graduation ceremony that the 5th generation took part in. So, even though we didn’t work together that much, I learnt a lot from her in that short time. Even though she was so cool, she said, “I grew by watching Yagucchan (Yaguchi Mari), so you should probably watch her or something.” She didn’t talk about herself instead. That’s what really moved me.

Also, Yoshizawa (Hitomi)-san. When she became leader, I really started respecting her more and more. Before that, she was a lone wolf and a bit reckless. So it was like, “Where did that Yoshizawa-san go?” (laugh) She became leader so suddenly, so I’m sure she had a lot of worries. But she looked after us so well. It was similar to how I became leader, so I really feel like, “I want to be the kind of leader Yoshizawa-san was.”

Kamei Eri: Before I joined Morning Musume, I really liked Yagucchan. I thought, “She’s so tiny, so how can she stand out like that?” or “How can she be so energetic on TV? It’s amazing.” Also, she was a bit gal-ish. There was a time when I wanted to be a gal, too. (laugh) I really admired her cute makeup and hairstyles. But once I met her after joining Morning Musume, she taught me something important.

When I was debuting, I had a really quiet voice and that made a lot of people angry at me. (laugh) I didn’t understand why I needed to be louder. But there was a moment when that part of me changed. When we were making the dance lesson video for Sakura Gumi, we each introduced ourselves at the start. But I said, “I’m Kamei Eri,” so quietly. That’s when Yagucchan said to me, “You’re supposed to say ‘I’m Kamei Eri!’ so that everybody can understand you. You have to raise your voice and sound confident.” That’s when I thought, “I’m still a beginner and I don’t know much, so I have to try harder.”

Jun Jun: Before I joined Moning Musume, it was Goto-san. She’s really popular in China. I discovered Morning Musume because I liked Goto-san. Also when I first joined, I played futsal with Fujimoto (Miki)-san.* And at first, I was really scared. (laugh) When we were stretching together, she casually asked me, “Are you used to Japan yet?” It made me realise she was a good senpai. Also, I think Nakazawa-san has such powerful expressiveness. I really look up to her, like, “She’s a perfect senpai.” …But I love bananas, and she really hates them!

*[Note: It had been rumored that Jun Jun practiced with the Gatas Brilhantes futsal team when she first joined Hello Project, although she never actually played in a game. This seems to support that theory.]

– (laugh)

Jun Jun: So, I can’t tell her I love bananas. When I do talk about bananas, it’s always when she’s not around.

– Now that those members you look up to have graduated from Hello Project, what kind of future do you hope for Hello Project and Morning Musume?

Takahashi Ai: They’re the ones who created Morning Musume and developed Hello Project, and I’m sure we took parts of it for granted. So, from now on, I want us to treasure the parts that they all created without taking it for granted. I want to work hard so that we’ll have chances to show more people the current Morning Musume and Hello Project. We have a concert in LA in July, so I want more people to find out about us.

– I’d like to hear about that, but first, is there some image you have of Takahashi Ai’s ideal Morning Musume?

Takahashi Ai: In 2008, we had concerts in Shanghai, Taiwan, and Korea. We were aiming for an Asia tour, and when we achieved it, we started saying, “Next time, we want to aim for the world.” And this year, we’re going to LA. Music goes beyond national borders, you know? Even if they don’t understand the words, something gets across, and they can start crying. So that’s the kind of music I want to sing. And we’re always dancers, performers, and entertainers, so I want to use all of that to make ourselves known across borders. I want to be the kind of group that foreigners can listen to normally, as though it were western music. It’ll take a lot of hard work, but that’s what I’d like to do.

– So you aim to become global. What about you, Kamei-san?

Kamei Eri: This is just a short term goal, but I think that most people see Morning Musume as having a “cute, idol, slightly girlish” image. But lately, our songs, our dancing, and our makeup have all become more stylish. I think those who come to our concerts can tell, but the level of our dancing has been steadily moving up and up. Compared to when Junjun debuted, we’ve really grown. So, I want people to know that “The Morning Musume of today is this stylish” and that we’re not just cute.

– It’s obvious from your current concerts that you’re trying really hard to overcome that image.

Takahashi Ai: Compared to the songs from when we first started, we’ve tried moving on with different styles, both in singing and dancing. That’s what I really want people to know. Morning Musume’s iconic song is definitely “Love Machine”, and that bright, hyper, and cheerful image is what people think of when they think of Morning Musume. That’s important to hold onto. But, like Eri was saying, I want people to see the parts that show “We can do this too.” Not long ago, we had concerts in the hometowns of about four of us, and I invited friends that I hadn’t seen in around six years to see us. They all said things like, “You looked so cool.” That made me really happy, and I want to work hard so more people will think that way.

