Morning Musume
Formed: 1997
Mobekimasu Color: Red
Morning Musume was formed in 1997 from the five losing finalists in an audition show. They sold 50,000 copies of their indies single, as part of a challenge, allowing them to become a permanent group.
They regularly add new members through auditions (forming generations) and old members graduate the group to either further their career, go back to a normal life, or make room for new members. This dynamic system can make it fun for fans to follow, giving the group a rich historical narrative that, in theory, could keep going forever. While all the groups of H!P bounce around between different styles, Morning Musume has a special case where their overall style changes to fit the current members. Have a Morning Musume with mostly older members and a couple with standout talent? More mature songs that show off the vocals of the talented girls will be more predominant. Have younger girls that have lots of room for improvement? Expect more energetic songs where everyone works together and uses strength of variety and character to entertain rather than pure vocal ability.
Leave Morning Musume alone for a year and you probably won't come back to the same group. If you think this system sounds neat, Morning Musume may be the idol group for you. If you get attached to your group's chemisty, though, you might want to follow a more stable idol group. But their music is still fun and varied, so even if Morning Musume's history and system and members are not for you, it's still worth it to subscribe to their YouTube channel and follow their music casually!
The Members
Risa Niigaki (Gaki) / Leader / 5th Gen / 23 / Green
Personality: Sarcastic and over-reacts to the stupid things her fellow members do. She's very patient and understanding, though, and talented at firing up a crowd.
Talent: Her voice is deep, smooth, and powerful.
Quirk: Is obsessed with Disney, particularly Stitch.
Sayumi Michishige (Sayu) / 6th Gen / 22 / Pink
Personality: Narcissistic and very girly. Has a poison tongue.
Talent: She's hilariously bad at singing, and her dancing isn't that great either. Her job in the group is looking pretty and being entertaining on television.
Quirk: She is a rival of Berryz Koubou's Momoko Tsugunaga because they both think they are the cutest.
Reina Tanaka (Reina) / 6th Gen / 22 / Blue
Personality: Blunt and harsh. The lone wolf with a cool, but somewhat scary, disposition.
Talent: Great at singing, though her voice can be a bit shrill.
Quirk: Her wonky eye makes her look badass with her angry faces, but derpy when she tries to act cute.
Aika Mitsui (Mitsii) / 8th Gen / 19 / Purple
Personality: Mischievously cute, like a little sister. Now that there are younger members, though, she seems to be transitioning to a strict character.
Talent: She can handle deep, cool lines. But overall, she's a decent member, not stand-out in anything.
Quirk: The group's animal lover. She loves white tigers, lions, and huskies.
Mizuki Fukumura (Fukuchan) / 9th Gen / 15 / Dark Pink
Personality: Shy and sensitive, but regal.
Talent: She's decent at singing and dancing, but tends to blend in with whomever she is performing with.
Quirk: She's the artist of the group. Her doodles are cute and impressive compared to most of the girls and their kindergarten-level drawings.
Erina Ikuta (Eripon) / 9th Gen / 14 / Dark Purple
Personality: She's incredibly awkward, from her smiles to the things she says, earning her the other nickname, "KY", which means she can't read the situation.
Talent: She's still not the best at singing and it took her a while to catch on to dancing. But she's very good at modeling. The awkwardness just slips away in "fierce" mode.
Quirk: Was a big idol fan before joining the group and still is. She buys goods of her favorite members just like fans do!
Riho Sayashi (Yasshi) / 9th Gen / 13 / Red
Personality: Professional, ambitiously determined, and quiet.
Talent: She has excellent, precise dancing from her six years at a school for performing arts. Her singing is decent and has some power live. She's a fast learner.
Quirk: She's not very good at expressing her emotions. Some fans call her "Smugleaf" (like the nickname for the Pokemon, Snivy) for her smug smile in some photos, and some of her emotions come out fake or forced.
Kanon Suzuki (Zukki) / 9th Gen / 13 / Dark Green
Personality: A completely random goof-ball who always looks like she's having the time of her life. Her charm and charisma is not that of a popstar, but a class clown.
Talent: Her singing has a lot of potential, being deep and powerful. Once she controls it, she'll be one of the top singers in the group.
Quirk: She loves to do impressions, particularly of bugs.
Haruna Iikubo (Harunan) / 10th Gen / 17 / Dark Red (almost Brown)
Personality: She's very polite and sweet, "pure", as Producer Tsunku has labeled her. But she's also like a cool big sister and has a great sense of humor in conversations.
Talent: Her high-pitched voice gets pretty soft at times. Both her singing and dancing will need work. But she has experience as a teen model, so she could have a role more similar to Sayu.
Quirk: She has huge eyes and can play "ping pong" with them by moving them independently from side to side.
Ayumi Ishida (Daa-Ishi "The Rock") / 10th Gen / 15 / Dark Blue
Personality: She's like Riho's doppleganger, just with more emotion. She's a very serious, direct girl. Modest, too.
Talent: She was a backdancer in another idol group before joining Morning Musume, so she's another sharp dancer. Singing needs improvement, though.
Quirk: Her smile is kind of creepy because it is unnaturally wide with tiny teeth. Chiima from Okay! Musume Time calls her "Baby Predator."
Masaki Sato (Masaki) / 10th Gen / 12 / Teal
Personality: Clumsy and airheaded. She's still shy and messes up on formalities or will look off camera in pictures.
Talent: During the auditions, her shyness would get the better of her and she would forget the lines and either mumble or stop singing. But in the studio, she's amazingly clear, with great pitch. Her dancing is not the best, but she can improve. And she's been noted as photogenic, so she may be a future model.
Quirk: She has latched on to fellow member Haruka Kudo like a sidekick.
Haruka Kudo (Kuduu) / 10th Gen / 12 / Orange
Personality: Boyish know-it-all perfectionist. She knows how idols work as an industry. She's very blunt and has a dry or teasing humor.
Talent: She has a low, husky voice. She's good at both singing and dancing, and with her serious perfectionism, she can only get better. She also has a talent for public speaking.
Quirk: She may be the youngest, but she acts like the oldest. Her roughness already has fans making Chuck Norris-style jokes about her.
Music Recommendations
* Most of these songs have few if any of the current line-up.
FUNKY OLD-SCHOOL - "Renai Revolution 21"
FUNTIMES - "Morning Musume no Hyokkori Hyoutanjima"
FIERCE DANCE - "Onna ni Sachi Are"
BIG BAND - "Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band"
"Daite Hold On Me!"
"Love Machine"
"Koi no Dance Site"
"The Peace"
"Souda! We're Alive"
"As For One Day"
"Shabondama"
"Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~"
"Resonant Blue"
"Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! / Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!"
Or watch/listen to all their singles HERE! Morning Musume has so many styles and songs, the list of various recommendations is huge. And even though I tried to add some cooler songs to the list, my own tastes skew happy and fun. So it's really just best to listen to the playlist and decide for yourself!
You can also find their music on iTunes!
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