℃-ute
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ℃-ute | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  Japan |
| Genre(s) | Japanese pop |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Label(s) | Zetima |
| Associated acts | Hello! Project Kids, Aa!, ZYX, Berryz Koubou, 4KIDS, Buono! |
| Website | Hello! Project.com |
| Members | |
| Maimi Yajima Erika Umeda Saki Nakajima Airi Suzuki Chisato Okai Mai Hagiwara Kanna Arihara |
|
| Former members | |
| Megumi Murakami | |
℃-ute is an all-female Japanese pop group within Hello! Project. The character "℃" (degree Celsius) is substituted for "C" in notation for the purpose of expressing ardor—the hyphen doesn't have any meaning in particular. The proper pronunciation for this group in Japanese is kyūto (キュート?) with pitch accents on both "ū" and "o".
Contents |
[edit] History
℃-ute was formed in the year 2005, consisting of seven girls from Hello! Project Kids who were not chosen to form the group Berryz Kobo. The group was officially announced on June 11, 2005, though its formation had been rumored for several months prior. Later, in January 2006, Kanna Arihara, a Hello Pro Egg, was added at the start of the Hello! Project Winter 2006 tour, as part of the Wonderful Hearts team. On October 31, 2006, Megumi Murakami left the group suddenly without any graduation ceremony.
Prior to the band's formation, some members worked with members of Morning Musume in such side projects as Aa! and ZYX, as well as the MiniMoni movie Okashina Daibouken.
Incidentally, the Aa!, Berryz Kobo, and ℃-ute chain are in alphabetical order (ABC), and ZYX itself is in reverse alphabetical order (XYZ).
On February 21, 2007, ℃-ute's first official single "Sakura Chirari" was released. On the first day it ranked third on the Oricon charts, a feat not even accomplished by Morning Musume (who had ranked 6th on their debut single).[1] With their debut single, they became the youngest group (with the average age of 13) to rank in the top 10.[2] Their latest single has debuted at #3 of the Oricon Weekly Charts.
On December 30, 2007, ℃-ute was chosen as the Best New Artist Award with Japan Record Award.
[edit] Members
[edit] Present members
- Erika Umeda (梅田 えりか?)
- Maimi Yajima (矢島 舞美?) – leader
- Saki Nakajima (中島 早貴?) – sub-leader
- Airi Suzuki (鈴木 愛理?)
- Chisato Okai (岡井 千聖?)
- Mai Hagiwara (萩原 舞?)
- Kanna Arihara (有原 栞菜?) – joined January 02, 2006 from Hello Pro Egg
[edit] Former members
- Megumi Murakami (村上 愛?) – unexpectedly retired on October 31, 2006 to continue schooling and lead a private life
[edit] Discography
The following CDs and DVD are released on the Zetima label.
[edit] Albums
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cutie Queen Vol.1 (キューティークイーン VOL.1?) | 2006-10-25 |
| 2 | 2 Mini ~Ikiru to Iu Chikara~[3] (②mini～生きるという力～?) | 2007-04-17 |
| 2 | 3rd ~Love Escalation~ (3rd～LOVEエスカレーション～?) | 2008-03-12 |
[edit] Singles
| # | Title | Single Information |
|---|---|---|
| Indies[4] | ||
| 1 | "Massara Blue Jeans" (まっさらブルージーンズ?) |
|
| 2 | "Soku Dakishimete" (即 抱きしめて?) |
|
| 3 | "Ōkina Ai de Motenashite" (大きな愛でもてなして?) |
|
| 4 | "Wakkyanai (Z)"[5] (わっきゃない（Ｚ）?) |
|
| Major | ||
| 1 | "Sakura Chirari" (桜チラリ?) |
|
| 2 | "Meguru Koi no Kisetsu" (めぐる恋の季節?) |
|
| 3 | "Tokaikko Junjō" (都会っ子 純情?) |
|
| 4 | "LALALA Shiawase no Uta" (LALALA 幸せの歌?) |
|
| 5 | "Namida no Iro" (涙の色?) |
|
[edit] Filmography (DVD)
[edit] Music videos
| # | Title | Release date | Miscellaneous info |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | Music V Special 1 ~Cutie Visual~ | 2006-09-06 | Includes PVs, a live performance, an interview, and "making of" videos |
| 1 | Sakura Chirari | 2007-02-28 | |
| 2 | Meguru Koi no Kisetsu | 2007-07-18 | |
| 3 | Tokaikko Junjō | 2007-10-31 |
[edit] Concerts
| # | Title | Release date | Miscellaneous info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cutie Circuit 2006 Final in Yomiuriland East Live ~September 10 is ℃-ute Day~ | 2006-12-06 | Performance on September 10, 2006 in Yomiuriland East |
| 2 | Debut Solo Concert 2007 Spring ~Hajimattayo! Cutie Show~ | 2007-04-18 | First concert series on February 25, 2007 at Nihon Seinenkan |
| 3 | Concert Tour 2007 Spring ~Golden First Date~ | 2007-07-18 | Performance in April 2007 at Tokyo Kōsei-Nenkin Kaikan |
| 4 | Cutie Circuit 2007 ~MAGICAL CUTIE TOUR - September 10 is ℃-ute Day~ | 2007-11-21 | Performance on September 10, 2007 |
| 5 | Live Tour 2007 Fall ~Houkago no Essence~ | 2007-12-19 |
[edit] Others
Many DVDs were released to the official fan club and are only obtainable by mail order for a limited time.
[edit] Photo albums
[edit] Group
- Berryz Kobo & ℃-ute in Hello! Project 2006 Summer (2006-09-21)
- So cute! – °C-ute first photo album (2007-02-21)
- Hajimattayo! Cutie Show – ℃-ute debut solo concert live photo album (2007-04-11)
- Moving down through Japan! Travel Diary of ℃-ute in 2007 Summer – photo album of Cutie Circuit 2007 ～MAGICAL CUTIE TOUR～ (2007-10-04)
[edit] Individual
- Maimi – Maimi Yajima first solo photo album (2007-04-27)
- Airi – Airi Suzuki first solo photo album (2007-05-20)
- CLEAR – Airi Suzuki second solo photo album (2007-12-05)
- Sou Sora- Maimi Yajima second solo photobook album (2008-01-17)
[edit] Radio Programs
- Cutie Party – FM-FUJI, Saturdays 23:00-23:30 JST (Yajima, Suzuki & Okai, since October 07, 2006) as the opening portion of Hello! Project Night
[edit] Trivia
- In Episode 36 of Gintama All 3 members of the band, Suzuki Airi, Okai Chisato, and Hagiwara Mai appear at 14:40 when they start to do the same movements that the dojo does which is. "Dream Catcher"
[edit] Milestones
- Kōhaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦, Kōhaku Uta Gassen?) youngest participant – 11 year old Mai Hagiwara (58th Kōhaku on December 31, 2007)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Oricon home page, on January 22, 2007 (Japanese). Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
- ^ MTV Chinese article (Chinese). Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
- ^ Actually a mini album, but was considered as their second album.
- ^ These singles were not released on a major record label. They were only sold at concerts, fan club events and at the Hello! Project Official Shop. These singles have no coupling tunes.
- ^ (Z) is pronounced as zetto (ゼット?).
[edit] External links
| Preceded by ayaka |
Japan Record Award for Best New Artist 2007 |
Succeeded by incumbent |
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