Hello! Project

Hello! Project
Commercial? Yes
Type of project Music
Location Tokyo, Japan
Owner Under the umbrella of Up-Front Promotion
Founder Tsunku
Established 1998
Website helloproject.com

Hello! Project (ハロー!プロジェクト Harō! Purojekuto) is a Japanese idol project, the umbrella name for a collective of female singers who are under contract with the Up-Front Group and whose recordings are produced by Tsunku.

Line-up as of 2016

History

1997–2000: Beginning, Michiyo Heike & Morning Musume

In 1997, Japanese rock group Sharam Q, fronted by Tsunku, began auditions for a female vocalist. These auditions aired via the reality show Asayan, and resulted in Michiyo Heike being crowned winner. Tsunku, however, decided to give five of the runners-up, Yuko Nakazawa, Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Asuka Fukuda and Aya Ishiguro, a chance to become a group in their own right. The girls were set the task of selling 50,000 copies of their demo single "Ai no Tane," in just five days. The girls sold the required number of copies in four days, and subsequently became an official group.

Morning Musume's debut single, "Morning Coffee," was released on January 28, 1998 on the One Up Music label and charted at #6 on the Oricon weekly chart. The group's first official appearance was a joint live in August 1998, at Shibuya Public Hall (now Shibuya C.C. Lemon Hall), under the name "Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume," (平家みちよとモーニング娘。) the fan club of the two acts was called "Hello!" The first official "units" were Tanpopo and Petitmoni, created in October 1998. The first "Michiyo Heike & Morning Musume Imotōbun Audition" took place, resulting in the "second generation" of Morning Musume to be added, made up of Sayaka Ichii, Mari Yaguchi and Kei Yasuda.

In January 1999, auditions for Country Musume were held on "Idol o Sagase!" (アイドルをさがせ! Search For an Idol!). In April of that year the girls' official fan club was renamed "Hello! Project." Auditions were once again held on Asayan between April and July, resulting in Taiyō to Ciscomoon and Coconuts Musume, with Country Musume's official formation announced. In July, the first live concert of Hello! Project, "Hello! Project '99 at Yokohama Arena," was held.

The first shuffle units were formed in March 2000, releasing the "theme" of Hello! Project as a B-side. The first Hello! Project television show, "Hello! Morning," was created in April.

2001–2005: Rise to popularity, Berryz Kobo & C-ute

In March 2001, Morning Musume co-founder and leader Yuko Nakazawa announced her graduation from the group. The actual graduation took place in April, and Nakazawa was subsequently named as leader of the entirety of Hello! Project. Nakazawa's was the first graduation in the history of Hello! Project, and garnered considerable media attention as a result, the first time the group had truly caught the attention of the mainstream press.

Between April and June 2002, the first, and to date only, Hello! Project Kids auditions were held. These auditions resulted in the future members of Japanese idol groups Berryz Kobo and C-ute, who would go on to debut in March 2004 and February 2007 respectively, also spawning offshoot auditions such as auditions for Hello! Pro Egg and Hello! Project Kansai. On July 31, 2002, a major reform of all of the groups within Hello! Project began, which was referred to as "Haromageddon" (ハローマゲドン) (a pun on Hello (ハロー, Harō) and Armageddon (ハルマゲドン, "Harumagedon")) and "the 7/31 incident" by fans.

2006–2013: Expansion to Taiwan & South Korea

In February 2006, former Morning Musume member and sub-leader of duo W, Ai Kago was caught smoking in public while underage. She was also suspected of dating a much older man. Kago was suspended from her activities and eventually began to attempt a return.

On March 26, 2007, Kago was again caught smoking. Her contract was terminated and she had no graduation ceremony, as had become standard for exiting members.

In June, it was announced that Asami Konno, who had graduated from Hello! Project a year prior to study at university, would be returning. Konno became the first person to have graduated from Hello! Project to return.

In October, Tsunku established a new unit, the Nice Girl Project!, as well as The Possible, a group made up of Hello! Pro Eggs.

