W (Double You)
Encyclopedia
, also written as Double You or Double U, was a Japan
ese pop
duo associated with Hello! Project
. Nozomi Tsuji
and Ai Kago
, former fourth generation members of Morning Musume
, were in the group.
. The latter group was about to be disbanded with the departure of Mika Todd (see Mini Moni's entry for details); with Kago and Tsuji almost at a complete loose end, the decision to pair the two best friends and lifelong bandmates together in a new group was made almost immediately.
As they were winding down their Mini Moni and Morning Musume duties, W released their debut three-song EP, Koi no Vacance
, the title track being a rocked-up cover version of a 1960's hit by Showa period
female duo The Peanuts. The EP was followed a few weeks later by their debut album as W, Duo U&U
, which contained covers of other Showa period female duo songs exclusively. One of the other groups covered by W on the first album was Pink Lady
, a 70's-era duo that was becoming active again as a performing (if not recording unit). Since Kago and Tsuji had done two Pink Lady songs ("Southpaw" and "Nagisa no Sinbad") on Duo U&U, Pink Lady were invited to perform with W on Japanese television as a one-time four-piece ensemble. Their joint performance of "Southpaw" became a trading favorite amongst American Hello! Project
fans on VCD
, DVD, and BitTorrent (Pink Lady also sat in with Kago, Tsuji, and their Morning Musume bandmates on "Nagisa no Sinbad" and a medley of the former act's "S.O.S." and the latter's "Love Machine" on the same show).
Kago and Tsuji performed their graduation concert (final performance as members of Morning Musume) in August 2004; a week later, their second single "Aa Ii na!" was released. Not only was it the duo's first release since they departed Morning Musume, it was also the first W single to feature an original composition by Hello! Project founder/producer/songwriter Tsunku
. A third single of original material, "Robo Kiss
", followed three months later.
In December 2004, W joined their fellow Hello! Project members on the 2004 shuffle unit single "All for One and One for All", credited to the H.P. All Stars. W also began joining Morning Musume onstage at concerts during this period to perform Kago and Tsuji's final Morning Musume single, "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari
" together with their former bandmates. These appearances served to dispel unsubstantiated Internet rumors that Kago and Tsuji's departure from the band was due to personal differences.
, released not even ten months after their first album, contained an even balance of new W originals and more Showa period classic J-pop cover songs, many of them topically centering around the end of the duo's teenage years (Kago turned 17 a month before the album's release; Tsuji would turn 18 that June). Their prolific pace continued when a new non-LP single, the Devo
-influenced "Ai no Imi o Oshiete!
(Teach Me the Meaning of Love)", followed a few months afterwards.
In the Spring of 2005, W starred in their first concert musical, Cara & Mel, the Case of the Stolen Dangerous Violin, a stage show which was afterwards released on DVD.
In September 2005 the duo released their 6th single "Miss Love Tantei
". The song and video feature a more mature Kago and Tsuji and actually earned them not only critical acclaim, but also some comparisons to Russian pop group t.A.T.u.
because of the song intro's unintentional resemblance to "Not Gonna Get Us". The video, which features Kago and Tsuji playing multiple roles (including a reprisal of their stage musical roles of Cara & Mei), raised even more eyebrows when the duo were depicted adopting the controversial ganguro
look in one scene.
In addition to their musical career, W continue to appear on Hello! Project's weekly TV show Hello! Morning
, often in tandem with Morning Musume.
In videos and in concert appearances, W sometimes perform or co-headline with Berryz Kobo, the eight-member pre-teen girl group formed under Hello! Project. Berryz Kobo have appeared as dancers on W's "Aa Ii na!" and "Robo Kiss" videos.
On February 9, 2006 it was confirmed that the magazine Friday (the same one that provoked Mari Yaguchi
's sudden departure from Morning Musume) would be publishing photos of Kago caught smoking. The legal age for smoking in Japan is 20, and Kago had just turned 18 two days prior. On February 10, 2006, Hello! Project issued a press statement saying that the singer had been suspended "indefinitely"; speculation as of that date is that the punishment may be brief. As of February 10 the forthcoming seventh single and third album releases by W, scheduled for March 8 and 15 respectively, as well as the promotional appearances for them, have been postponed indefinitely due to the scandal.
