Morning Musume’s Michishige Sayumi & Tanaka Reina to star in a new drama

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It’s been revealed that Morning Musume’s Michishige Sayumi and Tanaka Reina will take lead roles for upcoming late night drama “Suugaku Joshi Gakuen” which will start airing on January 11th (NTV).

This drama will be a school drama about Math battles, and it will center Michishige and Tanaka who are the classmates and rivals, with a only male student of the school (will be played by Sakurada Dori) who transferred to the school by mistake, and has no interest in Math.  As the opponents of Michishige and Tanaka’s Math battles, other Mobekimasu (comprised of 5 Hello! Project groups, Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, ℃-ute, Mano Erina, and S/mileage) members, such as Mano Erina, Tsugunaga Momoko and Sudo Maasa (of Berryz Koubou), Yajima Maimi, Nakajima Saki, and Suzuki Airi (of ℃-ute), Wada Ayaka, Fukuda Kanon, and Tamura Meimi (of S/mileage) will also make appearance in the drama.

This will be the first time for both Michishige and Tanaka to appear in a drama, and Michishige commented with a smile, “Since this is the genre I have never done before, I thought it was difficult at first.  However, I started to think it is fun to do acting now.  Reina is a big help to me since she teaches me a lot of things.”  She also said about other Mobekimasu members, “I have only seen Mobekimasu members as idols, so it feels fresh to see them acting.”  Tanaka also commented, “I am enjoying the shoot without getting nervous since it’s members I know well.”  Then the two girls said, “We would like many people to know about Mobekimasu through this drama.”

Source & Image: MANTAN WEB

Morning Musume’s Michishige Sayumi to participate in 10,000 yen for a month project

Morning Musume’s Michishige Sayumi (22) will appear on TV Asahi’s variety program “Ikinari! Ougon Densetsu” and revealed she will be partaking in the “Living on 10,000 yen for 1 month” project. 10,000 yen can be converted to around 128 US dollars.

Michishige wrote, “The program will air sometime in the middle of November, but the official date hasn’t been announced yet. However, I just COULDN’T endure it and had to tell you all!!! KYAAAAA!!”

This project is a battle in which the contestants have to save money when it comes to food and utilities. When the one month is over, the person with the most money leftover is the winner.

Michishige’s opponent is Akiyama Ryuji from the comedic group Robert. Michishige emphasized, “Sayumi will do her best!! Particularly when it comes to ‘cooking’!!”

Source: Michishige Sayumi’s Official Blog

Morning Musume’s Takahashi Ai becomes a “Fukui Brand Ambassador”

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On September 26th, Morning Musume leader Takahashi Ai was chosen to be a “Fukui Brand Ambassador” to promote the beauty of Fukui across Japan.

Takahashi is actually from Fukui, and so the appointment was a particularly special one for her. She was granted the title officially by Fukui’s governor, Nishikawa Issei, at the prefectural office.

The star expressed her ambition by saying, “I want many people to know the qualities of Fukui Prefecture.” She continued, “Fukui has clean air, and the people are kind.”

Representatives of Fukui prefecture hoped for Takahashi to do her best in her new role, as they said, “Her margin of activities will widen, so we want her to sight-see and spread Fukui’s charm.”

Takahashi will be graduating from Morning Musume on September 30th, and will soon begin her solo activities.

Source + Photo: Sanspo

Morning Musume reveals track list for “12, Smart”!

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Morning Musume has just revealed the track list for their upcoming album, “12, Smart“!

As we previously reported, Morning Musume’s twelfth full album will be released on October 12th and is the last album to feature leader Takahashi Ai, who is graduating later on this month.

Check out the full track list for the album below!
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< CD Track List >
01. Give me Ai
02. Only you
03. Silver no Udedokei
04. Suki da na Kimi ga
05. Kaiketsu Positive A
06. Kono Ai wo Kasanete
07. Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatte’ru n da yo!
08. Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!
09. My Way ~Joshikou Hanamichi~
10. Otome no Timing
11. OK YEAH!
12. Maji Desu ka Ska!

Source: Neowing

Morning Musume reveals jacket covers for 12th album

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Morning Musume has just revealed the jacket covers for their upcoming album, “12, Smart“!

