Hello! Project Kids

Hello! Project Kids
Origin Japan
Genres
Years active 2002–2005
Labels
Associated acts
Past members Saki Shimizu
Momoko Tsugunaga
Chinami Tokunaga
Maasa Sudō
Miyabi Natsuyaki
Maiha Ishimura
Yurina Kumai
Risako Sugaya
Erika Umeda
Maimi Yajima
Megumi Murakami
Saki Nakajima
Airi Suzuki
Chisato Okai
Mai Hagiwara

Hello! Project Kids (ハロー！プロジェクト・キッズ, Harō! Purojekuto Kizzu) was a Japanese idol girl group formed in 2002 as a part of Hello! Project. Hello! Project Kids enjoyed minor success in film and music before being splintered into two full-time groups, Berryz Kobo and Cute.

History

2002: Formation and film debut

Auditions were held nationwide in Japan throughout March 2002.[1] Out of 27,958 applicants[1], fifteen elementary school girls were chosen: Erika Umeda, Maimi Yajima, Maiha Ishimura, Megumi Murakami, Saki Shimizu, Momoko Tsugunaga, Chinami Tokunaga, Maasa Sudō, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Yurina Kumai, Risako Sugaya, Saki Nakajima, Airi Suzuki, Chisato Okai, and Mai Hagiwara.[2] Their audition tapes were aired on Morning Musume's variety show, Hello! Morning on June 30, 2002.[1] In the same year, Hello! Project Kids were featured in the films Koinu Dan no Monogatari[3] and Mini Moni ja Movie: Okashi na Daibōken![4][5]

Hello! Project Kids became regulars on Minimoni's variety show, Hello Kids, which ran from 2002 to 2004. In addition to that, they were also back-up dancers to Hello! Project's acts during live events and concerts.

2003-2004: Subgroups

In 2003, Hello! Project Kids began to appear frequently in the company's music projects. Umeda, Yajima, Shimizu, Tsugunaga, and Murakami joined Mari Yaguchi in the subgroup ZYX[6], while Suzuki and Natsuyaki were selected to join Reina Tanaka in the subgroup Aa![7]

Shimizu, Tsugunaga, Natsuyaki, Ishimura, Sudo, Tokunaga, Kumai, and Sugaya were moved into Berryz Kobo, a new group that debuted in August 2004. The original idea of the group was to rotate all members of Hello! Project Kids to make time for school. However, that idea was scrapped, and Berryz Kobo became a full-time group.[8] The remaining members of Hello! Project Kids continued to perform as a group during concerts and live events.

On December 1, 2004, Hello! Project Kids participated in the single "All for One & One for All!" as part of H.P. All Stars, which included all performing acts under the Hello! Project name.[9] Murakami and Suzuki sang the coupling track, "Suki ni Naccha Ikenai Hito", with Reina Tanaka.[9]

2005: Berryz Kobo and Cute

Following Berryz Kobo's debut in 2004, Tsunku renamed the rest of the Hello! Project Kids "Cute", as they had no consistent name. The Hello! Project Kids name then became defunct after the rebranding.[10] Cute later debuted in 2005 and released music independently until they debuted on a major label in 2007 with the song "Sakura Chirari."

Chronology

References

  1. 1 2 3 ハロー!モーニング。 (in Japanese). 2002-06-30. TV Tokyo. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ↑ "ハロープロジェクト・キッズ" (in Japanese). Hello! Project. Archived from the original on 2017-10-20.
  3. ↑ "仔犬ダンの物語 東映ビデオ株式会社" (in Japanese). Toei Video. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  4. ↑ "キャスト・スタッフ - ミニモニ。THE（じゃ）ムービー　お菓子な大冒険！ - 作品 - Yahoo!映画" (in Japanese). Yahoo! Japan. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  5. ↑ "テレビ東京 CINEMA STREET / 仔犬ダンの物語/ミニモニTHEムービーお菓子な大冒険" (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
  6. ↑ "ZYX" (in Japanese). Hello! Project. Archived from the original on 2017-01-16.
  7. ↑ "あぁ！" (in Japanese). Hello! Project. Archived from the original on 2009-04-04.
  8. ↑ ハロプロ史上最年少グループ「Ｂｅｒｒｙｚ工房」誕生 (in Japanese). ZAKZAK. 2004-01-15. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  9. 1 2 "ハロー！プロジェクト　オフィシャルサイト" (in Japanese). Hello! Project. 2004-12-01. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  10. ↑ "つんく♂から「℃- ute（キュート）」に関してコメント" (in Japanese). Hello! Project Officlal Site. 2005-06-13. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
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