On March 26, 2007 following a newly publicized scandal involving Kago dating a thirty-seven-year-old man as well as smoking again, it was announced by Up-Front Agency that her contract had been cancelled. An English
translation of the announcement:
} ||align="center"| May 18, 2005
|-
| 6 || "Miss Love Tantei
" ||align="center"| September 7, 2005
|-
| 7 || ||align="center"| Cancelled
|}
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
duo associated with Hello! Project
Hello! Project
is the umbrella name for all female idol Japanese pop recording artists collective that are under contract with the Up-Front Group. The "mothership" group of Hello! Project is the super-group Morning Musume. Hello! Project's current leader is Risa Niigaki, the leader of Morning Musume...
. Nozomi Tsuji
Nozomi Tsuji
, known professionally by her birth name of is a Japanese tarento and a former member of the pop idol group Morning Musume, its subgroup Mini Moni, and the duo W. She has participated in the shuffle groups 10-nin Matsuri, Odoru 11, and 11Water, H.P...
and Ai Kago
Ai Kago
is a Japanese singer, actress, author and former Guinness World Record holder.At age 12, Kago won the 4th National Audition of Morning Musume held by Up-Front Works Agency in 2000, which led to her admission into the extremely popular idol group as a 4th generation member. In the same year, she...
, former fourth generation members of Morning Musume
Morning Musume
, sometimes referred to as is a Japanese idol girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is managed and produced by Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs...
, were in the group.
2004
W's formation was announced not long after the "graduation" of Kago and Tsuji from Morning Musume was announced in early 2004. At the time, the duo—longtime best friends since they met at the auditions that landed them in Morning Musume in 2000—were simultaneously in both Morning Musume and one of its most popular subgroups (or side projects), Mini MoniMini Moni
is a former subgroup of Japanese pop girl group Morning Musume, and a current group within Hello! Project. They were one of Morning Musume's most popular subgroups for their entire existence, because of the combination of their outrageous music videos and live performances, and their widely varied...
. The latter group was about to be disbanded with the departure of Mika Todd (see Mini Moni's entry for details); with Kago and Tsuji almost at a complete loose end, the decision to pair the two best friends and lifelong bandmates together in a new group was made almost immediately.
As they were winding down their Mini Moni and Morning Musume duties, W released their debut three-song EP, Koi no Vacance
Koi no Vacance
is the first single of the Hello! Project duo, W. It was released on May 19, 2004 on the zetima label. All three tracks are covers of songs originally recorded by The Peanuts; tracks 2 and 3 are exclusive to this single...
, the title track being a rocked-up cover version of a 1960's hit by Showa period
Showa period
The , or Shōwa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of the Shōwa Emperor, Hirohito, from December 25, 1926 through January 7, 1989.The Shōwa period was longer than the reign of any previous Japanese emperor...
female duo The Peanuts. The EP was followed a few weeks later by their debut album as W, Duo U&U
Duo U&U
is the first album by W, the duo formed by Morning Musume and Minimoni members and longtime friends Ai Kago and Nozomi Tsuji. Recorded while they were winding down their duties as Morning Musume and Minimoni members, the album consists of cover versions of songs released by other female Japanese...
, which contained covers of other Showa period female duo songs exclusively. One of the other groups covered by W on the first album was Pink Lady
Pink Lady (band)
is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...
, a 70's-era duo that was becoming active again as a performing (if not recording unit). Since Kago and Tsuji had done two Pink Lady songs ("Southpaw" and "Nagisa no Sinbad") on Duo U&U, Pink Lady were invited to perform with W on Japanese television as a one-time four-piece ensemble. Their joint performance of "Southpaw" became a trading favorite amongst American Hello! Project
Hello! Project
is the umbrella name for all female idol Japanese pop recording artists collective that are under contract with the Up-Front Group. The "mothership" group of Hello! Project is the super-group Morning Musume. Hello! Project's current leader is Risa Niigaki, the leader of Morning Musume...
fans on VCD
VCD
VCD is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:* VCD Athletic, semi-professional football team* Video CD* Voice command device* Value change dump * Vocal cord dysfunction* Visual Communication and Design...
, DVD, and BitTorrent (Pink Lady also sat in with Kago, Tsuji, and their Morning Musume bandmates on "Nagisa no Sinbad" and a medley of the former act's "S.O.S." and the latter's "Love Machine" on the same show).
Kago and Tsuji performed their graduation concert (final performance as members of Morning Musume) in August 2004; a week later, their second single "Aa Ii na!" was released. Not only was it the duo's first release since they departed Morning Musume, it was also the first W single to feature an original composition by Hello! Project founder/producer/songwriter Tsunku
Tsunku
, better known professionally as , is a prolific Japanese record producer, songwriter, and vocalist.He is best known for having two major roles in the Japanese music landscape: first as the lead singer of the popular rock group Sharam Q, and now as the producer, primary composer, lyricist and main...
. A third single of original material, "Robo Kiss
Robo Kiss
- Single V DVD :- External links :* Robo Kiss entries on the Up-Front Works official website: ,...
", followed three months later.
In December 2004, W joined their fellow Hello! Project members on the 2004 shuffle unit single "All for One and One for All", credited to the H.P. All Stars. W also began joining Morning Musume onstage at concerts during this period to perform Kago and Tsuji's final Morning Musume single, "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari
Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari
is the 23rd single by the J-pop idol group Morning Musume. It was released on July 22, 2004. It sold a total of 91,789 copies in the music stores that report to Oricon and peaked at number three on the Oricon Charts....
" together with their former bandmates. These appearances served to dispel unsubstantiated Internet rumors that Kago and Tsuji's departure from the band was due to personal differences.
2005
Their second album, 2005's 2nd W2nd W
2nd W is the second album by the Hello! Project duo, W, and the first to be recorded and released after its members, Ai Kago and Nozomi Tsuji, "graduated" from Morning Musume in August 2004....
, released not even ten months after their first album, contained an even balance of new W originals and more Showa period classic J-pop cover songs, many of them topically centering around the end of the duo's teenage years (Kago turned 17 a month before the album's release; Tsuji would turn 18 that June). Their prolific pace continued when a new non-LP single, the Devo
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
-influenced "Ai no Imi o Oshiete!
Ai no Imi o Oshiete!
is the fifth single of the Hello! Project group W, released on May 18, 2005. The song has a Devo-inspired synthesized pop beat, and is one of W's original, non-LP releases.- Track listing :# # # Ai no Imi o Oshiete! - External links :...
(Teach Me the Meaning of Love)", followed a few months afterwards.
In the Spring of 2005, W starred in their first concert musical, Cara & Mel, the Case of the Stolen Dangerous Violin, a stage show which was afterwards released on DVD.
In September 2005 the duo released their 6th single "Miss Love Tantei
Miss Love Tantei
is the 6th and the last single of the Hello! Project duo, W, released on September 7, 2005. The visuals of the music video caused some controversy for use of the ganguro look...
". The song and video feature a more mature Kago and Tsuji and actually earned them not only critical acclaim, but also some comparisons to Russian pop group t.A.T.u.
T.A.T.u.
t.A.T.u. was a duo formed in Moscow, Russia in 1999 by Ivan Shapovalov. The group consisted of Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova.Their debut single "Ya Soshla S Uma" was released in December 2000. The single had a huge success in Russia and Eastern Europe...
because of the song intro's unintentional resemblance to "Not Gonna Get Us". The video, which features Kago and Tsuji playing multiple roles (including a reprisal of their stage musical roles of Cara & Mei), raised even more eyebrows when the duo were depicted adopting the controversial ganguro
Ganguro
Ganguro is an alternative fashion trend of blonde or orange hair and tanned skin among young Japanese women that peaked in popularity around the year 2000. The Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts of Tokyo were the centers of ganguro fashion...
look in one scene.