The album will come in two versions: a limited CD + DVD edition, and a regular CD-only edition. The limited edition will contain a DVD featuring the PV for leader Takahashi Ai’s solo song, “Jishin Motte Yume Motte Tobidatsu Kara“.

“12, Smart” is scheduled to be released on October 12th.

Check out the covers below!

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<Limited Edition>

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<Regular Edition>

Source: CD Japan 1, 2

Morning Musume’s Takahashi Ai performs solo on Coming Soon!!

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For the latest broadcast of the music show “Coming Soon!!“, Morning Musume leader Takahashi Ai appeared to perform her solo song, “Jishin Motte Yume Motte Tobidatsu Kara“!

Check out her talk and bright performance below!

Music Japan reveals their artist lineup for September 11th!

Popular music program Music Japan revealed their artist lineup for their September 11th episode!

This broadcast will feature groups such as flumpool, Morning Musume, and AAA. In addition, singer-songwriter Uemura Kana and rapper KREVA will make their appearance on stage as well.

Check it out below!

—-

• “Akashi” - flumpool

• “Sekaiichi Gohan” – Uemura Kana

• “KILA KILA” – KREVA

• “Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!” – Morning Musume

• “CALL” – AAA

—–

Source: Music Japan Official Homepage

Morning Musume uploads both PV’s for their double A-side single!

On September 3rd, idol group Morning Musume uploaded a 10-minute long double PV for their upcoming double A-side single, “Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!/Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai” to their official YouTube channel!

This will be leader Takahashi Ai’s last single and will be released on her birthday, September 14th!

Morning Musume’s Takahashi Ai talks about her impending graduation and future plans

On September 3rd, Morning Musume kicked off Takahashi Ai’s final tour to commemorate her impending graduation. Takahashi Ai joined Morning Musume back in August 2001 as a 5th generation member, and became the group’s 6th leader in June 2007.

Sanspo snagged an interview with the much-loved idol, where she shared some of her thoughts on her upcoming graduation and her plans for the future.

Takahashi began, “I don’t want to cry. I want to make it a graduation where people will say, ‘She was cool’. If I’m sad, then the people watching me won’t be able to smile.”

She aims to hold a graduation ceremony like senpai Ishikawa Rika, who graduated in May 2005.

“[Ishikawa-san] wrote a letter, and read it herself,” said Takahashi. “There were a lot of things that wouldn’t have been delivered if she cried, but she fought through it. I thought that was cool.”

The tour carried a motif of Takahashi’s name and was given the title, “Ai BELIEVE“.

On the upcoming tour, Takahashi revealed, “This time, I gave a lot of my input into the tour. Such as the stage costumes, and the tour concept designs.”

When the reporter asked, “You mean, like hats?“, she put her hand to her mouth and said, “Right,” revealing the ’secret’. Then she continued, “Even jacket and T-shirts. I want to put 100% effort into it, so I had them listen to my selfishness.”

Takahashi has been in Morning Musume for 10 years with Niigaki Risa, who is also a 5th generation member. As a leader, Takahashi will set the longest record with 4 years and 3 months.

“I never thought I would be in Morning Musume for 10 years, moreover, to be a leader for such a long time… The 5th generation members were close from the start and we were always together, so the manager used to scold us by saying, ‘That’s why your individuality doesn’t come out.’”

However, a ‘non-conformist’ broke out from the group. This was Konno Asami, who graduated in April 2006 to attend a university, and became an announcer at TV Tokyo in April of this year.

“It was encouragement. She was heading towards a different genre, and she was able to make those dreams become reality. I realized that it’s okay to do things that people may think is impossible, and it pushed my back.”

Takahashi continued, “The other day, I saw her and she told me, ‘You’re going to graduate’ and ‘I’ll be there’. Konkon [Konno] is a natural airhead, so I wonder if she’ll really come.”

After graduating, Takahashi plans to continue her activities in the entertainment business, mainly focusing on acting. She also confessed that she’ll be more open for love.

“Rather than wanting to be in love… My mother and father got married when they were 20, and had me when they were 21, my sister when they were 23. It’s strange to think that they already had two children when they were my age. Being in Morning Musume, your mentality stays as a child, so I think there are a lot of new things to learn about after I graduate.”

Though Takahashi will greet the world soon as a mature woman, in her smile, an innocence from her early debut days remain.