Soon after, Maki Goto, who had been inactive for some time, graduated from Hello! Project as a soloist. She later transferred to Avex.

In February 2007, Cute officially debuted with the single Sakura Chirari.

In 2007, Hello! Project started the Taiwanese "Morning Family New Star Audition"; an audition aimed at recruiting new Taiwanese members to join Hello! Project.[1][2]

In April 2008, the debut of Hello! Project Kansai group Sina (SI☆NA) was announced. The group never actually debuted, though they occasionally appeared on television shows and radio they have never recorded a song.

In September it was announced that, as a result of the Taiwanese auditions, the group Ice Creamusume (アイスクリー娘。) would be formed, consisting of six members.[3] Duo Francis & Aiko, both still only children, was also announced from the same audition.

On October 19, 2008, Hello! Project announced its entire Elder Club would be graduating on March 31, 2009.[4]

2008 also marked the first time in a decade that Morning Musume had not performed at the annual Kōhaku Uta Gassen event, after ten consecutive appearances. The only Hello! Project member to appear on that year's show was Mai Satoda, marking the first appearance of a member of Country Musume.

In February 2009, it was announced that Hello! Project would begin a series of auditions in South Korea.[5][6]

On February 1, 2009, at the Yokohama Arena, Hello! Project held its largest concert everthe Hello! Pro Awards '09: Elder Club Graduation Special (決定!ハロ☆プロアワード’09 ~エルダークラブ卒業記念スべシャル~ Kettei! Hello Pro Awards '09: Elder Club Sotsugyō Kinen Special)featuring 21 groups and 72 members. Former Morning Musume member Nozomi Tsuji performed in her first official event in a year and nine months, after marrying actor Taiyō Sugiura in June 2007 and giving birth to her daughter, Noa, that November. During the concert, former Hello! Project leader Yuko Nakazawa passed her leadership position to Morning Musume leader Ai Takahashi.[7] This mass-graduation caused another large surge of fan backlash, resulting in even more fanclub cancellations and merchandise boycotts, and is considered the "third coming of Haromageddon".

Later in 2009, several of the old, dormant units were revived. Tanpopo, Minimoni, Petitmoni, ZYX, Aa! and v-u-den all returned with new line-ups, and High-King returned from hiatus with its original members. These groups became a new concert unit, "Champloo".

In April 2009, Tsunku announced a new group consisting of four Hello! Pro Egg members, named S/mileage. They would later go on to have their official debut in May 2010 with the single 'Yume Miru 15'.

In August 2009, Morning Musume released their 40th single, 'Nanchatte Ren'ai'.

On September 30, 2011, Ai Takahashi graduated and handed her position as leader of Morning Musume and Hello! Project over to Risa Niigaki.

In 2011, the most members were added since Hello! Project Kids back in 2002 - Morning Musume's 9th generation in January, S/mileage's 2nd generation in August, and Morning Musume's 10th generation in September.

On January 2, at the Hello! Project 2012 Winter concert, Morning Musume leader Risa Niigaki announced that she would graduate at the end of Morning Musume's 2012 Spring tour.

In July 2012, Morning Musume released their 50th single, 'One Two Three / The Matenrō Show'.

In the last concert of the Winter 2013 Hello! Project concert, a new unit consisting of Hello! Pro Kenshuusei members Miyamoto Karin, Kanazawa Tomoko, Uemura Akari, Otsuka Aina and Takagi Sayuki, and Miyazaki Yuka was announced, although it has been stated that this is not the definitive lineup and members may change before their official debut.[8] It was subsequently announced on February 25 that the new unit would be called Juice=Juice and it would soon release its first indie single.[9] At a Hello Project concert series held on March 2–3, Juice=Juice already premiered the song.[10]

Leaderships

Hello! Project leaders

# Name Period of time
1st Yuko Nakazawa[11] April 15, 2001 - March 31, 2009
2nd Ai Takahashi April 2009[12] - September 30, 2011
3rd Risa Niigaki[13] October 1, 2011 - May 18, 2012
4th Sayumi Michishige[14] May 19, 2012 - November 26, 2014
5th Maimi Yajima[15] November 27, 2014 - current

Main Group Leaders

Group Name Period of time*
Morning Musume Mizuki Fukumura November 27, 2014 – present
Cute Maimi Yajima December 2006 – present
Angerme Ayaka Wada April 4, 2009 – present
Juice=Juice Yuka Miyazaki June 13, 2013 – present
Kobushi Factory Ayaka Hirose March 8, 2015 – present
Tsubaki Factory Riko Yamagishi August 8, 2015 – present

* All except Fukumura have been leaders of their respective groups since formation.

