℃-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". They have sold over 974,040, copies in Japan alone. ℃-ute's highest selling single is Crazy Kanzen na Otona with 51,904 copies sold (still in chart) and their lowest selling single is Sekaiichi HAPPY na Onna no Ko with 19,830 copies sold.

Members
Their Hello! Project Mobekimasu color is Pink

Current Members

 * Yajima Maimi (矢島舞美; Red ) Leader
 * Nakajima Saki (中島早貴; Blue )
 * Suzuki Airi (鈴木愛理; Pink )
 * Okai Chisato (岡井千聖; Green )
 * Hagiwara Mai (萩原舞; Yellow )

Former Members

 * Murakami Megumi (村上愛; Grey ) (left October 31, 2006)
 * Arihara Kanna (有原栞菜; Red ) (left July 9, 2009)
 * Umeda Erika (梅田えりか; Yellow ) (graduated October 25, 2009)
 * For more on Member Colors, please go to Member Colors.

2002–2004: Hello! Project Kids
In 2002, all members of ℃-ute were initially selected during the audition for Hello! Project Kids. Later in the same year, Suzuki Airi and Hagiwara Mai became members of 4KIDS, and appeared in the Minimoni ja Movie Okashi na Daibouken!. A year later, some of the members were placed in bands led by Morning Musume members: Suzuki was selected to be in Aa!, while Umeda Erika, Yajima Maimi, and Murakami Megumi were in ZYX. Both units were short-lived, and their activity stopped when half of the Hello! Project Kids were choosen to form Berryz Koubou in January 2004. The kids passed over would later form ℃-ute.

2005
In 2004 half of Hello! Project Kids were choosen to form Berryz Koubou, which was formed with the intention of rotating the kids throughout the unit. However the idea was eventually dropped., and the remaining girls formed ℃-ute. The group was officially announced on June 11, 2005, though its formation had been rumored for several months prior.

2006
In January, Arihara Kanna, a Hello! Pro Kenshuusei, was added at the start of the Hello! Project Winter 2006 tour, as part of the Wonderful Hearts team.

On October 31, Murakami Megumi left the group suddenly without any graduation ceremony. Like Morning Musume before them, at their debut concert each of the group's members were given a color used for merchandise, costumes, and the like. Those colors: Umeda Erika - yellow; Yajima Maimi - pink; Nakajima Saki - orange; Suzuki Airi - green; Okai Chisato - blue; Hagiwara Mai - purple; and Arihara Kanna - red.

2007
On February 21, ℃-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, ℃-ute was chosen as "Best New Artist" by Japan Record Awards, 14 out of the 21 panel judges voted for them. Producer Tsunku received the award while the screen showed the girls crying at the dressing rooms after their performance.

On December 31, ℃-ute performed at the 58th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen as part of a special group with Morning Musume and Berryz Koubou. Hagiwara Mai became the youngest person to participate in Kouhaku Uta Gassen, breaking Kago Ai's record. (Hagiwara's record was broken the following year.)

2008
At the end of 2008, ℃-ute was nominated for the main Japan Record Award, the Grand Prix, for the song "Edo no Temari Uta II", which was chosen as one of the best works of the year, but lost to Exile and had to be contented with a Gold Award.

2009
On July 10, Arihara Kanna left ℃-ute and Hello! Project

On June 29, ℃-ute announced their 10th Single.

On July 9, ℃-ute announced the title for their 10th Single: EVERYDAY Zekkouchou!!.

Umeda Erika graduated on October 25, to study on becoming a fashion model. This is the third member to leave the group but the first to have a graduation ceremony. EVERYDAY Zekkouchou!!, released in September, was Umeda's last single in ℃-ute. The single ranked #2 weekly and topped the daily charts with a #1 position in its first week, this is the first time for the group to reach #1 daily and currently ℃-ute's highest-charting single overall.

At their First Event as a 5-nin Group each of the members were given a new color used for merchandise, costumes, and the like. Those colors are now: Yajima Maimi - red; Nakajima Saki -blue; Suzuki Airi -pink ; Okai Chisato - green; Hagiwara Mai -yellow.

On November 2, ℃-ute annonced their 11th single titled SHOCK! which will be released on January 6, 2010.

2010
On January 8, ℃-ute announced their 5th album Shocking 5 which will be released on February 24.

℃-ute announced on a live radio show that they would be opening up a blog.