Takahashi Ai will officially graduate on September 30th at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

Source: Sanspo

Morning Musume reveals track list for their new single!

Morning Musume has finally revealed the official track list to their upcoming single, “Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! / Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai“!

As previously reported, the single will be released in six different editions: Limited Edition A, Limited Edition B, Limited Edition C, a normal version, and a Takahashi Ai version in commemoration of her impending graduation from the group.

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< Limited Edition A+B+C & Regular Edition CD Track List >
01. Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!
02. Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai
03. Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! (Instrumental)
04. Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai (Instrumental)

< Takahashi Ai Version CD Track List >
01. Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!
02. Jishin Motte Yume Motte Tobidatsu Kara (Takahashi Ai solo)
03. Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! (Instrumental)

< Limited Edition DVD Track Lists >
01. Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! (Close-up Ver.) – Limited Edition A only
02. Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai (Close-up Ver.) – Limited Edition B only
03. Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! (Another Ver.) – Limited Edition C only

Source: Hello! Project Official Website

Get a sneak peek at Morning Musume’s 10th generation auditions!

During the episode of “Hello! Pro Time” that aired on September 1st, Hello! Project fans got a short peek at the tenth generation auditions for Morning Musume!

The clips show countless Momusu hopefuls as they sit in the waiting room, sing, show off their unique talents, and dance for their opportunity to be in the legendary idol group. More can be seen in next week’s episode of “Hello! Pro Time”, but fans have been quick to point out that Hello! Pro Egg Kudou Haruka and S/mileage audition finalists Miyazaki and Fujii were among those in the third round.

Check out the footage below!

Mobekimasu reveals group profile pictures + preview for “Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku”

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Hello! Project’s Mobekimasu has revealed group profile pictures and a preview for their upcoming single, “Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku“!
Comprised of Hello! Project’s Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou, C-ute, Mano Erina, and S/mileage, Mobekimasu will release their first single on November 16th.
Check out the preview and profile pictures below!
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Source: natalie

Morning Musume’s Sayashi Riho holds release event for her first solo photobook

On August 27th, Morning Musume member Sayashi Riho held a release event for her very first solo photobook at Fukuya Bookstore in Shinjuku Subnade.

During last month’s tour, Sayashi felt pain in her lower back and so she made a visit to a doctor, who diagnosed her with sciatica. While this forced her to withdraw from her activities, Sayashi made her public appearance at the release event with a smile.

Sayashi reported, “I’ve gotten a lot better, so I’m going to start dance practices while monitoring my condition.” She also shared that thanks to her recuperation period, she “made progress with [her] summer homework.”

Regarding her first photobook, Sayashi commented, “I’ve never had photoshoots by myself, so I studied expressions by looking through [my senpai] Takahashi Ai-san and [C-ute's] Suzuki Airi-san’s photobooks.” She continued, “I think I was able to express my usual self, so I want everyone to look at that.” She also shared a story from her Okinawa shoot saying, “There was a really cute dog that I had fun taking pictures with.”

Finally, Sayashi spoke about Morning Musume’s future activities. “We have new members that come in; it’s hard, but we will do our best to strengthen our unity. I’m happy I can return to the tour.”

“Sayashi Riho” is currently on sale through Wani Books.

Source: Cinema Today

Morning Musume’s 5th Generation celebrate their 10th anniversary!

On this day, 10 years ago, four lucky girls passed the Morning Musume 5th Generation audition, “Love Audition 21”. They brought the group’s roster up to 13 members and had their debut with the hit song “Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~”. Those members were Takahashi Ai, Konno Asami, Ogawa Makoto, and Niigaki Risa.

10 years later, the members still show love for one another. Niigaki Risa blogged, “It’s amazing that it has been 10 years. Konkon (Konno Asami) and Makochii (Ogawa Makoto) have been working hard by themselves, and Ai-chan and I have been doing activities in Morning Musume for 10 whole years”.

Fans have been sending messages congratulating them on their 10th year and 9th generation member Ikuta Erina sent Niigaki a message at 12am sharp saying, “Congratulations on your 10th anniversary!”, which made Niigaki extremely happy.

