Hello! Project Wiki
Hello! Project Wiki
No edit summary
(24 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown)
Line 13: Line 13:
 
|genre = J-Pop
 
|genre = J-Pop
 
|format = CD Single, digital download
 
|format = CD Single, digital download
|length = 13:28 (original)<br />17:58 (re-release)
+
|length = 13:28 <small>(Original)</small><br />17:58 <small>(Re-release)</small>
|label = {{LinkBug|One Up Music}}<br />{{LinkBug|zetima}} (re-release)
+
|label = {{LinkBug|One Up Music}}<br />{{LinkBug|zetima}} <small>(Re-release)</small>
 
|producer = [[Tsunku]]
 
|producer = [[Tsunku]]
 
|Last = [[Ai no Tane]] <small>Demo Single (1997)</small>
 
|Last = [[Ai no Tane]] <small>Demo Single (1997)</small>
Line 20: Line 20:
 
}}
 
}}
   
'''Morning Coffee''' (モーニングコーヒー) is [[Morning Musume]]'s debut single. It was released January 28, 1998, as an 8 cm CD. It sold a total of 200,790 copies.
+
'''Morning Coffee''' (モーニングコーヒー) is [[Morning Musume]]'s debut single. It was released January 28, 1998 as an 8cm CD. It sold a total of 200,790 copies.
   
It was re-released as part of the [[Morning Musume Early Single Box]] in 2004, and again in 2005 as a 12 cm CD under the [[zetima]] label.
+
It was re-released as part of the [[Morning Musume Early Single Box]] in 2004, a limited edition box set containing Morning Musume's first eight singles reissued on 12cm CDs. In 2005, the singles were released individually under the [[zetima]] label, and first press editions came with a photo card.
   
 
==Tracklist==
[[File:Morning Musume - Morning Coffee (MV)|thumb|right|220px|Morning Coffee (MV)]]
+
[[File:Morning Musume - Morning Coffee (MV)|thumb|right|220px]]
== Tracklist ==
 
 
===Original Edition===
 
===Original Edition===
 
#Morning Coffee
 
#Morning Coffee
Line 38: Line 38:
   
 
==Featured Members==
 
==Featured Members==
[[File:MorningCoffee-rr.jpg|thumb|Morning Musume promoting single]]
+
[[File:DUn49vwV4AAQ5fE.jpg|thumb|1st generation Morning Musume 20 years after the release, January 28, 2018]]
 
*[[Nakazawa Yuko]]
 
*[[Nakazawa Yuko]]
 
*[[Ishiguro Aya]]
 
*[[Ishiguro Aya]]
Line 47: Line 47:
 
==Single Information==
 
==Single Information==
 
;Morning Coffee
 
;Morning Coffee
*Lyrics & Composition: [[Tsunku]]
+
*Lyrics and Composition: [[Tsunku]]
 
*Arrangement and Programming: [[Sakurai Tetsutaro]]
 
*Arrangement and Programming: [[Sakurai Tetsutaro]]
 
*12-string Guitar and Acoustic Guitar: [[Takahashi Yuichi]]
 
*12-string Guitar and Acoustic Guitar: [[Takahashi Yuichi]]
Line 54: Line 54:
 
*Dance Choreographer: [[Side:Natsu Mayumi|Natsu Mayumi]]
 
*Dance Choreographer: [[Side:Natsu Mayumi|Natsu Mayumi]]
   
 
==TV Performances==
;[[Ai no Tane#Single Information|Ai no Tane]]
 
 
*[1998.01.25] [[ASAYAN]]
 
*[1998.01.30] Music Station
 
*[1998.02.06] POP FILE
  +
*[1998.02.09] Hey! Hey! Hey!
  +
*[1998.02.12] Music Park
  +
*[1998.02.24] [[Utaban]]
  +
*[1998.02.28] POP JAM
  +
*[1999.01.03] ASAYAN
 
*[2000.10.08] [[Hello! Morning]] Episode #27 (Last Phrase Karaoke)
 