– I saw the current Morning Musume in concert last May, where you sang all 36 singles for “Morning Musume Concert Tour 2008 Spring ~ Single Daizenshuu! ~”, and it was really moving. I could feel that Morning Musume was a group where everybody would keep running happily towards their goals, no matter what happens.

Takahashi Ai: Thank you very much.

– But I’m sure that both at work and in private, there are things that you don’t like. It must be difficult to have to keep on smiling and give a 100% performance despite any of that.

Jun Jun: That’s right. At concert rehearsals, I get yelled at a lot. (laugh) But if you can’t work hard in rehearsal, you can’t enjoy the actual show, and then the fans won’t enjoy it.

Takahashi Ai: There are a lot of things that can help, though. There are times when you realise, “I have to smile,” and need to try harder. But also seeing the fans’ smiles is enough to completely switch your mood, and it makes us smile deep from within. You forget the bad things.

– That’s a good story. So why do you think Morning Musume is able to continue making people happy?

Takahashi Ai: We’ve come out with so many songs, this one being our 39th single. It even surprises us, like, “We’ve done so much!” This is the 12th year that the group has existed, and Tsunku♂-san has written so many songs, given us so many CD releases, allowed us to do so many concerts… It’s hard to put it into words, but because we’re needed, we can work hard. I want to keep on singing as much as possible.

Kamei Eri: There are people in the world who want to do things but can’t, and so many who want to make their debut but can’t. I was lucky enough to pass my audition, but there are a lot of people who didn’t make it. So it’s like I’m carrying all that on my shoulders in Morning Musume, and that’s what keeps me working hard. And above all else, having so many people watch me sing and dance the songs I love, it makes me truly happy to be in such a great place. When I can make the fans or my family smile, that makes me even happier. I want to really treasure those moments. It’s a little embarrassing.

– (laugh)

Takahashi Ai: But it’s true.

Kamei Eri: That’s what I like. And I think it’s really great that people will pay money to come and see us.

Jun Jun: If you think about it, most of the fans work all week, every week, Monday to Friday. That must be really hard, but when Saturday comes, they always come to our concerts and can laugh and make their tired work faces disappear. When I think of it that way, it makes me want to try harder.

– With Morning Musume chasing after their dreams no matter what like that, you’ve just released a single that embodies that philosophy. It’s called “Shouganai Yumeoibito”[hopeless dream chaser]. What kind of impressions and thoughts do you have from creating it?

Takahashi Ai: This time, the maturity level is high. Tsunku♂-san said it’s about someone roughly my age, so everybody had to act a little bit older for it. It’s a song about someone who’s close to her lover. It seemed like it would be difficult to explain the meaning of the lyrics to Junjun and Linlin, so I explained the meanings while we were in the car. That’s why it feels less like we’re singing sympathetically, and more like we’re acting the part, really getting into it.

Kamei Eri: In that way, it’s easy to get drawn into the world of this song. It’s easy to visualise it specifically.

– “How could you express such complicated feelings in your singing and in your expressions from the video?” It seems as though that was the theme here.

Takahashi Ai: That’s right. When we started recording, I was thinking, “How do I sing this?” It would be strange to sing it too intensely. That was my concern, but the music was quiet and echoed in my heart, so I just expressed that. The “shouganai yumeoibito” part sounds like something you’d hear in the Showa era (laugh) Also, I think that it depends on the person whether you would forgive the man in the song or not.

– Then let’s explore that. Do you like the kind of guy who would chase after a dream forever? Or would you want someone who has a more realistic view?

Kamei Eri: Huh!? Um… But I’m personally the indecisive type. I’m the type who’ll keep dragging something along. So, I think I’d want someone who would do the same. I’m the romantic type though, so I think I’d forgive him if I loved him. But I don’t know about the ironing though.

– You mean, “When I iron your clothes, the tears fall on my hands”? [a lyric from "Shouganai Yumeoibito"]

Kamei Eri: Yeah, I don’t know if I’d go that far. (laugh) But I think I’m the forgiving type. Well, I’m the total opposite of Ai-chan!

