℃-ute

℃-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 does not 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".

2005
°C-ute was formed in the year 2005, consisting of seven girls from Hello! Project Kids who were not chosen to form the group Berryz Koubou. Berryz Koubou had originally been intended to be a group that's line-up alternated The group was officially announced on June 11, 2005, though its formation had been rumored for several months prior. 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 Mini Moni movie Okashina Daibōken.

2006
Later, in January 2006, Arihara Kanna, 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, Murakami Megumi left the group suddenly without any graduation ceremony.

2007
On February 21, 2007, °C-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). With their debut single, they became the youngest group (with the average age of 13) to rank in the top 10.

On December 30, 2007, °C-ute was chosen as the Best New Artist Award with Japan Record Award.

2009
Umeda Erika will graduate on October 25, 2009 to study on becoming a fashion model. Recently, there is a rumour saying that Nakatani Rena will join Hello! Project and will replace Erika in °C-ute.

Current Members

 * Umeda Erika (梅田 えりか)
 * Yajima Maimi (矢島 舞美) L
 * Nakajima Saki (中島 早貴)
 * Suzuki Airi (鈴木 愛理)
 * Okai Chisato (岡井 千聖)
 * Hagiwara Mai (萩原 舞)

Former Members

 * Murakami Megumi (村上　愛) – unexpectedly retired on October 31, 2006 to continue schooling and lead a private life.
 * Arihara Kanna(有原 栞菜) - unexpectedly retired on July 9, 2009 after being absent for several months due to medical reasons.
 * Umeda Erika (梅田 えりか) – Graduated from ℃-ute and Hello! Project on October 25, 2009 to study to become a fashion model

Discography
The following CDs and DVD are released on the Zetima label.

Trivia

 * Kōhaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦) youngest participant – 11 year old [[Hagiwara Mai] (58th Kōhaku on December 31, 2007)