*[2014.04.xx] Bokura no Ongaku
  +
*[2015.02.25] SKY PerfecTV! MUSIC FESTIVAL
   
 
==Concert Performances==
 
==Concert Performances==
 
;Morning Coffee
 
;Morning Coffee
*[[Hello! First Live at Shibuya Kohkaido]]
+
*[[Hello! FIRST LIVE AT SHIBUYA KOHKAIDO]]
 
*[[Hello! Project Happy New Year '99]]
 
*[[Hello! Project Happy New Year '99]]
 
*[[Morning Musume '99 Memory Seishun no Hikari Tour]]
 
*[[Morning Musume '99 Memory Seishun no Hikari Tour]]
Line 67: Line 78:
 
*[[Morning Musume CONCERT TOUR 2003 15nin de NON STOP!]]
 
*[[Morning Musume CONCERT TOUR 2003 15nin de NON STOP!]]
 
*[[Morning Musume Sakura Gumi Hatsu Kouen ~Sakura Saku~]] <small>- [[Morning Musume Sakura Gumi]]</small>
 
*[[Morning Musume Sakura Gumi Hatsu Kouen ~Sakura Saku~]] <small>- [[Morning Musume Sakura Gumi]]</small>
*[[Hello! Project 2005 Winter All-Stars Dairanbu ~A HAPPY NEW POWER! Iida Kaori Sotsugyou Special~]] <small>- [[Nakazawa Yuko]], [[Iida Kaori]], [[Yasuda Kei]], [[Inaba Atsuko]], [[Ayaka]], [[Saito Hitomi]], [[Kimura Asami]], [[Saito Miuna]], [[Umeda Erika]], [[Sugaya Risako]]</small>
+
*[[Hello! Project 2005 Winter ~A HAPPY NEW POWER!~|Hello! Project 2005 Winter All-Stars Dairanbu ~A HAPPY NEW POWER! Iida Kaori Sotsugyou Special~]] <small>- [[Nakazawa Yuko]], [[Iida Kaori]], [[Yasuda Kei]], [[Inaba Atsuko]], [[Kimura Ayaka|Ayaka]], [[Saito Hitomi]], [[Kimura Asami|Asami]], [[Saito Miuna|Miuna]], [[Umeda Erika]], [[Sugaya Risako]]</small>
 
*[[Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai Concert Tour 2007 Natsu ~Thank You My Dearest~]]
 
*[[Morning Musume Tanjou 10nen Kinentai Concert Tour 2007 Natsu ~Thank You My Dearest~]]
 
*[[Morning Musume Concert Tour 2008 Haru ~Single Daizenshuu!!~]]
 
*[[Morning Musume Concert Tour 2008 Haru ~Single Daizenshuu!!~]]
*[[Hello! Project 2009 Winter Wonderful Hearts Kouen ~Kakumei Gannen~ / Elder Club Kouen ~Thank You for Your Love!~|Hello! Project 2009 Winter Elder Club Kouen ~Thank you for your LOVE!~]] <small>- Nakazawa Yuko, Iida Kaori, [[Abe Natsumi]], Yasuda Kei, [[Yaguchi Mari]]</small>
+
*[[Hello! Project 2009 Winter|Hello! Project 2009 Winter Elder Club Kouen ~Thank you for your LOVE!~]] <small>- Nakazawa Yuko, Iida Kaori, [[Abe Natsumi]], Yasuda Kei, [[Yaguchi Mari]]</small>
*[[Hello! Project 2009 Winter Kettei! Hello☆Pro Award '09 ~Elder Club Sotsugyou Kinen Special~]]
+
*[[Hello! Project 2009 Winter|Hello! Project 2009 Winter Kettei! Hello☆Pro Award '09 ~Elder Club Sotsugyou Kinen Special~]]
*[[Dream Morning Musume Special LIVE 2012 Nippon Budokan ~Dai Isshou Shuumaku "Yuusha Tachi, Shuugou Seyo"~]]
+
*[[Dream Morning Musume Special LIVE 2012 Nippon Budokan ~Dai Isshou Shuumaku "Yuusha Tachi, Shuugou Seyo"~]] <small>- [[Dream Morning Musume]]</small>
 
