Help Support Morning Musume's 52nd Single!

In case you're not familiar with Japanese Pop music, Morning Musume (Moo-sue-meh) was founded all the way back in 1997 by the well-known singer, songwriter, and producer, Terada Mitsuo. He commonly goes by the name Tsunku.

Besides being a successful producer, Tsunku is also proficient in the refined activity of trolling other people

Tsunku held an audition to find a female vocalist for his band, Sharan Q. He would use the five runners-up from his audition, Nakazawa Yuko, Abe Natsumi, Iida Kaori, Fukuda Asuka, and Ishiguro Aya, to be the first generation of what would become Morning Musume. Yes, the first generation. Morning Musume is known for its ever changing lineup. Girls will graduate for various reasons- they grow out of the pop idol life, they want to follow other interests, they get too old, they get involved in scandals- while auditions are held almost yearly for new girls to replace them. Each time new girls are added, they are referred to as being part of a generation. There have been eleven generations so far, and overall, 34 girls have been a part of Morning Musume.

Currently, there are eleven girls in the group. The two oldest, Michishige Sayumi and Tanaka Reina, are part of the 6th generation. Sayumi is the most recent leader of the group, while Reina's graduation has been scheduled for the upcoming Morning Musume tour. The girls from the 7th and 8th generations have already graduated, which brings us down to the 9th, 10th, and 11th generations. The 9th generation consists of Fukumura Mizuki, Ikuta Erina, Sayashi Riho, and Suzuki Kanon. The 10th generation has Iikubo Haruna, Ishida Ayumi, Sato Masaki, and Kudo Haruka. The lone member of the 11th generation is Oda Sakura.

In its 15 years, Morning Musume has broken a lot of records and has forged its place in Japanese music history. However, while Morning Musume reigned at top for many years, they've been struggling for the past couple years. Their fall occurred for many reasons, which are too complicated and long-winded to explain here. Just a year ago, they released their lowest selling single to date- Pyoko Pyoko Ultra. It only sold 34,050 copies.

It is my belief that Tsunku had a little too much to drink over the holidays while creating this single (even though I actually do like it, it's just not single material). Many fans were upset with this single since it was believed for a while that it would be beloved 5th generation member and current leader, Niigaki Risa's, last single with the group.

Niigaki Risa

However, things picked up the next single- Ren'ai Hunter. It sold better than Pyoko Pyoko Ultra, and was a proper send off to the longest serving member of the group to date. Many fans were worried about Morning Mususme's fate after Risa left though. The last remaining member of the 8th generation, Mitsui Aika, also graduated along with Risa due to an injury. Now there were only two members in the group, Sayumi and Reina, with proper experience. Both the 9th and 10th generations had been recently added and were still adjusting to idol life. More importantly, only Reina and two or three members of the new generations had the vocal capacity to support the strong singing that Morning Musume is known for. With Risa and Aika gone, as well as the recent graduation of main vocal Takahasi Ai only a couple months earlier, many were worried the current Morning Musume couldn't keep afloat.

But with the group's monumental 50th single, One Two Three, Morning Musume not only showed that they were still kicking, but that they could throw a punch. One Two Three became Morning Musume's highest selling single since 2002. It seemed what the group needed was a bit of spring cleaning. The old members had been in the group too long, and new faces were required to keep the fans interested. Not only that, but One Two Three completely changed Morning Musume's music style. It was a risk, but it payed off well. Their 51st single, Wakuteka Take a Chance, also sold incredibly well. 

Now we're where we need to be.

Morning Musume's 52nd Single, Help Me!!, is Oda Sakura's first single. It was released yesterday on 1/23 and broke even One Two Three's high first day sale numbers.

Top L-R: Suzuki Kanon, Ikuta Erina, Fukumura Mizuki, Sato Masaki, Kudo Haruka, Iikubo Haruna/ Bottom L-R: Tanaka Reina, Sayashi Riho, Oda Sakura, Ishida Ayumi, Michishige Sayumi

One Two Three and Wakuteka Take a Chance weren't just flukes. Morning Musume has entered its Renaissance period with sales steadily rising. In just two days, Help Me!! has sold almost 70,000 copies. That's more than double what Pyoko Pyoko Ultra sold in its entirety. However, Morning Musume still faces many challenges. Their problems come mostly from the massive AKB48 phenomena that has swept over Japan, and the ever growing popularity of KPop groups. Dealing with the fact that most young people in Japan think Morning Musume is an outdated group, it will take a couple more years of hard work for the girls to really shine again.

That's why I've taken the time to write this post. If you're interested and willing, perhaps you'd be willing to head to CD Japan to purchase a copy of the single in order to help Morning Musume reach a #1 weekly rank on Oricon (Japan's Billboard). The single is also available to purchase on iTunes. Although iTunes sales don't count towards the Oricon rank, the money will help the girls have more at their disposal to promote and do more for the fans. 

Even if you don't have the means of purchasing the single in either capacity, just watching the music video or spreading the word of Morning Musume to other people who might be interested will be a great help. Too much of the Japanese entertainment world is controlled by AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto. Morning Musume's hidden strength lies in its foreign fans, so with a little push and word-of-mouth I believe the group can flourish as it once did and make music for another 15 years (and hopefully many more) to come.