Sharam Q

Sharam Q (シャ乱Q, Sharan Kyū) is a Japanese rock band composed of lead singer Tsunku (つんく), Hatake (はたけ) on guitar, Makoto (まこと) on drums and Taisei (たいせい, , たいせー prior to 2006) on keyboards.

Biography

They debuted with "18kagetsu" (18ヶ月, 18 months) in 1992. They were not an instant hit initially, but their fourth single "Jōkyō Monogatari" (上・京・物・語, Tale of Going to the Capital) broke the top 50 of the Oricon charts. Eventually, the single "Single Bed" (シングル ベッド) got a lot of attention since it was used in the DNA^2 anime series, breaking into the top 10. The next single "Zurui Onna" (ズルい女), also broke into the top 10. "Zurui Onna" is the 84th best-selling single in Japan of all-time. Their 11th single, "Namida no Kage" (涙の影, Shadow of Tears), topped the charts in 1996.

In 1997, the band held an audition on the evening show ASAYAN to find a new female vocalist. While the audition eventually yielded winner Michiyo Heike, the competition would be the impetus for the formation of Morning Musume. Runners-up Yuko Nakazawa, Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Aya Ishiguro, and Asuka Fukuda took up Tsunku's offer after the competition to form a group he would personally produce if they could sell 50,000 copies of their debut independent single Ai no Tane in five days. The mission was accomplished in four.