*[[Hello! Project COUNTDOWN PARTY 2013 ~GOOD BYE & HELLO!~]] <small>- Nakazawa Yuko, Iida Kaori, Abe Natsumi, [[Ishiguro Aya]]</small>
 
*[[Hello! Project COUNTDOWN PARTY 2013 ~GOOD BYE & HELLO!~]] <small>- Nakazawa Yuko, Iida Kaori, Abe Natsumi, [[Ishiguro Aya]]</small>
 
*[[Morning Musume '17 Concert Tour Haru ~THE INSPIRATION!~]]
 
*[[Morning Musume '17 Concert Tour Haru ~THE INSPIRATION!~]]
 
*[[Morning Musume '17 Live Concert in Hong Kong]]
 
*[[Morning Musume '17 Live Concert in Hong Kong]]
 
*[[Hello! Project Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2017 12gatsu ~Conti→New!~]] <small>- [[Horie Kizuki]], [[Maeda Kokoro]], [[Noguchi Kurumi]], [[Kodama Sakiko]], [[Shimakura Rika]] / [[Inoue Hikaru]], [[Yonemura Kirara]], [[Yamazaki Yuhane]], [[Eguchi Saya]], [[Okamura Minami]]</small>
 
*[[Hello! Project Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2017 12gatsu ~Conti→New!~]] <small>- [[Horie Kizuki]], [[Maeda Kokoro]], [[Noguchi Kurumi]], [[Kodama Sakiko]], [[Shimakura Rika]] / [[Inoue Hikaru]], [[Yonemura Kirara]], [[Yamazaki Yuhane]], [[Eguchi Saya]], [[Okamura Minami]]</small>
  +
*[[Hello! Project 20th Anniversary!! Hello! Project Hallo! Fes 2018]] <small>- [[Country Girls]]</small>
 
  +
*[[Hello! Project 20th Anniversary!! Morning Musume '19 Dinner Show "Happy Night"]]
==TV Performances==
 
*[1998.02.24] [[Utaban]]
 
*[1998.02.xx] Music Station
 
*[1998.02.xx] Hey! Hey! Hey!
 
*[2000.10.08] [[Hello! Morning]] Episode 027 (Last Phrase Karaoke)
 
*[2014.04.xx] Bokura no Ongaku
 
   
 
==[[Oricon]] Chart Positions==
 
==[[Oricon]] Chart Positions==
Line 96: Line 102:
 
{{OriconWeekOnly|78/3820}}
 
{{OriconWeekOnly|78/3820}}
 
{{OriconFinish}}
 
{{OriconFinish}}
'''Total sales''': 200,790
+
'''Total reported sales''': 200,790
   
 
==Cover Versions==
 
==Cover Versions==
  +
*Country Musume released a re-arranged rap version of "Morning Coffee" (called "Morning Gyuunyuu") as a b-side to their [[Futari no Hokkaido|debut single]].
*An instrumental cover was recorded by Shakatak for the album [[Cover Morning Musume! ~Various Artist Covers "MORNING MUSUME"!~|Cover Morning Musume!]].
 
*A new version of the song recorded by Morning Musume's 2002 lineup is the B-side on the "[[Souda! We're ALIVE]]" single.
+
*In 2002, a re-arranged and re-recorded version of this song was featured as the b-side for Morning Musume's 14th single, "[[Souda! We're ALIVE]]".
 
*An instrumental cover was recorded by Shakatak for the album [[Cover Morning Musume! ~Various Artist Covers "MORNING MUSUME"!~]].
*[[Ice Creamusume]] recorded a Chinese version of the song on their debut album [[1st Zui Bang!]].
+
*[[Ice Creamusume]] recorded a Chinese version of the song on their debut album [[1st Zuì Bàng!]]. They also recorded a Japanese version for same album.
  +
*In September 2010, the unit [[Afternoon Musume]] released a slower enka stylized version of the song titled "[[Gouhoubi no Afternoon Coffee]]".
 