In addition to their musical career, W continue to appear on Hello! Project's weekly TV show Hello! Morning
Hello! Morning
was a weekly Japanese TV show featuring members of Morning Musume, and sometimes other Hello! Project members on TV Tokyo. It is also known by the shorter name of . On April 1, 2007, the show ended after seven years of broadcast and a new show, featuring the same people, , took its place...
, often in tandem with Morning Musume.
In videos and in concert appearances, W sometimes perform or co-headline with Berryz Kobo, the eight-member pre-teen girl group formed under Hello! Project. Berryz Kobo have appeared as dancers on W's "Aa Ii na!" and "Robo Kiss" videos.
2006
On January 11, 2006, the release of a new single, "Dō ni mo Tomaranai" on February 22, followed by their third full-length album, W3: Faithful on March 15, was announced. The title of both releases became known on February 7, 2006—coincidentally, Kago's 18th birthday.On February 9, 2006 it was confirmed that the magazine Friday (the same one that provoked Mari Yaguchi
Mari Yaguchi
, known professionally by her birth name of is a Japanese pop artist and former member of Hello! Project. She is a former member of Morning Musume and Tanpopo, one of its first sub groups, and also founded Minimoni...
's sudden departure from Morning Musume) would be publishing photos of Kago caught smoking. The legal age for smoking in Japan is 20, and Kago had just turned 18 two days prior. On February 10, 2006, Hello! Project issued a press statement saying that the singer had been suspended "indefinitely"; speculation as of that date is that the punishment may be brief. As of February 10 the forthcoming seventh single and third album releases by W, scheduled for March 8 and 15 respectively, as well as the promotional appearances for them, have been postponed indefinitely due to the scandal.
2007
In January 2007, Ai Kago returned to Tokyo and was working at the offices of Up-Front Works, the agency behind Hello! Project, while the company was making preparations for her, and presumably W's, return to the public eye.On March 26, 2007 following a newly publicized scandal involving Kago dating a thirty-seven-year-old man as well as smoking again, it was announced by Up-Front Agency that her contract had been cancelled. An English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation of the announcement:
Singles
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Koi no Vacance Koi no Vacance is the first single of the Hello! Project duo, W. It was released on May 19, 2004 on the zetima label. All three tracks are covers of songs originally recorded by The Peanuts; tracks 2 and 3 are exclusive to this single... " |
May 19, 2004 |
| 2 | "Aa Ii na!" | August 18, 2004 |
| 3 | "Robo Kiss Robo Kiss - Single V DVD :- External links :* Robo Kiss entries on the Up-Front Works official website: ,... " |
October 14, 2004 |
| 4 | "Koi no Fuga Koi no Fuga is the fourth single of the Hello! Project duo W, released on February 9, 2005 on the Zetima label. A Single V DVD containing the music video was released on February 23, 2005... " |
February 9, 2005 |
| 5 |
|-
| 6 || "Miss Love Tantei
Miss Love Tantei
is the 6th and the last single of the Hello! Project duo, W, released on September 7, 2005. The visuals of the music video caused some controversy for use of the ganguro look...
" ||align="center"| September 7, 2005
|-
| 7 || ||align="center"| Cancelled
|}
Albums
| # | Title | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duo U&U Duo U&U is the first album by W, the duo formed by Morning Musume and Minimoni members and longtime friends Ai Kago and Nozomi Tsuji. Recorded while they were winding down their duties as Morning Musume and Minimoni members, the album consists of cover versions of songs released by other female Japanese... |
June 2, 2004 |
| 2 | 2nd W 2nd W 2nd W is the second album by the Hello! Project duo, W, and the first to be recorded and released after its members, Ai Kago and Nozomi Tsuji, "graduated" from Morning Musume in August 2004.... |
March 2, 2005 |
| 3 | W3: Faithful | Cancelled |