Takahashi Ai: Really!? But when I think about the story of this song, I think he’s going off to join a band or a theatre company. An uncertain job. It’s a fine detail (laugh) but that’s how it feels to me. So, it’s like I really want to calm him down and say, “Don’t chase after this dream.” But I want him to follow his dream. So, I don’t think I’d stop him. Because a person really shines when he chases a dream, and I admire that. So, I’d want to leave that alone. And if a person gives up on a dream, they might change completely.

– What about you, Junjun?

Jun Jun: I think it’s good to have a dream. People with dreams work hard. But if it’s someone who’s only thinking about the dream, the dream, the dream, the dream, the dream, I’d be thinking, “I’m here too, you know.” I think I’d work hard for his sake. But if he didn’t look my way at all, I think I’d be sad.

Takahashi Ai: It’s like, “It’s fine to follow your dream, but look at me, too.”

– It’s a balance.

Takahashi Ai: That balance is important.

Kamei Eri: It’s all about balance.

– It seems that this was a pretty heated topic, it got you talking more passionately than any other. Am I right?

All: (big laugh)

Kamei Eri: That’s about right.

– And as for the coupling song, you recorded a funky number called “3, 2, 1 Breakin’ Out!” What were your thoughts and impressions from that one?

Takahashi Ai: That song really feels like a Morning Musume song. It’s really easy to get into, and is the completely opposite image of “Shouganai Yumeoibito”. The rapping part was pretty funny.

Kamei Eri: It made it more interesting having Morning Musume singing something that feels like it goes to the whole world. We’ve had a lot of sad songs lately, so it was fun to have an upbeat song like this for a change.

– This song is going to be the official song of “Anime Expo 2009″ at the Los Angeles Convention Centre. With the concert being held at this event, what kind of show would you like it to be?

Takahashi Ai: Well, I’m really going to do my best! This is our chance. I’m psyched.

– Will you greet everyone in English?

Takahashi Ai: I think, in English… I’ll try my best.

Kamei Eri: Please do your best!

– What about you (laugh)!?

Takahashi Ai: Really!

– You won’t be there?

Kamei Eri: I will! It’s just that I can’t even imagine what it’ll be like. But with “3, 2, 1 Breakin’ Out!” as the theme song, I want to create the impression in America that, “This song is Morning Musume.” I want everyone humming it.

Jun Jun: I can’t really believe it. I’m too happy, so it just feels like, “Really?” And when I first heard “3, 2, 1 Breakin’ Out!”, I thought it was definitely something that foreigners would like. So, I’m sure it’ll be a good show. And the food sizes are so big in America, so I’m sure I’ll get fat. I should probably slim down before we go.

All: (big laugh)

– With your first American concert, Morning Musume is surely going through changes. What else is in store for the group this year?

Takahashi Ai: I’d like to make things new. So the new members…

Jun Jun: She said it!

Kamei Eri: Do you know something?

Takahashi Ai: I don’t. It’s just that the current lineup is the longest Morning Musume has ever gone without changing. About two years. So I think it’s about time something happened.

– Okay, we’re almost done. Each of you please give a message to the readers.

Jun Jun: With our new single “Shouganai Yumeoibito”, Morning Musume has really grown and we’re more like adult women than ever before. Even as we remember the importance of cuteness and energy, we sing with the feelings of an adult woman. Anyway, please listen to it!

Takahashi Ai: Our elders graduated on March 31, and now we in Morning Musume have to forge ahead with energy. We’re going to keep doing concerts, so even though it may take some courage for someone new to come to a Morning Musume concert, why not give it a try? Or something like that (laugh) This new song has a mature feeling, so I hope you’ll try it out once and listen to it.

Kamei Eri: Morning Musume today is really made up of different individual personalities. If you want to find out more about those personalities, we do radio shows, magazine articles, TV appearances, and lots of individual activities. I won’t say quite what Ai-chan said, “Try coming to one of our concerts.” But if you have the time, check out a radio show or something. I’ll be happy if you can get a little closer to Morning Musume like that.

Article

Popularity: 73% [?]

For the past few weeks, Nakazawa Yuko has been taking questions from all the readers of herblog. We thought they were pretty interesting, so here are all the Q&A’s she’s done from April 28 through today. If there are more in the future, we’ll try to bring them to you here.

Some of the subjects covered are her marriage plans (or lack thereof), her old-school Musume friends, her personal life, her “embarrassing” ringtones, her past jobs, and a whole lot more. Enjoy!