*[[Dream Morning Musume]] recorded a "2011 Dreamusu. Ver." on their album [[Dorimusu ①]].
 
*[[Dream Morning Musume]] recorded a "2011 Dreamusu. Ver." on their album [[Dorimusu ①]].
  +
*Iida Kaori recorded a cover for her album [[ONDAS]] in 2016.
 
*[[Morning Musume|Morning Musume '17]] recorded a remake titled "[[Side:Morning Misoshiru|Morning Misoshiru]]" to promote a Marukome miso soup product of the same name.
 
*[[Morning Musume|Morning Musume '17]] recorded a remake titled "[[Side:Morning Misoshiru|Morning Misoshiru]]" to promote a Marukome miso soup product of the same name.
 
*[[Morning Musume 20th]] recorded a remake titled "[[Morning Coffee (20th Anniversary Ver.)]]" in 2018.
 
*[[Morning Musume 20th]] recorded a remake titled "[[Morning Coffee (20th Anniversary Ver.)]]" in 2018.
   
 
==Trivia==
 
==Trivia==
*Early on, [[Terada Mitsuo|Tsunku]] had decided that [[Iida Kaori]] was going to be be the lead vocalist. Before the recording on the second day, Tsunku changed the lead vocals to [[Abe Natsumi]].
+
*Early on, [[Terada Mitsuo|Tsunku]] had decided that [[Iida Kaori]] was going to be be the lead vocalist.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/19990423075053/http://www.asayan.com/vocal/morning/1221.html モーニング娘。メジャーデビュー曲争奪戦!]" (in Japanese). ASAYAN. 1997-12-21. (Archived)</ref> Before the recording on the second day, Tsunku changed the lead vocals to [[Abe Natsumi]].
  +
*For their major debut single, three songs were recorded: "Morning Coffee", "Usotsuki Anta" and "Dou ni ka Shite Douyoubi". Demos of the songs were played on ''[[ASAYAN]]'' while the girls were interviewed. The hosts of the show started laughing listening to "Dou ni Kashite Douyoubi", because they thought parts of the lyrics were funny (''"Douyoubi nante, kirairai, terebi datte, no no"'').<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/19990423072300/http://www.asayan.com/vocal/morning/1214.html 怒涛のデビュー曲大争奪戦!!]" (in Japanese). ASAYAN. 1997-12-14. (Archived)</ref> People could phone in and vote for the song that would be their debut single, and on December 28, 1997, "Morning Coffee" was chosen as their debut single.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/19990423085941/http://www.asayan.com/vocal/morning/1228.html モーニング娘。メジャーデビュー曲大争奪戦!]" (in Japanese). ASAYAN. 1997-12-28. (Archived)</ref>
*This was the first [[Morning Musume]] single with an English name.
 
  +
**"Dou ni ka Shite Doyoubi" and "Usotsuki Anta" would eventually be released in [[Morning Musume]]'s first album [[First Time]] with the 2nd generation members.
*1st generation member [[Nakazawa Yuko]] commented on the single for a YouTube video series counting up to Morning Musume's 50th single.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2COD277i2YM</ref>
 
*This was Morning Musume's lowest selling official single until "[[Furusato]]".
 
 
*This is the only Morning Musume single that was under the [[zetima|One Up Music]] label in its original release.
 
