Kobayashi Azusa

Kobayashi Azusa (小林梓) is a Japanese singer, model, cosplayer and actress. She was a member of the Hello! Project group Country Musume but only for their first single, Futari no Hokkaido.

She left Country Musume after the death of fellow member Yanagihara Hiromi, saying in a letter read by Toda Rinne at the Morning Musume Live Hatsu no Budokan ~Dancing Love Site 2000 Haru~ that the pain of the loss was "too great". The official press release said that Kobayashi decided to leave the group due to psychological stress. Later it was speculated that the real reason she left was because "adult" pictures of her had surfaced. A month after her departure she began to release adult photobooks under the name Morita Hiromi (森田ひろみ). Until 2008, she also went by the name Hayashi Karin (林華鈴).

In 2013, she made her comeback as a singer by releasing a mini-album, Distance, under her real name Kobayashi Azusa.



Biography
Kobayashi Azusa started out working as a model at the age of 15, signed to Junes acting and modeling. She got her first jobs in 1994 and appeared in several gravure magazines and gravure commercials.

At the age of 21, she signed up for an audition held by Tsunku and Tanaka Yoshitake (Country Musume’s original producer) called Country Musume Audition (カントリー娘. オーディション). They wanted to create a sister group to Morning Musume, but instead of being the next door girls, they would be country girls with rural values. The audition process was aired on the television program ASAYAN. Nine girls went through voice and dance lessons at a farm in Hokkaido, and three girls ended up being chosen, Kobayashi being one of them. The group would be named Country Musume, and was made up by Kobayashi, Yanagihara Hiromi and Toda Rinne.

As the oldest member she became the leader of the group. A few days before the release of their first single, Yanagihara died in a car accident. The group still released their debut single, but Kobayashi withdrew from the group a month after its release.

In August, 1999, during Hello! Project '99, Toda Rinne performed as the only remaining member of the group. She read Kobayashi’s farewell letter, which said: “''Dear Fans, I would like to sincerely thank you for supporting us till this day. Despite how short it has been, I still would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Three of us were supposed to start a new group with high hopes and dreams. However, my dearest and best friend, Hiromi, lost her life suddenly and that took heavy mental toll on me. I’d like to apologize to my fans as well as my staff for my weakness in times when I need to be stronger, and all the trouble this may have caused. And once again, thank you very much for your support. Sincerely, Azusa Kobayashi.''”

A month after her departure, she released "again4", an adult photobook, under the name Morita Hiromi.

In 2000, she became a talento, changing her name to Hayashi Karin. She worked as a model and actress, doing live singing performances and also cosplay modeling and running her own site.

Since 2008, Azusa has been performing at small venues, away from the spotlight.

In 2013, she released her first mini-album, entitled Distance. She said in an interview: «Usually, I am not so great with carrying conversations and expressing my feelings, so I wrote the lyrics as if I was jotting down my inner thoughts and ideas on a notebook. […] Five years of my thoughts, feelings, and histories are neatly packed in this album.«

Live concerts were held on the 18th and 27th of September at Nishikawa-guchi Hearts in Saitama Prefecture to promote the album. The same year she appeared in a music video for ) TADACy EYE(S).

In 2014, Kobayashi opened her new official site which also stated she would be producing three idol groups: PalmSugar, AISHNG FAIRY and Mysterious Roses (which she also would be a member of herself).

In September, Kobayashi announced the release of her second mini-album Alexandrite, set for an October release. She released several mini-albums and singles up until January 2018, when she announced she would temporarily stop activities after her one-man live on January, 28th.

In 2019 Kobayashi announced an audition searching for female singers to debut on her own music artist label. On February, 1st she also posted news on a live event she would be part of in March, called Live De Oto Motto Vol. 5 (LIVE DE 音Motto vol.5). She also announced the news of a movie she'd be starring in called Utatte Mita Koishite Mita (歌ってみた恋してみた), set for release in the summer of 2019.

Profile
Stats=
 * Stage Names: Hayashi Karin (林華鈴), Morita Hiromi (森田ひろみ)
 * Real Name: Kobayashi Azusa (小林梓)
 * Nickname: Azu (あず)
 * Birth Date:
 * Birth Place: Tokyo, Japan
 * Blood Type: AB
 * Height: 157cm
 * Hello! Project Group:
 * Country Musume (1999)
 * Other groups:
 * Mysterious Roses (2014–)
 * -|Q&A=
 * Hobbies: Playing with animals, fantasies costume, art and doll collecting
 * Specialties: Dressmaking, milking, riding
 * Likes: dogs and cats (in general Pachi), Dolls, and Gothic Costumes
 * Favorite colors: Pink, white, red, black

Country Musume

 * Futari no Hokkaido

Albums Participated In
Country Musume
 * Country Musume Mega Best

Mini-Albums

 * [2013.09.25] Distance
 * [2014.10.04] Alexandrite
 * [2017.02.14] Blue 〜Hikari to Yami no Naka de〜 (Blue〜光と闇の中で〜)

Other albums

 * [2018.07.14] Utatte Mita Koishite Mitai (Sounyuu Uka & Soundtrack) (歌ってみた 恋してみた (挿入歌&サウンドトラック))

Singles

 * [2015.07.10] Tear drop
 * [2016.01.30] Inner Heart
 * [2016.05.13] Mousou Prologue (妄想プロローグ)
 * [2018.01.28] Pink no Margaret (ピンクのマーガレット)
 * Event Singles
 * [2015.11.18] My daughter

DVDs

 * [2007.8]  Rozen〜Blome Gloke〜
 * [20xx.xx.xx] Meido Karutetto (メイドかるてっと)

Photobooks

 * Again4
 * Bishoujo Shampoo
 * Kimura Kamera

Movies

 * Utatte Mita Koishite Mita (歌ってみた恋してみた)

Trivia

 * She is the producer of the idol group AISHING FAIRY, PalmSugar and Mysterious Roses.
 * She collects dolls.
 * She loves the brand Girl's Obsession COS & Alt.