Full Story

2009-04-28 13:15:28

Thank you again for all of your questions ☆

I’ll start by answering the most popular ones ☆☆

Q: Aren’t you ever going to get married?
Your juniors are getting married, what about you?
Don’t you think you’re at the right age?
There were a lot of questions like that (＾～＾)

A: Not yet.
Fate can strike at any time ♪
I’ll go at my own pace ☆☆☆

Q: Are you in contact with the former Musume members?
Who are you closest with?
What about the current Musume?
There were a lot of those questions.

A: I’m really close with all the old-school Musume.
We exchange emails all the time.
We go to see each other’s plays ♪
We go out to meals together.

Recently, I went out to eat with Nacchi.
A nice comfortable and relaxed way to spend some time ♥

A little while back, I got an email from Yossie.
“I like soy milk and boiled eggs too.”

Tsuji-chan emailed me, too.

Kao-tan called me suddenly in the middle of the night two days ago.
I was shocked and thought something was wrong.
“What is it?! Did something happen?!?!”
When I asked her that, she said…
“I’ve been thinking about taking up quilting.”
Well… She just responded so casually :*:・(￣∀￣)・:*:

I haven’t heard from Yaguchi in a while, but I think she’s doing well.
I think I’ll try to go somewhere with her when she has the time soon (*^o^*)

So, who is number one?
I think that… I can’t rank them.

The current members are all my cute little juniors.
But this year I think Reina is turning 20…
That’ll be fun.

☆ Continued in part 2…

2009-04-28 18:39:49

Let’s keep going today ♪

Continuing with the popular questions ☆

Q: What kind of shampoo do you use?

A: Different kinds.
Depending on how I feel on the day, I’ll use one of 2 or 3 different ones.
First, there’s this ♪

<< More…>>

Popularity: 64% [?]

Here is a short clip of Fujimoto Miki appeared recently, I think its for a program called "First Contact"

[Live!] Morning Musume Shouganai Yume Oibito - Music Japan

Matsuura Aya - In Taiwan (06-01-02)

Download

Sanma's HAPPY X'mas SHOW 2004 - Fujimoto Goto Matsuura (Subtitled)

Download

Hello! Project Sports Festival 2003-12-29

Download: part1 part2

(2009-4-2) Bijo Houdan 01 - Takahashi Ai

Download

Morning Musume - Huge Conflict Battle in Hawaii Extra Footage

Download

Hey!Hey!Hey! 400th Anniversary (03-10-20) Sakuragumi + Otomegumi

Download

Hotel Magic in Arizona - Goto Maki (2004-07-09)

Download

Shin Bishoujo Nikki - Fujimoto Miki Drama + Making Of

Download: part1 part2

Morning Musume in Florida 2002 SP

Download

Super Dream LIVE (2000-6-19) - Morning Musume - Iron Musume of Cooking Battle

Download

Disclaimer: None of these files are uploaded by the website owner.

Popularity: 71% [?]

Morning Musume not ready to graduate yet

Three members of the Japanese pop phenomenon (and their manager) insist their mornings are far from numbered

Most artists dream of longevity, but few are afforded significant time in the limelight. The paradox of all-girl group Morning Musume, 12 years since they began, is the enforced time-limit its members face in order for the group to remain forever young.

Pop parade: The eighth generation of Morning Musume is the longest-running incarnation, having served all of two years.

Generation eight of the group, with nine members, is the longest-running incarnation so far, celebrating its two-year anniversary this month. Yet under the tutelage of producer Tsunku, “graduation” is likely never far away.

The institution that is Morning Musume (Morning Girls) began under inauspicious circumstances in 1997. TV Tokyo’s celebrated morning show “Asayan” ran a segment in which a contest was held to find a solo female singer for Tsunku, then of pop-rock outfit Sharan Q.

The winner, Michiyo Heike, fared badly, so Tsunku challenged the five runners-up to sell 50,000 copies of their debut indie single, “Ai no Tane” (“Seeds of Love”), within five days. The girls captivated the nation as they sought to achieve the feat by asking strangers on the street, family and friends to help them out.

Success on the fourth day won them a deal with Tsunku as producer of their debut proper, and the single “Morning Coffee” hit No. 6. However, it was Tsunku’s decision to boost the group with three more girls for the second single that began the tradition of “generations” and a phenomenon known as Hello! Project, an enterprise made up of innumerable, member-changing girl groups.

Sitting squeezed together on a cafe sofa in central Tokyo, wide-eyed and eager, are “band leader” Ai Takahashi, age 22, “subleader” Risa Niigaki, 20, and one of the group’s two Chinese members, Lin Lin, 17. One might think the members of this chart-happy Japanese institution would be run off their feet, but they show no signs of it.