*This is the only Morning Musume single that was under the [[zetima|One Up Music]] label in its original release.
  +
[[File:Young Magazine MM 1998.jpg|304x304px]]
  +
*Morning Musume set out on a handshake campaign called [[Morning Musume Debut Kinen Akushu-kai]] to promote their debut with this single. They also got a spread and photo shooot in the February issue of ''Young Magazine'', as well as 18 more issues in March<ref>ASAYAN episode aired on March 15, 1998. Magazines include FM Stadium, Song Kong, The Television, Pia, Oricon, CD Data, Duet, What's In, Junon, Uno, Myojo, Focus, Seven Teen ++</ref>, They also got stage appeareances on ''Music Station'', ''HEY! HEY! HEY!'', ''POP FILE'', ''Music Park'', and ''POP JAM''.<ref>Announced on ASAYAN January 25, 1998.</ref> They also got TV stage appeareances at AXEL, Aoi Taiken (青い体験), Utaban, Mecha Mecha Iketeru, and Waratte Ii Tomo
  +
**At ''Music Station'', Morning Musume shared a stage with PUFFY, GLAY, MY LITTLE LOVER; hide with Spread Beaver, Shounentai, Odani Michiko, and J-FRIENDS
 
*This was Morning Musume's lowest selling official single until "[[Furusato]]".
  +
*With this single, Morning Musume has the fifth highest selling debut single in all of [[Hello! Project]], excluding [[Hello! Project Shuffle Unit|shuffle units]].
  +
*The 4th track on the re-release had never been released to the public. It was an original version completed on December 22, 1997, but Tsunku and the staff felt the sound to be a little weak. In order to create a more "sellable" sound, they decided to drop the key by a half and played the pre-programmed rhythm parts from sequence software instead of using the actual band. The newer version was recorded on December 30 and it became the final version for the debut single. In comparison, the vocal parts for the original version were thought to be inexperienced yet fresh, and somewhat more humble, for the members were still dreaming of becoming the top of the pop idol groups<ref>Translation from the booklet from Morning Musume Early Single Box released in 2004.</ref>
 
*1st generation member [[Nakazawa Yuko]] commented on the single for a YouTube video series counting up to Morning Musume's 50th single.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2COD277i2YM</ref>
  +
  +
==Interviews==
  +
{{ShowHide
  +
| title = Interviews
  +
| body =
  +
;1998 Interview with the Morning Musume members
  +
'''Interviewer''': What was difficult or challenging?
  +
  +
'''Fukuda''': It was difficult to express the song’s mood accurately.
  +
  +
'''Yasuda''': The rapidly spoken part at the very end was difficult. I had such a hard time with it.
  +
  +
'''Nakazawa''': For me, it was the chorus part of ‘Yes’. My harmony was lower but my voice was apparently way too low. I remember Tsunku was laughing at me.
  +
  +
;2010 Interview with Tsunku
  +
'''Interviewer''': January 1998, Morning Musume released "Morning Coffee". At that point, did you
  +
have a clear vision of the unit?
  +
  +
'''Tsunku''': Not at all. I was testing to see how many households I could reach. I didn’t know
  +
whether the unit could be in top 10 artists. So "Morning Coffee" was good for testing the market. But once I saw the unit’s popularity, I felt like the unit possessed a huge risk to be perceived as artificial idol group, so I immediately changed my game plan. I wanted to keep the
  +
unit as multi-dimensional, or the unit was going to follow the typical fate of the artificial units,
  +
that’s photogenic without substance. Back when we were promoting "[[Ai no Tane]]", things were in much smaller scale, with warm supports, just like young athletes being supported by the
  +
family members. The warm atmosphere began to cool down around the release date, and I didn’t like that at all. We came up with the idea of adding more members, and changing the image of the unit at the same time. I think that’s when I began seeing the clear vision of the unit.
  +
  +
Up until the release of "Morning Coffee", general public was interested in the unit for one reason: The members were, in short, a bunch of losers (of the [[Sharam Q Josei Rock Vocalist Audition|audition]]), and they were simply curious to see how long it could survive. The unit landed 6th place on the first week of the pop chart, and that was great, but I didn’t think about what was to follow. I wasn’t sure whether general public’s curiosity would wear off completely. That was the biggest realization at that time, and I was looking for another boost to bring back their curiosity.
  +
  +
Also, I felt the members of the unit were beginning to feel too comfortable in their positions. Understandably, they had enough fans, they landed 6th place, they were surrounded by people at every meet-and-greet sessions. So I could see them starting to be less humble than they used to be. And I thought I had to make some changes.}}
   
 
==References==
 
==References==
Line 133: Line 175:
 
[[Category:2005 Singles]]
 
[[Category:2005 Singles]]
 
[[Category:Lowest Ranking Single]]
 
[[Category:Lowest Ranking Single]]
  +
[[Category:Gold Certification]]

Revision as of 17:54, 12 March 2020

Morning Coffee (モーニングコーヒー) is Morning Musume's debut single. It was released January 28, 1998 as an 8cm CD. It sold a total of 200,790 copies.

