Introduction to Hello! Project

A little introduction to begin for those that are not yet skilled in the ways of the Hello! Project (H!P). Hello! Project is a conglomeration of Japanese idol groups managed by the Up-Front Agency and produced by Tsunku♂.

The short official history of the H!P is that it formed out of the result of auditions held to find a soloist for Tsunku's band Sharan Q. The auditions identified a winner but most importantly 5 of the runner-ups (Yuko Nakazawa, Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Asuka Fukuda, and Aya Ishiguro) have been given the chance to form a group. Hence, in the fall of 1997, one of the most famous all-girl groups of Japan - Morning Musume - was born.

Morning Musume was the first group to fall under Hello! Project. Other groups and solo artists later followed. I'll try to introduce each of the main groups in their own separate posts. Currently, over 11 years after the formation of Morning Musume and the H!P, the project is composed of three main groups: Morning Musume, Berryz Kobou, and C-ute. It also hosts several smaller groups, young trainees, sports teams, and various shuffle groups. In March of 2009, the Elder Club (mostly composed of older H!P soloists and former Morning Musume members) is graduating from H!P leaving the project to concentrate on the groups and its younger soloists.

The Hello! Project main group members and soloists as of January 2009: