Morning Musume。

The MORNING MUSUME。 (モーニング娘。 Morning Daughter.) is a one of a kind allgirl band whose story began in 1997 when Japanese producer Tsunku held auditions for a female rock vocalist for his band SHARAN Q held on the Japanese TV show ASAYAN. With the five runner-ups from the contest, Tsunku decided to create an all-girl group that sold 50,000 copies of their demo CD single “Seed of Love” and became MORNING MUSUME。.

MORNING MUSUME。’s first single “Morning Coffee” made a huge splash by hitting the #6 position in the Japanese pop charts within its first week of release. In August of 1998, MORNING MUSUME。 reached the #1 spot in the Japanese pop charts with their single “Hold On Me”. In 1999, the group had their first nationwide tour with 19 performances in 7 cities for 40,000 fans.

In September of 1999, MORNING MUSUME。 released their smash hit “Love Machine” that sold 2 million copies and held the first place spot in the Japanese pop charts for 17 weeks.

MORNING MUSUME。 is famous not just for being the Japan’s top female group, but also for its unique approach with the shuffling of band members. Producer Tsunku creates freshness by graduating band members and adding new members to create different units and adds fresh new faces for fans old and new. In 2007, MORNING MUSUME。 made a historic impact within the Japanese music industry as the band welcomed new members JunJun and LinLin from China and began to reach an international audience. In 2008, MORNING MUSUME。 celebrated their 10th anniversary. MORNING MUSUME。 is definitely the world’s most famous and successful Japanese all-girl group. MORNING MUSUME。 consists of band members Ai Takahashi, Risa Niigaki, Eri Kamei, Sayumi Michishige, Reina Tanaka, Koharu Kusumi, Aika Mitsui, JunJun, and LinLin.

Notice: No photos or video recording will be allowed at any Morning Musume public event during Anime Expo® 2009 including any concert, panel, meet & greet, and autograph appearances. Individuals found recording or taking images of the group and its members will have their equipment immediately confiscated.