It was re-released as part of the Morning Musume Early Single Box in 2004, a limited edition box set containing Morning Musume's first eight singles reissued on 12cm CDs. In 2005, the singles were released individually under the zetima label, and first press editions came with a photo card.

Tracklist

Morning_Musume_-_Morning_Coffee_(MV)

Morning Musume - Morning Coffee (MV)

Original Edition

  1. Morning Coffee
  2. Ai no Tane (愛の種; Seeds of Love)
  3. Morning Coffee (Instrumental)

Re-release Edition

  1. Morning Coffee
  2. Ai no Tane
  3. Morning Coffee (Instrumental)
  4. Morning Coffee (Unreleased "B♭" Version)

Featured Members

DUn49vwV4AAQ5fE

1st generation Morning Musume 20 years after the release, January 28, 2018

Single Information

Morning Coffee
  • Lyrics and Composition: Tsunku
  • Arrangement and Programming: Sakurai Tetsutaro
  • 12-string Guitar and Acoustic Guitar: Takahashi Yuichi
  • Electric Guitar: Tsuchiya Kiyoshi
  • Acoustic Piano and Keyboards: Kono Shin
  • Dance Choreographer: Natsu Mayumi

TV Performances

  • [1998.01.25] ASAYAN
  • [1998.01.30] Music Station
  • [1998.02.06] POP FILE
  • [1998.02.09] Hey! Hey! Hey!
  • [1998.02.12] Music Park
  • [1998.02.24] Utaban
  • [1998.02.28] POP JAM
  • [1999.01.03] ASAYAN
  • [2000.10.08] Hello! Morning Episode #27 (Last Phrase Karaoke)
  • [2014.04.xx] Bokura no Ongaku
  • [2015.02.25] SKY PerfecTV! MUSIC FESTIVAL

Concert Performances

Morning Coffee

Oricon Chart Positions

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Week Rank Sales
- - - - - - - 6 95,060
- - - - - - - 14 33,680
- - - - - - - 22 29,030
- - - - - - - 29 16,500
- - - - - - - 42 9,670
- - - - - - - 53 7,560
- - - - - - - 64 5,470
- - - - - - - 78 3,820

Total reported sales: 200,790

Cover Versions

Trivia

  • Early on, Tsunku had decided that Iida Kaori was going to be be the lead vocalist.[1] Before the recording on the second day, Tsunku changed the lead vocals to Abe Natsumi.
  • For their major debut single, three songs were recorded: "Morning Coffee", "Usotsuki Anta" and "Dou ni ka Shite Douyoubi". Demos of the songs were played on ASAYAN while the girls were interviewed. The hosts of the show started laughing listening to "Dou ni Kashite Douyoubi", because they thought parts of the lyrics were funny ("Douyoubi nante, kirairai, terebi datte, no no").[2] People could phone in and vote for the song that would be their debut single, and on December 28, 1997, "Morning Coffee" was chosen as their debut single.[3]
    • "Dou ni ka Shite Doyoubi" and "Usotsuki Anta" would eventually be released in Morning Musume's first album First Time with the 2nd generation members.
  • This is the only Morning Musume single that was under the One Up Music label in its original release.