“We get winter, summer and New Year holidays for five days each, though it depends on the situation,” explains Niigaki.

Girls interrupted: Morning Musume members (left to right) Ai Takahashi, Risa Niigaki and Lin Lin pull an instant pose for the JT at a Tokyo cafe. ROBERT MICHAEL POOLE PHOTO

Exuding self-confidence, Takahashi bursts out, “I went to New York! I saw Blue Man Group and Broadway musicals like ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ ‘The Producers’ and ‘Chicago!’ “

Morning Musume’s music has rarely changed, perhaps not surprising given that one man has produced every song. The hollow keyboard-driven productions may epitomize everything non-Japanese tend to hate about J-pop, but the catchiness of No. 1 hits such as “Happy Summer Wedding” (2000) and “As For One Day” (2003) endear the group to even hardened critics.Takahashi and Niigaki are now the longest- serving members in the group’s history, both having joined in 2001 as part of the fifth generation.

“In my case,” says Takahashi, “since I was little I’ve loved singing in front of people. So, when I saw Morning Musume, I wanted to join them. But more than that, I just wanted to be a singer.

“There was an audition at a training camp for three days and two nights. We got a new song, new dance steps and a new script and had to remember them all,” explains Takahashi. “There were nine girls for the final screening, out of 25,000 applicants. So I was really surprised when I passed the audition!”

Lin Lin (real name Qian Lin), from Hangzhou, China, had an entirely different entrance experience, as the group’s management sought to expand across borders.

“At first, I liked Japanese animation and fell in love with Japanese music,” she says. “So I was very lucky to get an invitation from Japan to join Morning Musume.”

Hail Musume!: The J-Popsters strut their stuff.

Established as a TV host and drama actress in China, she was recommended to Tsunku by a friend of his. “And so I came to Japan to join the Hello! Project Egg!” she says.

“The Hello! Project Egg is a kind of training center for pop stars-to-be, where they practice singing and dancing,” explains Takahashi. “Lin Lin became one of us from there, and some join the other groups.”

The “other groups,” such as Tanpopo, Mini Moni and Happy 7, are usually side projects featuring a combination of new and old Morning Musume members and other Hello! Project girls. Most only last for a single or two, but all are produced by one man: the all-controlling Tsunku.

“He decides everything,” explains the group’s manager since September 2008, Kouichi Nishikata. “Usually an artist is controlled by their management, but this group is formed by the producer. It is a rare case.”

Nishikata admits, “I think that the group could never survive without him. Tsunku really produces the songs, concepts, costumes, makeup, live shows, CD-sleeve designs — you name it! I had thought there was a stand-in or something to do all that.”

“Recently, the songs Mr. Tsunku gives us are kind of mature and lonesome,” says Niigaki.

Asked how they may differ if they were in control, Niigaki replies: “If I could write a song, I’d like to write a little funny and jolly tune!”

“(I’d do) something cool. A danceable tune!” says Takahashi. “Like Destiny’s Child.”

Revealing their very different personalities, the perky Lin Lin suggests “rock music! A very crazy song! And the lyrics would be written in Chinese, Japanese and English!”

Morning Musume have recently been on a slow decline in terms of sales, and the group’s revolving-door regeneration has had the negative effect that few consumers today recognize individual members. However, the girls’ different personalities are highly apparent, and it’s clear the management is keen to cultivate their individual abilities to reverse the slide.

“Each one should be recognized as being in Morning Musume in her prime,” says Nishikata. “It used be like that. Morning Musume were well known, but also (original member) Natsumi Abe was well known (in her own right). But nobody knows who is in Morning Musume anymore.”

Each member’s forced “graduation” as they are deemed too old or mature, or the group need a fresh face, is the point by which they must have established themselves enough to go it alone. The inevitability of their young retirement from the group, though, is something the current crop barely consider as a limitation.

“I can’t think of my graduation at all,” says an animated Niigaki, before conceding, “I think of it a little now that I’m one of the longest-serving of the group, but when I first joined, never! I only thought about how to catch up with the other girls.”

“I’d really like to make sure each one of them continues to work after their graduation,” explains Nishikata. “We have promoted them as a group so far, but from now on, we’d like to promote them one by one, so I hope they can do more personal work after this summer.”

Takahashi’s willingness to answer quickly and authoritatively, supported by the considered approach of Niigaki, reflects in their older-sisterly roles as leader and subleader. In reality, they admit that the titles translate to little extra work.