SHOCK!, ℃-ute's eleventh major single, was released on January 6. It topped at #1 for the daily charts and #5 for the week, selling 18,665 copies. This is the first a-side of a single to have all solo lines given to only one person (Airi) with the rest of the group singing only the chorus as well as their first single as a 5-nin Group. The following month on February 24, 2010, their 5th studio album, Shocking 5, was released.

On February 23, 2010, it was announced that Nakajima Saki will be a part of Morning Musume's stage play FASHIONABLE.

On March 2, it was announced that ℃-ute will be releasing their 12th single on April 28.

On March 11, ℃-ute's 12th single title was announced to be Campus Life ~Umarete Kite Yokatta~.

On April 16, ℃-ute opened up their own Gree blog.

On April 28, ℃-ute's 12th major single, Campus Life ~Umarete Kite Yokatta~, was released. It ranked at #3 on the daily chart and #5 on weekly.

On June 29, it was announced that ℃-ute will be releasing their 13th single titled Dance de Bakoon! on August 25.

On August 25, ℃-ute's 13th major single, Dance de Bakoon!, was released.

On September 9, it was announced that ℃-ute will be releasing their 14th single titled Aitai Lonely Christmas on December 1.

On October 15, ℃-ute opened up their own Youtube Channel.

On December 1, in tribute to the Christmas season, ℃-ute's next single, Aitai Lonely Christmas, was released.

On December 24, it was announced that ℃-ute and S/mileage wil be having a concert together.

On December 27, it was announced that ℃-ute will be releasing their 15th single titled Kiss me Aishiteru on February 23, 2011.

2011
On February 1, it was announced that ℃-ute will be releasing their 6th album titled Chou! WONDERFUL 6.

On February 23, ℃-ute released their fifteenth major single Kiss me Aishiteru.

On March 6, ℃-ute official Facebook page opened.

On March 12, it was announced that ℃-ute events are cancelled do to earthquake and tsunami.

On March 23, a new release date was set for ℃-ute's 6th album which will be released on April 6.

On March 31, it was announced that ℃-ute will be releasing their 16th single titled "Momoiro Sparkling which will be released on May 25.

Berryz Koubou and ℃-ute will star in a play called Jikuu no Tobira (Door of Time).

On June 17, it was announced that ℃-ute and Berryz Koubou will be having a fall concert tour.

On June 18th, ℃-ute will be broadcasting their ℃-ute Concert Tour 2011 Spring ~Chou! Chou WONDERFUL Tour~, live through their official Youtube channel (ocutechannel) from Yokosuka Geijutsu Theater. Suzuki commented that this concert will be the first concert in Japan to be broadcast live on Youtube, and she hopes that more people get to know them through it.

On June 18, ℃-ute's spring concert entitled ℃-ute Concert Tour 2011 Spring ~Chou! Chou WONDERFUL Tour~ was broadcast live on the group's Youtube channel. The live stream was a big success. As it was later confirmed by the band's leader Yajima Maimi in her blog and by the management of the Up-Front Agency on Twitter, there were 93,144 Youtube viewers who watched the broadcast.

On June 23, it was announced that ℃-ute will be releasing their 17th single titled Sekaiichi Happy na Onna no Ko, which will be released on September 7.

On August 28, it was announced that ℃-ute and Berryz Koubou will be releasing a single on November 9. It is titled "Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Saku". It will be the ending to the movie Ousama Game which stars Berryz Koubou's Kumai Yurina and ℃-ute's Suzuki Airi. Members of both groups will be making short appearances in the movie.

It has been annouced that ℃-ute, along with S/mileage, would preform at this year's 24H TV Marathon.

On September 23, it was announced that ℃-ute's five star radio will be ending. The show will end on September 27.

On November 24, it was announced that ℃-ute will be releasing their 7th album titled Dainana Shou "Utsukushikutte Gomen Ne" on February 8, 2012.

2012
On February 8, the group's 7th album, titled Dainana Shou "Utsukushikutte Gomen ne", was released.

On April 8, ℃-ute performed at the idol festival Idol Yokochō Matsuri, giving their first non-Hello! Project joint concert in their entire career. The music news provider BARKS praised the "power performance" that was "overwhelming from beginning to end" and demontrated the "number one" band's unity out of the whole Hello! Project.

On April 18, ℃-ute's 18th single "Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku" was released. The music video for the song was uploaded on ℃-ute's official YouTube channel on March 12. With more than 40,000 copies sold within the first week and reaching number 3 of the Oricon weekly singles chart, the single became their highest-selling single to date, breaking the record of their 3rd major single "Tokaikko Junjou".