Young Magazine MM 1998

  • Morning Musume set out on a handshake campaign called Morning Musume Debut Kinen Akushu-kai to promote their debut with this single. They also got a spread and photo shooot in the February issue of Young Magazine, as well as 18 more issues in March[4], They also got stage appeareances on Music Station, HEY! HEY! HEY!, POP FILE, Music Park, and POP JAM.[5] They also got TV stage appeareances at AXEL, Aoi Taiken (青い体験), Utaban, Mecha Mecha Iketeru, and Waratte Ii Tomo
    • At Music Station, Morning Musume shared a stage with PUFFY, GLAY, MY LITTLE LOVER; hide with Spread Beaver, Shounentai, Odani Michiko, and J-FRIENDS
  • This was Morning Musume's lowest selling official single until "Furusato".
  • With this single, Morning Musume has the fifth highest selling debut single in all of Hello! Project, excluding shuffle units.
  • The 4th track on the re-release had never been released to the public. It was an original version completed on December 22, 1997, but Tsunku and the staff felt the sound to be a little weak. In order to create a more "sellable" sound, they decided to drop the key by a half and played the pre-programmed rhythm parts from sequence software instead of using the actual band. The newer version was recorded on December 30 and it became the final version for the debut single. In comparison, the vocal parts for the original version were thought to be inexperienced yet fresh, and somewhat more humble, for the members were still dreaming of becoming the top of the pop idol groups[6]
  • 1st generation member Nakazawa Yuko commented on the single for a YouTube video series counting up to Morning Musume's 50th single.[7]

Interviews

Interviews
;1998 Interview with the Morning Musume members

Interviewer: What was difficult or challenging?

Fukuda: It was difficult to express the song’s mood accurately.

Yasuda: The rapidly spoken part at the very end was difficult. I had such a hard time with it.

Nakazawa: For me, it was the chorus part of ‘Yes’. My harmony was lower but my voice was apparently way too low. I remember Tsunku was laughing at me.

2010 Interview with Tsunku

Interviewer: January 1998, Morning Musume released "Morning Coffee". At that point, did you have a clear vision of the unit?

Tsunku: Not at all. I was testing to see how many households I could reach. I didn’t know whether the unit could be in top 10 artists. So "Morning Coffee" was good for testing the market. But once I saw the unit’s popularity, I felt like the unit possessed a huge risk to be perceived as artificial idol group, so I immediately changed my game plan. I wanted to keep the unit as multi-dimensional, or the unit was going to follow the typical fate of the artificial units, that’s photogenic without substance. Back when we were promoting "Ai no Tane", things were in much smaller scale, with warm supports, just like young athletes being supported by the family members. The warm atmosphere began to cool down around the release date, and I didn’t like that at all. We came up with the idea of adding more members, and changing the image of the unit at the same time. I think that’s when I began seeing the clear vision of the unit.

Up until the release of "Morning Coffee", general public was interested in the unit for one reason: The members were, in short, a bunch of losers (of the audition), and they were simply curious to see how long it could survive. The unit landed 6th place on the first week of the pop chart, and that was great, but I didn’t think about what was to follow. I wasn’t sure whether general public’s curiosity would wear off completely. That was the biggest realization at that time, and I was looking for another boost to bring back their curiosity.

Also, I felt the members of the unit were beginning to feel too comfortable in their positions. Understandably, they had enough fans, they landed 6th place, they were surrounded by people at every meet-and-greet sessions. So I could see them starting to be less humble than they used to be. And I thought I had to make some changes.

References

  1. "モーニング娘。メジャーデビュー曲争奪戦!" (in Japanese). ASAYAN. 1997-12-21. (Archived)
  2. "怒涛のデビュー曲大争奪戦!!" (in Japanese). ASAYAN. 1997-12-14. (Archived)
  3. "モーニング娘。メジャーデビュー曲大争奪戦!" (in Japanese). ASAYAN. 1997-12-28. (Archived)
  4. ASAYAN episode aired on March 15, 1998. Magazines include FM Stadium, Song Kong, The Television, Pia, Oricon, CD Data, Duet, What's In, Junon, Uno, Myojo, Focus, Seven Teen ++
  5. Announced on ASAYAN January 25, 1998.
  6. Translation from the booklet from Morning Musume Early Single Box released in 2004.
  7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2COD277i2YM

External Links