Tsugunaga Momoko

Momoko Tsugunaga (嗣永 桃子, Tsugunaga Momoko), born March 6, 1992 in Chiba, Japan is a J-pop singer. Her career began in 2002 when she successfully auditioned for the Hello! Project Kids, an all-female adolescent pop group within Hello! Project. Since then, she has continued to sing in that group and has become a part of three smaller groups composed of Hello! Project Kids members, ZYX, Berryz Koubou and Buono!.

History


Tsugunaga Momoko joined Hello! Project as one of the fifteen Hello! Project Kids. She played the lead protagonist in the 2002 Hello! Project movie Koinu Dan no Monogatari. In 2003, she was a member of the one-shot unit ZYX and released two singles with the group before it became inactive.

In 2004, Tsugunaga was one of the eight members selected to form Berryz Koubou, she is one of the group's lead vocalists. As of 2007, she is also part of Buono! along with Natsuyaki Miyabi and Suzuki Airi, and only a year later she managed to become the leader of the group after two competitions between the members. She was a member of Little Gatas and she is now a reserve member for Gatas Brilhantes H.P..

Berryz Koubou held a concert in Saitama Super Arena for first time in 2007 and it's also the first time that Momoko sang a solo. She interpreted Koi wa Hipparidako, which is part of their first album: 1st Chou Berryz.

Starting April 7, 2009, she also hosts her own radio show "Momoko no Puripuri Princess" on JOQR every Tuesday (23:35 to 23:50), replacing Berryz Koubou's Kiritsu Rei Chakuseki.

For her 4th Photobook 『momochiiii』, she held a handshake event on August 31, 2009, which makes her the first Berryz Koubou member to do so (and the third among Hello! Project Kids).

Profile

 * Name: Tsugunaga Momoko (嗣永桃子)
 * Birthdate: 1992-03-06
 * Nickname: Momo, Momo-chan, Tsugu-chan, Momochi, Pi-chicchi
 * Birthplace: Chiba, Japan
 * Blood Type: O
 * Height: 149cm
 * Strong point: I guess doing my best till the end even if I'm not good at it??
 * Weak point: Always taking up lots of time no matter what I do!
 * Hobby: Reading manga! I love manga
 * Special skill: I can sleep anywhere!?
 * Habit: When I'm nervous, my voice gets higher?
 * Favorite Food: Kanpachi, eel, crab and nattou
 * Least favorite food: Green peas
 * Favorite Word: Itsumo happy (always happy)
 * Favorite color: Pink, yellow
 * Favorite flower: Tulip (red ones)
 * Favorite season: Fall!! Because there's lots of delicious things to eat
 * Favorite song: "Uwaki na Honey Pie" (Country Musume ni Konno to Fujimoto)
 * Favorite book: Manga
 * Favorite movie: "Hamutarou"!!
 * Scared of: Rollercoasters, haunted houses...
 * Disliked thing to do: Dance...
 * Charm point: Eyelashes. They're a bit longer than most people's!
 * Audition Song: Koi wo Shichaimashita
 * Hello! Project Status:
 * 2002-06-30: Member
 * 2004-01-14: Berryz Koubou Member
 * Years in Berryz Koubou: 8 Years
 * Hello! Project Groups:
 * Hello! Project Kids
 * ZYX (2003, 2009)
 * Berryz Koubou (2004–)
 * Buono! (2007–)
 * Concert Units:
 * Hello! Project Shirogumi (2005)
 * Wonderful Hearts (2006–)
 * Shuffle Units:
 * 2004: H.P. All Stars
 * Other:
 * Little Gatas (2004–2007)
 * Gatas Brilhantes H.P. (2007–) (Reserve player)

Berryz Koubou

 * Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai
 * Fighting Pose wa Date ja Nai!
 * Piriri to Yukou!
 * Happiness ~Koufuku Kangei!~
 * Koi no Jubaku
 * Special Generation
 * Nanchuu Koi wo Yatteruu YOU KNOW?
 * 21ji Made no Cinderella
 * Gag 100 Kaibun Aishite Kudasai
 * Jiriri Kiteru
 * Waracchaou yo BOYFRIEND
 * Munasawagi Scarlet
 * VERY BEAUTY
 * Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba
 * Tsukiatteru no ni Kataomoi
 * Dschinghis Khan
 * Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance
 * MADAYADE
 * Dakishimete Dakishimete
 * Seishun Bus Guide/Rival
 * Ryuusei Boy/Watashi no Mirai no Danna-sama
 * Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda! / Otakebi Boy WAO!
 * Maji Bomber!!
 * Shining Power
 * Heroine ni Narou ka!
 * Ai no Dangan
 * Aa Yo ga Akeru
 * Be Genki 「Naseba Naru!」

Buono!

 * Honto no Jibun
 * Ren'ai Rider
 * Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!
 * Gachinko de Ikou!
 * Rottara Rottara
 * Co-no-Mi-chi
 * MY BOY
 * Take It Easy!
 * Bravo☆Bravo
 * Our Songs
 * Zassou no Uta
 * Natsu Dakara
 * Hatsukoi Cider/DEEP MIND

Mobekimasu

 * Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku

BerriKyuu

 * Amazuppai Haru ni Sakura Saku

ZYX

 * Iku ZYX! Fly High
 * Shiroi Tokyo

H.P. AllStars

 * ALL FOR ONE & ONE FOR ALL!