On June 20, ℃-ute released its second collaboration CD single with the fellow Hello! Project Kids group Berryz Koubou, titled "Chou HAPPY SONG". The title tune is a mix of two previously published songs, Berryz Koubou's "Because happiness" and ℃-ute's "Shiawase no Tochuu" from their 2012 albums. Both tracks were intentionally composed and produced by Tsunku to form a new song when played simultaneously. The trick was originally scheduled to be announced at a summer Hello! Project concert, but was uncovered by fans in mid-April. The song became a hot topic on the Internet, and a set of the three tracks, "Because happiness", "Shiawase no Tochū ", and "Chou Happy Song", was hastily released as a digital download single on April 28.

Also in June, it had been announced that ℃-ute's concert at the Yokosuka Arts Theater on June 30 would be broadcast live on YouTube.

On September 5, ℃-ute released their 19th single, titled "Aitai Aitai Aitai na". The song was premiered at the first concert of the Hello! Project 15th Anniversary Live 2012 Summer tour, on July 21 at the Onyx Theater in Osaka.

On November 21, ℃-ute released their 2nd Best-of album, ② ℃-ute Shinsei Naru Best Album.

On November 28th, a rumor was leaked by a person who concerned with a TV drama that airs in January, that the 20th single would be titled "Kono Machi", a Moritaka Chisato cover, which would be expected be released in February 6, 2013.

On December 16, it was confirms that ℃-ute's 20th single is in fact Kono Machi and it's set to be released on February 6, 2013.

2013
On February 6, ℃-ute's 20th single, Kono Machi, was released.

℃-ute will star in the stage play in Hanataba Sakura. The play will run from March 14 through March 24.

On The release event of ℃-ute's Crazy Kanzen na Otona,  it was announced that on July 5, ℃-ute will have a Cutie Circuit concert in Paris for the first time. Also on September 10, ℃-ute will have their annual ℃-ute no Hi Cutie Circuit Concert at Nippon Budokan.

Group Name Origin
°C-ute was named by Tsunku. According to him and the Hello! Project official website, the English word cute means "(little and) lovely, pretty" ((小さくて) かわいらしい，可憐な). Wanting to somehow express the girls' overflowing fervor (enthusiasm), he substituted "°C" for "C".

Critical reception
The music news provider BARKS praised Cute's "power performance" at the festival Idol Yokocho Matsuri on April 8, 2012 as being "overwhelming from beginning to end" and having demonstrated the "number one unity" out of all Hello! Project acts.

Kawaii Girl Japan states that Cute has not only been acclaimed as "the best performer in the Hello! Project", but is also recognized as "the best live performer" or simply "the best performer" by fans of other idol groups. Reviewing the band's performance at the Nico Nico Chokaigi festival, held on April 28–29, 2012, the website is impressed by how Cute covered the entire stage, being both dynamic and delicate, and how the band kept the audience intrigued and captivated. Depending on the song, Cute members changed their face expressions from happy to sad, easily commanding the audience's mood.

Members Line-up

 * 7 Members Line-up (June 2005 - January 2006)
 * 8 Members Line-up (January 2006 - October 2006) with the addition of Arihara Kanna
 * 7 Members Line-up (November 2006 - April 2009) without Murakami Megumi
 * 6 Members Line-up (April 2009 - October 2009) without Arihara Kanna
 * 5 Members Line-up (October 2009- present) without Umeda Erika

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

Indies Singles

 * 1) [2006.05.06] Massara Blue Jeans
 * 2) [2006.06.03] Soku Dakishimete
 * 3) [2006.07.09] Ooki na Ai de Motenashite
 * 4) [2006.07.29] Wakkyanai (Z)
 * 5) [2008.03.20] Koero! Rakuten Eagles
 * 6) [2010.10.13] Akuma de Cute na Seishun Graffiti

