Morning Musume Grows By Four

Morning Musume Grows By Four

Morning Musume now has four new members. At the first MC this evening, the guru of Morning Musume Tsunku-san took the stage for the historic 10th generation announcement. Originally as later confirmed by Tsunku-san himself, the plan was to add only two girls and make Morning Musume a ten-member lineup after Aichan graduated; instead, he felt that two members could not be passed up.

  Joining Morning Musume as 10th generation members are

Iikubo Haruna [16],

She was the surprise that Tsunku-san hinted at in regards to 9th generation, in that she is older then every member of 9th generation .Older or not, 9th generation is still her elders in rank.

From Tsunku-san: "Haruna has a surprising "pure" personality. In addition, her looks are gorgeous. I believe she has the determination to bring her singing to a suitable level. That is why she passed."

From PIH Staff-Haruna has a lot of modeling experience for LoveBerry under a different name and nickname Harupe.


The second girl to be announced was current Dorothy Little Happy back dancer
Ishida Ayumi [14]

From Tsunku-san: "Ayumi Her singing and dancing were outstanding. In addition, her personality is as firm as a stone. I believe the history of Morning Musume can be passed on to her from here on out. That is why she passed.

From PIH Staff-See it pays to be an Indie Idol, see why we post Indies so much, they are good groups."

The third girl announced was
Satou Masaki [12]

From Tsunku-san: "Masaki .The level of her dancing and singing is below the other three now, but she has a potential that she has yet to realize herself. In addition, her skill level rose considerably during the audition. That is why she passed.

The final member was current Egg and history making Kudou Haruka who becomes the youngest ever member of Morning Musume as Tsunku-san pulled   an Aki-P moment and found his own Matsui Jurina 11 yr old idol  prodigy .
Kudou Haruka [11]

From Tsunku-san: "Haruka She has experience as an egg, and she really loves singing. In addition, the "gap" between her tiny and cute face and her husky voice is interesting .I hope that she can help to bring together the 10th generation members and the current members as soon as possible. That is why she passed. [Reference to her stage experience with the group]

From PIH Staff: Actually Haruka for her age has a rich tone to her voice that is hard to generate for someone her age . Despite the fact she was sick for most of the audition videos, don`t underestimate her. She is just starting to develop her voice and in a couple of years could play a large role in Morning Musume and before her graduation  in what 14 yrs from now [age 25, lol] could play a huge role in their future, much like Goto Maki did. Not saying she will, just saying for her age the skills are there to be something special.

Outside of PIH, my main job is a singer for a touring rock band and after years of singing you can develop a raspy voice for a number reason, Haruka has a sort of natural rock raspy voice. She is not by far my favorite singer, but sure is going to be interesting hearing her unique voice blend into this unit.

 The industry has changed so much, that just taking 10-12 girls who have never experienced entertainment is not going to keep you in the game. Morning Musume today as a new soon to be 12-member lineup got much stronger in overall talent then they were this time last year. It may not pay off in sales now and Aichan leaving will hurt for a while, but this group has reloaded for the future and that maybe far more important then the sales battles of today. Look at 9th and 10th generation as the future of Morning Musume and if you do, you will see that their future is pretty strong.

Welcome new members.

Related note
For Dorothy Little Happy Fans who are wondering about Fuuka, it`s already been confirmed by DLH media services that she is returning to DLH as a back dancer, there is no talk of her as of now joining their main unit. DLH agency has several units, so who knows what she may end up doing after this experience.