Former artists and groups

Leaving Hello! Project is referred to as graduating (卒業 sotsugyō). There is also the possibility of a singer graduating from a subgroup and remaining in Hello! Project as a soloist.

A graduation is a member's final performance either with Morning Musume or one of its many subgroups or associated acts, in which case they are either beginning a solo career or forming a new group within Hello! Project or, rarely, leaving the Hello! Project umbrella entirely. These departures are usually voluntary and amicable.

The magazine Friday has, on three occasions, published photographs of Morning Musume members that have caused them either to quit the group or be fired. These members are Mari Yaguchi, Miki Fujimoto and Ai Kago. Because of these "scandals," and their subsequent sudden departures from the group, Mari Yaguchi and Miki Fujimoto are the only members of Morning Musume to have not undergone a "graduation ceremony" from the band before starting or resuming a solo career. Yaguchi was photographed with her then-boyfriend Shun Oguri in 2005, and although 22 at the time, she left voluntarily, stating that she could not maintain the "idol" image required to stay in the group. Yaguchi did have a graduation ceremony three years earlier when she departed MiniMoni, the subgroup she co-founded, in 2002, but did not receive another. Fujimoto was photographed with her boyfriend Shōji Tomoharu (whom she later married) in 2007. Ai Kago, although having a graduation ceremony from Morning Musume, did not have a ceremony for leaving Hello! Project, since her repeated scandals resulted in her contract being dissolved and later being fired from the agency.

All four of the main groups in Hello! Project (Morning Musume, Berryz Kobo, Cute and S/mileage) have all had at least one graduation within the group.

Conversely, Melon Kinenbi, Juice=Juice, Kobushi Factory and Tsubaki Factory are the only groups in the history of Hello! Project to not undergo a graduation or other personnel change in its entire existence.

On March 31, 2009, the entire 'Elder Club' Hello! Project Concert unit graduated from Hello! Project. This included group Melon Kinenbi and soloists such as Natsumi Abe and Aya Matsuura.