Major Singles

 * 1) [2007.02.21] Sakura Chirari
 * 2) [2007.07.11] Meguru Koi no Kisetsu
 * 3) [2007.10.17] Tokaikko Junjou
 * 4) [2008.02.27] LALALA Shiawase no Uta
 * 5) [2008.04.23] Namida no Iro
 * 6) [2008.07.30] Edo no Temari Uta II
 * 7) [2008.11.26] FOREVER LOVE
 * 8) [2009.04.15] Bye Bye Bye!
 * 9) [2009.07.01] Shochuu Omimai Moushiagemasu
 * 10) [2009.09.16] EVERYDAY Zekkouchou!!
 * 11) [2010.01.06] SHOCK!
 * 12) [2010.04.28] Campus Life ~Umarete Kite Yokatta~
 * 13) [2010.08.25] Dance de Bakoon!
 * 14) [2010.12.01] Aitai Lonely Christmas
 * 15) [2011.02.23] Kiss me Aishiteru
 * 16) [2011.05.25] Momoiro Sparkling
 * 17) [2011.09.07] Sekaiichi HAPPY na Onna no Ko
 * 18) [2012.04.18] Kimi wa Jitensha Watashi wa Densha de Kitaku
 * 19) [2012.09.05] Aitai Aitai Aitai na
 * 20) [2013.02.06] Kono Machi
 * 21) [2013.04.03] Crazy Kanzen na Otona

Albums

 * [2006.10.25] Cutie Queen Vol.1(キューティークイーン VOL.1)
 * [2007.04.17] 2 Mini ~Ikiru to Iu Chikara~ (②mini～生きるという力～)
 * [2008.03.12] 3rd ~LOVE Escalation!~ (3rd～LOVEエスカレーション～)
 * [2009.01.28] 4 Akogare My STAR (④ 憧れ My STAR)
 * [2010.02.24] Shocking 5(ショッキング5)
 * [2011.04.06] Chou WONDERFUL!6 (超WONDERFUL!⑥)
 * [2012.02.08] Dainana Shou "Utsukushikutte Gomen ne" (第七章「美しくってごめんね」)

Best of Albums

 * [2009.11.18] ℃-ute Nandesu! Zen Single Atsumechaimashita! 1
 * [2012.11.21] ② ℃-ute Shinsei Naru Best Album

Other Singles

 * [2011.08.06] Makeruna Wasshoi! (負けるな わっしょい!) (Bekimasu)
 * [2011.11.09] Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Saku (甘酸っぱい春にサクラサク) (Berryz Koubou×℃-ute)
 * [2011.11.16] Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku (ブスにならない哲学) (Hello! Project Mobekimasu)
 * [2012.04.28] Chou HAPPY SONG (超HAPPY SONG) (Berryz Koubou×℃-ute)

DVDs

 * [2006.09.06] Music V Tokushuu 1 ~Cutie Visual~ ( ミュージックV 特集①～キューティー ビジュアル～ )
 * [2007.09.05] Neru Ko wa ℃-ute ( 寝る子は℃-ute )
 * [2009.06.24] Music V Tokushuu 2 ~Cutie Visual~ ( ミュージックＶ　特集２～キューティービジュアル～ )
 * [2009.09.23] Gekidan Gekiharo Dai 6 Kai Kouen Ataru mo Hakke!? ( ℃-ute「劇団ゲキハロ第6回公演「あたるも八卦！？」」 )
 * [2009.10.28] Alo Hello! ℃-ute DVD ( アロハロ! ℃-ute )
 * [2010.12.08] Music V Tokushuu 3 ~Cutie Visual~ ( ミュージックＶ　特集 3～キューティービジュアル～ )
 * [2011.01.09] Cutie Musical (Akuma no Tsubuyaki) ~Akuma de kyutto na seishun Graffiti~ ( キューティー・ミュージカル「悪魔のつぶやき」～アクマでキュートな青春グラフィティ～)
 * [2011.07.13] ℃-ute & S/mileage Premium Live 2011 Haru ~℃ & S Collaboration Daisakusen~
 * [2011.12.21] ℃-ute Zen Single MUSIC VIDEO Blu-ray File 2011 (℃-ute 全シングル MUSIC VIDEOBlu-ray File 2011)
 * [2012.07.11] Alo-Hello! 2 ℃-ute DVD ( アロハロ! ２℃-ute)
 * [2013.03.06] Music V Tokushuu 4 ~Cutie Visual~

Calendar

 * [2006.09.30] 2007 Calendar (℃-ute 2007年 カレンダー)
 * [2007.10.01] 2008 Calendar (℃-ute 2008年 カレンダー)
 * [2008.10.13] 2009 Calendar (℃-ute 2009年 カレンダー)
 * [2009.10.28] 2010 Calendar (℃-ute 2010年 カレンダー)
 * [2010.09.22] 2011 Calendar (℃-ute 2011年 カレンダー)
 * [2011.10.12] 2012 Calendar (℃-ute 2012年 カレンダー)
 * [2012.09.22] 2013 Calendar (℃-ute 2013年 カレンダー)