Niigaki wrote, “Ai-chan is preparing to graduate soon. In the beginning the four of us were together, but now each of us is doing our best on our own paths. Indeed, the 5th Generation is special, even though we aren’t doing activities together, we still feel connected. I thought once again, ‘I’m glad to be a member of this generation’. The three of you, thank you so much for always supporting me ( ´ー`) You’ve helped me more than you can imagine ☆ Let’s forever continue looking after one another in the future ☆ I love you guuuys (人>U<)♪. I want the four of us to have a 10th anniversary party soon.”

Lastly, Niigaki left a special message for Takahashi who is graduating shortly, “Ai-chan. Let’s do our best together with the time we have left!!!”.

In addition to her post, Niigaki also uploaded some goofy pictures of the 5th generation minus Konno Asami. She wrote, “It seems I’m not able to upload pictures of Konkon T_T.”

Source: Niigaki Risa’s Official Blog

Morning Musume’s Sayashi Riho will resume her activities

It’s been nearly a month since it was announced that Morning Musume’s Sayashi Riho was diagnosed with sciatica, which forced her to withdraw from her activities. According to an announcement on Hello! Project’s official website, Sayashi will be making her return on August 27th for the release event of her solo photobook. Additionally, Sayashi will participate in the upcoming Morning Musume Fall 2011 Concert Tour, “Ai BELIEVE ~Takahashi Ai Graduation Special~“, and their stage play, “Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~“.

The idol experienced pain in her lower back after their performance in Nagoya on July 16th, and after being examined at the hospital, her condition was carefully observed by doctors to see her progress. As a result of her second examination on July 28th, Sayashi was assigned to a six-week rest for recovery.

Meanwhile, member Mitsui Aika, who fractured her left ankle, has been advised to continue resting and receive medical treatment. She will be withdrawing from Morning Musume’s Fall 2011 Concert Tour, “Ai BELIEVE ~Takahashi Ai Graduation Special~”, and their stage play, “Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~”.

Source: Oricon and Hello! Project Official Website

Morning Musume reveals jacket covers for their 47th single

Morning Musume has finally revealed the jacket covers for their upcoming single, “Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!/Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai“!

The single will come in five versions: Limited Edition A, Limited Edition B, Limited Edition C, Graduation Commemoration Edition, and Regular Edition.

This will be leader Takahashi Ai’s final single before she graduates, and it’s scheduled to be released on her birthday, September 14th.

Check out the covers below, and stay tuned to tokyohive for more updates!

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<Limited Edition A>

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<Limited Edition B>

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<Limited Edition C>

-

<Takahashi Ai Graduation Commemoration Edition>

-

<Regular Edition>

==

Source: Amazon

Morning Musume & Dream Morning Musume perform together on 24 Hour TV!

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On the recent episode of 24 Hour TV, Morning Musume and Dream Morning Musume collaborated together to perform a medley of their classic hits.
Dream Morning Musume hit the stage first with “Love Machine”, followed by Morning Musume singing “Renai Revolution 21”, and finally ending with the groups coming together to sing “Dekkai Uchuu ni Ai Ga Aru”.
Unfortunately Tanaka Reina, Mitsui Aika and Sayashi Riho from Morning Musume weren’t able to attend and neither was Nakazawa Yuko, Abe Natsumi, or Yasuda Kei from Dream Morning Musume.

Dream Morning Musume performs Candies medley on ‘Omoide no Melody’

On August 13th, Dream Morning Musume made an appearance on NHK‘s 43rd ‘Omoide no Melody‘.

Dream Morning Musume performed a special medley of 70’s idol group Candies‘ “Toshishita no Otokonoko” and “Hohoemi Gaeshi“.

‘Omoide no Melody’ is an annual music program held by NHK, featuring a variety of artists performing both nostalgic songs and recent hits. This year’s theme was “to deliver the energy of Japan through songs“.

 Source : IamKaorin

Morning Musume reveals their individual pictures for their new single!

Earlier we revealed a radio rip of Morning Musume’s 47th single “Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo!”, which will be Takahashi Ai’s final single as a Morning Musume member.

In addition to that, Hello!Project has finally revealed the individual members’ solo shots.
Check them out below and let us know which member you think has the best picture!

==

-Takahashi Ai-

-Niigaki Risa-

-Michishige Sayumi-

-Tanaka Reina-

-Mitsui Aika-

-Fukumura Mizuki-

-Ikuta Erina-

-Sayashi Riho-

-Suzuki Kanon-

==

Source: Hello!Project’s Official Website