Disbanded groups

Shuffle units

Concert units

  • Elder Club (Graduated)
  • Wonderful Hearts

Former artists

One-shot and special units

Acts and performances

TV

Radio

Internet

Concerts

Name Start date End date Performances Release format (date)
1st Concert "Hello!" July 12, 1998 July 27, 1998 3 in 3 cities VHS
Hello! Project Happy New Year '99 January 2, 1999 January 3, 1999 2 in 1 cities VHS
Hello! Project Summer Concert '99 August 14, 1999 August 26, 1999 4 in 3 cities VHS
Hello! Project Happy New Year 2000 January 2, 2000 January 30, 2000 16 in 3 cities VHS
Hello! Project 2000 Atsumare! Summer Party July 15, 2000 September 10, 2000 In 12 cities VHS
Hello! Project 2001 Sugoizo! Nijū-seiki January 2, 2001 February 25, 2001 19 in 3 cities VHS
Hello! Project 2001 Together! Summer Party! July 14, 2001 July 29, 2001 13 in 3 cities VHS, DVD
Hello! Project 2002 ~Kotoshi mo Sugoizo~ January 2, 2002 February 17, 2002 28 in 7 cities VHS, DVD (March 20, 2002)
Hello! Project 2002 ~One Happy Summer Day~ July 13, 2002 July 28, 2002 12 in 3 cities VHS, DVD (October 17, 2002)
Hello! Project 2003 Winter ~Tanoshinjattemasu!~ January 2, 2003 February 2, 2003 25 in 4 cities VHS, DVD (March 19, 2003)
Hello! Project 2003 Summer ~Yosha! Bikkuri Summer!!~ July 19, 2003 July 27, 2003 12 in 3 cities VHS, DVD (October 8, 2003)
Hello! Project 2004 Winter ~C'mon! Dance World~ January 3, 2004 January 25, 2004 23 in 4 cities DVD (March 17, 2004)
Hello! Project 2004 Summer ~Natsu no Dōn!~ July 17, 2004 August 1, 2004 12 in 3 cities DVD (October 6, 2004)
Hello! Project 2005 Winter All Stars Dairanbu
~A Happy New Power! Kaori Iida Graduation Special~
  • Hello! Project 2005 Winter ~A Happy New Power! Akagumi~
  • Hello! Project 2005 Winter ~A Happy New Power! Shirogumi~
January 29, 2005
  • January 3, 2005
  • January 4, 2005
January 30, 2005
  • January 23, 2005
  • January 23, 2005
2 in Yokohama
  • 9 in 3 cities
  • 9 in 3 cities
DVD (March 16, 2005)
Hello! Project 2005 Natsu no Kayō Show ~'05 Selection Collection!~ July 10, 2005 July 24, 2005 8 in 3 cities DVD (October 5, 2005)
Hello! Project 2006 Winter ~Zeninshū Go!~
  • Hello! Project Winter 2006 ~Elder Club~
  • Hello! Project Winter 2006 ~Wonderful Hearts~
January 28, 2006
  • January 2, 2006
  • January 2, 2006
January 29, 2006
  • January 22, 2006
  • January 21, 2006
2 in Yokohama
  • 14 in 3 cities
  • 14 in 3 cities
DVD (cancelled original release: March 29, 2006. Released later as a fan club item on December 20, 2008)
Hello! Project 2006 Summer ~Wonderful Hearts Land~ July 9, 2006 July 23, 2006 7 in 3 cities DVD (October 4, 2006)
Hello! Project 2007 Winter Shūketsu! 10th Anniversary
  • Hello! Project Winter 2007 ~Elder Club The Celebration~
  • Hello! Project Winter 2007 ~Wonderful Hearts Otome Gokoro~
January 27, 2007
  • January 5, 2007
  • January 2, 2007
January 28, 2007
  • January 20, 2007
  • January 21, 2007
3 in Yokohama
  • 11 in 3 cities
  • 11 in 3 cities
DVD (4-disc DVD set including footage from the three concerts and backstage, Winter Shūketsu! 10th Anniversary: March 28, 2007)
Hello! Project 2007 Summer 10th Anniversary Dai Kanshasai
~Hello☆Pro Natsu Matsuri!~
July 15, 2007 July 29, 2007 11 in 3 cities DVD (October 16, 2007)
Hello! Project 2008 Winter ~Kettei! Hello☆Pro Awards '08~
  • Hello! Project 2008 Winter ~Kashimashi Elder Club~
  • Hello! Project 2008 Winter ~Wonderful Hearts Nenjū Mukyū~
January 26, 2008
  • January 5, 2008
  • January 2, 2008
January 27, 2008
  • January 19, 2008
  • January 20, 2008
3 in Yokohama
  • 9 in 3 cities
  • 11 in 3 cities
DVD (Kettei! Hello☆Pro Awards '08, Kashimashi Elder Club, Wonderful Hearts Nenjū Mukyū: March 26, 2008)
Hello! Project 2008 Summer Wonderful Hearts Kōen
~Hishochi de Date Itashima Show~
July 19, 2008 August 3, 2008 11 in 3 cities DVD (October 22, 2008)
Hello! Project 2009 Winter
Kettei! Hello☆Pro Awards '09 ~Elder Club Graduation Special~
  • Hello! Project 2009 Winter Elder Club Kōen
    ~Thank You For Your Love!~
  • Hello! Project 2009 Winter Wonderful Hearts Kōen
    ~Kakumei Gannen~
January 31, 2009
  • January 10, 2009
  • January 2, 2009
February 2, 2009
  • January 25, 2009
  • January 18, 2009
3 in Yokohama
  • 9 in 3 cities
  • 11 in 3 cities
DVD (Thank You For Your Love!, Kakumei Gannen: March 25, 2009, Kettei! Hello☆Pro Awards '09 ~Elder Club Graduation Special: April 15, 2009)
Hello! Project 2009 Summer Kakumei Gannen ~Hello! Champloo~ July 19, 2009 August 3, 2009 12 in 3 cities DVD (November 14, 2009)
Hello! Project 2010 Winter Kachō Fūgetsu ~Shuffle Date~
  • Hello! Project 2010 Winter Kachō Fūgetsu ~Mobekimasu!~
January 5, 2010
  • January 2, 2010
January 24, 2010
  • January 23, 2010
8 in 3 cities
  • 14 in 3 cities
DVD (Shuffle Date: March 31, 2010, Mobekimasu: April 8, 2010), Blu-ray Disc (Shuffle Date and Mobekimasu: August 4, 2010)
Hello! Project 2010 Summer ~Fankora!~ July 18, 2010 August 8, 2010 13 in 4 cities DVD (October 27, 2010), Blu-ray Disc (December 15, 2010)
Hello! Project 2011 Winter ~Kangei Shinsen Matsuri~ January 2, 2011 January 23, 2011 20 in 3 cities DVD (A Gana Live, B Kkuri Live: April 27, 2011), Blu-ray Disc (a Full Edition: May 18, 2011)
Hello! Project 2011 Summer ~Nippon no Mirai wa~ July 16, 2011 August 14, 2011 18 in 3 cities DVD (Wow Wow Live, Yeah Yeah Live: November 16, 2011), Blu-ray Disc (a Full Edition: December 14, 2012)
Hello! Project 2012 Winter ~Hello☆Pro Tengoku~ January 2, 2012 January 22, 2012 19 in 3 cities DVD (Rock Zzang, Punky Zzang: April 11, 2012), Blu-ray Disc (a Full Edition: May 16, 2012)
Hello! Project Tanjou 15th Anniversary Live 2012 Summer July 21, 2011 August 19, 2011 18 in 3 cities DVD (Ktkr, Wkwk: November 14, 2012), Blu-ray Disc (a Full Edition: December 5, 2012)
Hello! Project Tanjou 15th Anniversary Live 2013 Winter January 2, 2013 February 3, 2013 24 in 4 cities

