Geinoujin Shin Unit Audition

Geinoujin Atarashii Unit Audition (芸能人新ユニットオーディション; Entertainer New Unit Audition) was an audition airing on the TV show ASAYAN from November 1998 to February 1999, featuring Tsunku looking for a a new unit to produce.

Audition Details
On November 22, 1998, Tsunku announced on the TV show ASAYAN his idea for a new girl group. He launched the idea saying: "For this time around, we are looking for girls with special talents who have enough experiences. To give you some examples: someone who can dance well, someone who has learned Minyo-style singing professionally, someone who is striving to become talented singers like Whitney Houston and Celine Dion."

Audition Process
The audition received a total of 500 applications. After their application forms were examined, 10% of the applicants managed to remain in the audition. After that, Tsunku and the segment producer interviewed each applicant face to face. 8 candidates were selected as the finalists,

Finalists
They were then separated into two groups of four. The first group consisting of Shihei, RuRu, Shinoda and Hoshi; and the second consisting of Kobayashi, Kominato, Inaba, and Yamaguchi. The groups were sent out to San Francisco for 40 days of boot camp training sessions. Tsunku named the first group "San Fran", the second group "Ciscomoon"—together, they were "San Fran Ciscomoon". Each week, Tsunku checked the videos sent from San Francisco to examine each member's progress.
 * 1) Inaba Atsuko (24), a former member of the idol group Osaka Performance Doll
 * 2) Kobayashi Yumi (22), a pop singer using the stage name ABYSS, and former member of the ASAYAN group AIS
 * 3) Kominato Miwa (21), an experienced folk singer and mother of two
 * 4) Shinoda Miho (26), a former Olympic gymnast
 * 5) Shihei Ayako, a former member of Takarazuka Revue
 * 6) Hoshino Kyoko (25), a former member of the idol group Milk
 * 7) Yamaguchi Kaori, an actress
 * 8) RuRu (22), a Chinese singer

Performance Check 1

 * San Fran: Goody Goody
 * Ciscomoon: Aint That Just the Way by Lutricia McNeal

Performance Check 2

 * San Fran: I'm Every Woman by Withney Houston
 * Ciscomoon: I'll Be There by Jackson 5

Performance Check 3

 * San Fran: Dream on Dreamer by The Brand New Heavies
 * Ciscomoon: Dream Lover by Mariah Carey

Performance Check 4

 * San Fran: Hold On by En Vogue
 * Ciscomoon: Queen of the NIght by Canadian Brass

Results
Halfway into the boot camp, Tsunku selected three girls: Kominato (from Ciscomoon), Inaba (from Ciscomoon), and Shinoda (from San Fran).

The last audition took place among the five remaining candidates. After showing her devotion to music and vocal skills, RuRu was selected as the fourth member of the unit. She had applied for the audition solely based on Tsunku's comments saying he wanted someone who could sing like Whitney Houston. She sang Houston's "I Will Always Love You" at her audition and blew Tsunku away with her great vocal ability.

Winners

 * Inaba Atsuko
 * Kominato Miwa
 * Shinoda Miho
 * RuRu

Before making their debut
After having chosen the final four, they were sent to four different cities in the United States to work on their vocals and dance skills. For three weeks from February to March 1999, ASAYAN covered the members' journeys. Inaba was sent to Atlanta (famous for gospel and soul), Kominato to Detroit (famous for Motown), Shinoda to Memphis (famous for southern blues music), and Honda to Chicago (famous for blues and rhythm). They spent three weeks improving themselves before they officially debuted in April 1999.

The unit's name was decided by Tsunku as "Taiyou to Ciscomoon". They released their first single, "Tsuki to Taiyou", on April 21. Originally, the unit was formed under a contract of releasing only one song. They were told that if their debut song placed lower than Morning Musume's debut song, there was no point in continuing producing this group. The single landed 6th place on the Oricon charts during its first release week, later moving up to 4th place. After it's success, it was announced the group was going on a single release spree; each month, from April to September, a new single would be released.

Trivia

 * Japanese pop-singer aiko revealed that she took part in the Taiyou to Ciscomoon auditions.


 * The group got their name from combining the names of the two groups they were split into during their audition process (San Fran and Cisco Moon).
 * Kobayashi Yumi had pariticpated in the ASAYAN audition Komu-ro Garçons (ASAYAN Idol Group Audition 96).