Photobooks



 * [2007.06.19] momo
 * [2008.03.19] momo16 -Momoiro- (ｍｏｍｏ１６ -ももいろ-, "Momo16 Peach-colored")
 * [2008.11.21] Momo no Mi (桃の実, "Peach Seeds")
 * [2009.08.21] momochiiii -
 * [2010.10.20] Momochi Zukan (ももち図鑑, "Momochi’s Picture Book")
 * [2012.03.02] Hatachi Momoko (20 years Momoko)

DVDs

 * momo only. - (December 12, 2008)
 * momo ok. - (September 9, 2009)
 * Momochi DVD Zukan - (October 27, 2010)

Radio

 * Momoko no Puri Puri Princess (April 07, 2009 – present)

Filmography

 * 2002 – Koinu Dan no Monogatari (仔犬ダンの物語, "Puppy Dan's Story")
 * 2004 – Promise Land ~Clovers no Daibōken~ (Ｐｒｏｍｉｓｅ　Ｌａｎｄ ～クローバーズの大冒険～, "Promise Land ~Clover's Adventure~")

Trivia

 * Is noted for not having changed her hair in terms of cut or color since she joined.
 * She is easily distinguishable among the other members of Berryz Koubou because of her height and her unique singing voice.
 * Has a younger brother that does karate.
 * Her favorite artist is Sakurazuka Yakkun.
 * Dislikes festival clowns, and still screams when she sees them.
 * Hates green "matcha" tea, though likes sweetened beverage green tea.
 * Has a habit of sticking out her pinky, although she has tried to get rid of that habit recently. Inaba Atsuko on Gyao's Hello Pro Hour confronted her about it.
 * Audition song: Koi wo Shichaimashita! (Tanpopo).
 * When she was little, she wanted to become a florist.
 * She and Murakami Megumi are considered to be some of the best actresses among the Hello! Project Kids.
 * Natsuyaki Miyabi often helps her to put make-up.
 * She drew a picture of the eight members of Berryz Koubou for their first Hawaii FC tour.
 * In the flight to Hawaii, she talked all the way with Sugaya Risako who sat beside her, so when they arrived she fell fast asleep. She didn't share room.
 * Every year she celebrate with her family the day that she became an idol (June 30th, 2002).
 * Satoda Mai praised Momo saying that she was a natural Idol.
 * Momo's father calls her "momochii" when he's going to give or do something for her.
 * During dance lessons, she always helped Ishimura Maiha who had the hardest time with dance routines.
 * On her radio show, she stated that she looks up to be like Sudou Maasa.
 * In her 3rd solo event, while the other members sang a song together with the wota, Momo sang 5 solo songs instead.
 * She likes to read mystery novels.
 * Momo was featured in a magazine that talked about what members among H!P comes from a poor family (Fujimoto Miki and Kago Ai also were featured). The article said that they had become idols to be able to be rich.
 * A fan called her "Chaplin" because she always explains things by gesturing.
 * From Sono ~Sono Subete no Ai ni~: her good subject is Music and her favorite food is sea urchin.
 * She appears on the pv of Boogie Train '03 along with Sudou Maasa, Tokunaga Chinami, and Umeda Erika.
 * Her mom is the youngest among Berryz mothers.
 * She close friends with Okai Chisato from C-ute.
 * She became friends with former Berryz Koubou member Ishimura Maiha after her graduation.
 * Momoko once asked Morning Musume's Michishige Sayumi if she was ever told that playing the cutesy idol role was painful to watch, how long she planned to continue with the character, and other questions related to their shared burden of playing that role within their respective groups. Because Momoko asked the question seriously, Sayumi was glad that Momo was comfortable with talking to her about her problems.
 * Morning Musume's Takahashi Ai often slaps Momoko's butt.
 * Because of the meaning of her name, Momoko is the "peach" in Berryz Koubou ("momo" translating to "peach"). She and Sugaya Risako are the only two with fruits in their names (the symbol standing for "ri" in her name can also be read as "nashi," a type of pear).
 * She calls her little finger "pinky."
 * In January 2010, she stated in an interview for Thai magazine Nation Junior Magazine that she'd like to be an "eternal idol," and that she sees herself as still working and still being an idol in 50 years.
 * In the episode 56 of her Radio (April 28, 2010), Momoko announced that she will be a University student soon in order to get a teacher's license for kindergarden or elementary school.
 * Only for one show (June 30, 2010), Momo's radio was renamed "Shimizu Saki no PuriPuri Princess" with Shimizu Saki as the host while Momo only has to sit back and watch. This was due to the last week episode, where Sudou Maasa, Shimizu Saki and Tokunaga Chinami went to the show and challenged Momoko for her DJ SPOT; eventually, Captain won the position.
 * She and Umeda Erika are the only members to be in both the original ZYX and ZYX-α.
 * The members of Berry koubou often talk about the pictures Momoko draws of them.
 * In Yorosen, she taught other Berryz Koubou members about Household Appliances.
 * Suzuki Kanon said that if she could become any Hello! Project member, that she'd become Momoko because of her cuteness.