Musicals

Sports festivals

See also

References

  1. "New Star Audition website" (in Chinese). helloproject.com.tw. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  2. "New Star Audition information" (in Japanese). helloproject.com.tw. May 13, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
  3. "Ice creamusume blog" (in Chinese). Pixnet. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  4. "Elder Club members to graduate from Hello! Project". Hello!Online. October 19, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  5. "Japanese Girl Band Seeks Korean Member". The Korea Times. February 2, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  6. "Japan's Hello! Project to Recruit Korean Members" (in Japanese). Yonhap News. February 2, 2009. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  7. "The end of an era: Elder Club graduates". Hello!Online. February 1, 2009.
  8. Tsunku (3 February 2013). ハロプロ研修生内、新ユニット結成のお知らせ。. オフィシャルファンクラブWebサイト Hello! Project (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  9. ハロプロ研修生のユニット名決定. Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  10. "新アイドルユニット"Juice=Juice"、ハロプロ公演でデビュー曲初披露". De View (Oricon). 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
  11. "ハロー!プロジェクト オフィシャルサイト". Hello! Project. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  12. "高橋愛の画像、高橋愛の経歴・プロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  13. "【HMV-エルパカBOOKS限定特典付き】 ハロー!チャンネル Vol.8 カドカワムック|エルパカBOOKS". HMV ONLINE. Retrieved 2012-10-24.
  14. "Pocket Morning Weekly Q&A (2/20/2013)". Hello! Online. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  15. "ハロー!プロジェクトのリーダーに関するお知らせ". helloproject.com. Retrieved 2014-10-08.

External links

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