Photobooks

 * [2007.02.21] So ℃-ute!
 * [2009.10.28] Alo! Hello ℃-ute Photobook (アロハロ！℃-ute写真集)
 * [2010.09.10] ℃-ute photo comic "°Compact °Cream" (℃-ute photo comic 『 ℃ompact ℃ream ( コンパクト ドリーム ) 』)
 * [2011.12.07] Cutest
 * [2012.07.24] Alo-Hello! ℃-ute 2012 (アロハロ！℃-ute 2012)

Magazines

 * [2007.04] Memew
 * [2007.05] B.L.T U-17
 * [2007.12] Weekly Shonen Champion
 * [2008.02] Kindai
 * [2008.02] Kindai
 * [2008.04] Weekly Shonen Champion
 * [2008.05] Yan Yan
 * [2008.12] Yan Yan
 * [2008.12] Kindai
 * [2009.10] Kindai
 * [2009.12] Mewew DX
 * [2010.02] Weekly ASCII
 * [2011.05] memew
 * [2011.12] B.L.T
 * [2012.11] CD Journal
 * [2012.11] Young Jump
 * [2012.12] Sugar & Spice
 * [2013.01] Top Yell
 * [2013.02] Confetti
 * [2013.02] Anican R
 * [2013.04] Idol No.1

Trivia

 * ℃-ute's Hagiwara Mai holds the record of being the youngest participant ever at the 58th Kōhaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦) on December 31, 2007, being only 11 years old at the time. However, recently, Ashida Mana took part at Kohaku Uta Gassen 2011 edition, at only 7 years, breaking Hagiwara's record.
 * They are currently the smallest major group in Hello! Project with 5 members.
 * Although Suzuki Airi is the main singer, fellow member Yajima Maimi and former member Murakami Megumi recieved a substantial amount of lines and solos in song as well. More recently, Okai Chisato has gotten a substantial amount of lines and solos, too.
 * Nakajima Saki also sings several notable lines in songs.
 * They have their own Youtube username, in which they post Music Videos and other videos.
 * They are the first Hello! Project group to have a Facebook.
 * They are the first group in Japan to broadcast a concert live on Youtube. It streamed live on their channel (ocutechannel) on June 18, 2011.
 * All of the group's major label singles have reached the Top 10 in the Oricon Weekly Chart.
 * As of 2011, everyone had long hair until February 2012 when Okai Chisato cut her hair.
 * The average age in the group is 18.
 * ℃-ute is the only group to have all members appear in the drama Suugaku♥Joshi Gakuen. Mitsui Aika of Morning Musume; Natsuyaki Miyabi, Kumai Yurina, and Sugaya Risako of Berryz Koubou; and Nakanishi Kana, Takeuchi Akari, and Katsuta Rina of S/mileage all did not appear in the drama.
 * September 10th is the official ℃-ute day, the day of the group's formation.
 * They are the only group to rearrange all the members colors after a graduation.
 * They only had two singles in 2012 making it the lowest amount of singles released in one year out of all the current groups.
 * As of January 2013, July is the month when they released most singles, 5 singles, including indie singles. If not including indie singles, February and April becomes the months when they released most singles, both with 4 major singles.
 * They have no member born in the fall. Yajima Maimi, Nakajima Saki & Hagiwara Mai are all born in February, Suzuki Airi in April and Okai Chisato in june.
 * Same person that leaked, in November 2012, the titles of then upcoming singles of Morning Musume (the 52nd single) and ℃-ute (the 20th single), and more recently, in January 2013, the title release date of a rumoured Morning Musume 53rd single, recently released a rumour about ℃-ute's 21st single, titled Crazy Kazen'na Otona and to be release on April's 3rd.

Awards and recognitions

 * The youngest group (with the average age of 13) to rank in the top 10.
 * Nominated for the "Best Newcomer Award" at 「ベストヒット歌謡祭２００７」, lost to ＲＳＰ.
 * 49th Japan Record Award: Newcomer Artist Award 2007
 * 49th Japan Record Award: Best New Artist Award 2007
 * Youngest group to win the Best New Artist Award
 * 50th Japan Record Award: Best Works of the Year Award 2008
 * Nominated for the "Excellence award" at 50th Japan Record Awards, lost to EXILE.