“We sometimes form a circle before a live show or something. And we shout for self-encouragement, like, ‘Ganbatte-ikemasu!’ (‘Let’s go do our best!’) ” says Takahashi.

Niigaki continues, “There is nothing I have to do as a subleader, but I want to support Ai when she’s got a problem. So I have no pressure!”

Meanwhile, the other members of the group seem to be as diverse as Takahashi, Niigaki and Lin Lin.

“The naughty one is Mitsy (Aika Mitsui, age 16). She won’t let us sleep on a plane!” reveals Niigaki. “The funniest is Koharu Kusumi” (16) — the only girl selected in the audition for the seventh generation. “So her nickname was ‘Miracle Koharu.’ Eri Kamei, 20, is the messy one. She can’t put things in order!”

Despite spending so much time together, the girls admit that even in their free time, they are rarely separated. They are rather coy, though, on the topic of seemingly inevitable group in-fighting.

“We always discuss a problem all together,” says Niigaki.

“Sometimes one of our staff advises us to discuss a problem,” adds Takahashi. “We are doing fine!”

At Morning Musume’s inception, the group’s fan base was diverse, attracting young girls, boys and parents. But another probable reason for their recent decline can be attributed to the resurgent otaku (obsessive fans). At a recent Hello! Project show in front of around 14,000 in Yokohama Arena, barely a single woman could be spotted among the dedicated and exuberant middle-age male crowd.

In April 2004, audio footage recorded backstage reportedly captured then-member Rika Ishikawa exclaiming: “Look at them. Grownups screaming like that! I can’t believe it. So stupid!” Although such a scandal is rare in the micromanaged Musume life, standing in front of such frenzied supporters clearly affects the girls.

“I’ve been doing this for eight years but I still get as nervous as I did the first time,” says Takahashi.

“I get a little nervous,” states Niigaki, “but I love live shows so much, and being able to see the joyful faces of the fans.”

Lin Lin, meanwhile, finds it “too enjoyable to stay nervous!”

“The fans know about us in great detail,” continues Niigaki, “and they can perform all our dance moves perfectly at the live shows!” Nevertheless, all the girls surprisingly admit that they walk comfortably on the streets without a disguise.

Conversely, “there are a lot of female fans in China and Korea,” says Takahashi. “So we get to hear fans shouting in high-pitched voices, not the usual low (otaku) voices!”

“Chinese people applaud a lot and we all love (them waving) glittering light sticks,” says Lin Lin. “You can’t see the applause, but you can see the lights!”

Morning Musume’s move into China has been seen as the next logical step for the group. However, all has not gone according to plan.

“The attempt to launch Morning Musume into China hasn’t gone very well,” admits Nishikata. “CDs don’t sell well, because they are soon pirated. Two years ago, when Lin Lin and Jun Jun (22) joined, we tried to push them hard to China, but it didn’t go so well. We are still trying to find a way.”

The future of succeeding generations of Morning Musume is clearly something Nishikata is working hard to secure. And a move to the West is a definite possibility.

“In Europe and the U.S., there are many fans of Morning Musume and Japaneseidoru (manufactured entertainers), thanks to the Internet,” says Nishikata. “(We) were invited to an event in L.A. called A.X. (Anime Expo) as a music guest this July. There are already a lot of fans of Japanese animation (in the U.S.), so it might be easy to get in through that.”

No matter where they go next, the curiosity is that Morning Musume, the concept, will no doubt continue to outlast any of its members.

Morning Musume’s ninth album, “Purachina 9 Disc,” (“Platinum 9 Disc”) is out March 18.

Read the original:
Morning Musume in The Japan Times

Popularity: 36% [?]

Morning Musume – Mikan
This is the normal edition of Morning Musume’s 35th single, Mikan, released on 2007.11.21. The first press came with a photocard randomly selected from each of the members and a group one. I got Niigaki Risa, and the scan of that is included.
Download scans here!    

Morning Musume – Mikan
This is the limited edition A version of Morning Musume’s 35th single Mikan, released on 2007.11.21. The limited edition comes with a bonus DVD and a photocard- again, randomly selected. For this one I got Kusumi Koharu, and I included the scan.
Download scans here!

Morning Musume – Mikan
Last but not least, the limited edition B version of Mikan. This limited edition comes with a mini-photobook and a randomly selected photocard. I got Michishige Sayumi for the photocard, and scans of both the photocard and the photobook are included.
Download scans here!

Go here to see the original:
Morning Musume scans

Popularity: 81% [?]