Berryz Kobo (Berryz工房^?, literally "Berryz Workshop") is a Japanese girl group, currently consisting of 7 members.^[1]

The pop group is part of Hello! Project, produced by Tsunku, who also writes its songs.

The band was formed in 2004 and debuted with its first single in March of the same year.^[1] In 2007, Berryz Kobo set the record for being the youngest act ever to give a solo concert at Saitama Super Arena.^[1] In 2008, the group received the Best Asian Newcomer Award at the Asia Song Festival and a Cable Music Award at the 41st Japan Cable Awards ceremony.^[1]

As of February 2012, the group has released 28 singles, 8 studio and 2 compilation albums. Berryz Kobo's combined CD and DVD sales exceed 1 million copies in Japan alone.

The group's name can also be romanized as Berryz Koubou or Berryz Kōbō.

Members [link]

Current members [link]

* All colour values are approximate.

Former members [link]

• Maiha Ishimura

History [link]

2002–2003: Hello! Project Kids [link]

All the group's members were initially selected during the audition for Hello! Project Kids in 2002.

Since then, the girls undertook serious professional training in Hello! Project.

In 2002, Maasa Sudo and Risako Sugaya, as members of the group 4Kids, played in the Minimoni movie Okashi na Daibōken!.

In 2003, some Hello! Project Kids were placed in bands led by Morning Musume members: Miyabi Natsuyaki was selected to be in Aa!, while Saki Shimizu and Momoko Tsugunaga were in the group called ZYX. Both units were proved to be short-lived, and their activity virtually came to a stall with the creation of Berryz Kobo.

2004: Formation and debut [link]

The formation of Berryz Kobo was announced at a Hello! Project club event on January 14, 2004. The band was formed of 8 members of Hello! Project Kids, who were the so-called starting line-up, cause, initially, it was planned to rotate all 15 members of Hello! Project Kids through the new group, which would have given Berryz Kobo's members more time for school.^[2] Later, however, the idea was dismissed, and the remaining 7 Hello! Project Kids members formed the group C-ute in 2005.

On March 3, 2004, the new band debuted with the single "Anata Nashi de wa Ikite Yukenai",^[3][1] ranking 18th in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.^[4]

Two more hit singles followed in April and May, and on July 7 the group already released its first album, titled 1st Chō Berryz.

In addition to their activity as Berryz Kobo, the girls also performed as backup dancers in music videos of the newly created Hello! Project duo W.^[5]

2005: First top 10 hit and Maiha's graduation [link]

The single "Special Generation" was released on March 30, 2005, and ranked 7th in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.^[3][6][7] It was Berryz' first single to rank in the top 10, and their first to sell more than 20,000 copies.^[6][7] At that time, the group's average age was below 12 years.

On September 11, 2005, it was announced that Maiha Ishimura would graduate from Berryz Kobo and the whole Hello! Project to focus on her studies.^[8] Maiha's graduation took place on October 2, 2005, on the last night of the Berryz Kobo autumn 2005 concert tour. She was only the second non-Morning Musume member to be given her own graduation concert, the first being Michiyo Heike.

2006 [link]

The 10th single "Jiriri Kiteru", released on March 29, ranked 6rh in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart,^[3] setting a new high for the group.

2007: Youngest concert at Saitama Super Arena [link]

In February 2007, Berryz Kobo made news headlines after it was announced that the group would be holding a concert at Saitama Super Arena on April 1. Not only were the tickets for the two performances (a total of 20,000 seats) sold out almost two months before the premiere, Berryz Kobo also became the youngest act ever to give a solo concert at the arena.^[1][3] Its members' average age was 13.8,^[9][3] beating the previous record of 16.3, set by Morning Musume four years earlier.^[10]

On June 27, Berryz released their 14th single "Kokuhaku no Funsui Hiroba". It ranked 4th in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart,^[3] yet another personal high for them.

2008: Awards and NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen [link]

On March 12, 2008 the group released "Dschinghis Khan", its first cover song and, as of 2012, still its highest selling single.^[11]

In October, Berryz Kobo participated at the Asia Song Festival 2008 in South Korea, representing Japan along with W-inds and Anna Tsuchiya. Berryz won the festival's Best Asian Newcomer Award^[3][1] along with the SM Entertainment group Shinee.^[12]

On December 12, they performed at Sharam Q’s 20th anniversary concert at the Nippon Budokan.

On December 17, 2008, the group took part in the 41st Japan Cable Awards (日本有線大賞, Nihon Yūsen Taishō^?) show at Nakano Sun Plaza, performing "Dschinghis Khan", for which they received a Cable Music Award (有線音楽賞, Yūsen Ongaku Shō^?), awarded to the most requested songs on the Cansystem cable radio network.^[13] The Grand Prix went to Exile for the song "Ti Amo", though.

The year ended with the group's debut at the 58th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen^[3], an annual music show broadcast on December 31. They performed a number together with Morning Musume and C-ute.^[14][15]

2009: Influenza and collaboration with Inazuma Eleven [link]

In March 2009, Berryz Kobo First Fan Club Tour in Hawaii '09 was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the band performed exclusively for the members of the Japanese fan club. It was the first overseas fan club tour for the group.^[16]

The Sunday, March 22, concert in Nagoya was cancelled just a couple of days before the date, due to two group members, Miyabi Natsuyaki and Risako Sugaya, being down with influenza.^[17][18]

On April 25, 2009, in Utsunomiya, Tochigi, which was part of their spring concert tour, Sono Subete no Ai ni, the girls celebrated the group's 100th solo concert.

On June 3, the group released its 20th single and its first double A-side single, "Seishun Bus Guide/Rival". The song "Seishun Bus Guide" was a closing theme for the anime series Inazuma Eleven.^[19]

On June 21, Berryz had a mini-concert in Korea,^[20] which became their first commercial solo concert outside of Japan.

In autumn 2009, Berryz got into the news all going down with flu. It all started on Tuesday, October 13, when Momoko Tsugunaga felt sick. On Wednesday, fans were notified that she was diagnozed with the influenza and will be absent from the concert scheduled for Saturday.^[21][22] The very next day, first, Miyabi Natsuyaki was reported to be diagnozed with the flu after having felt sick the previous evening,^[23][24] and then it was announced that the Sunday concert had to be cancelled due to Maasa Sudo and Risako Sugaya also having influenza.^[25][26] The next day, Hello! Project informed that Saki Shimizu joined her friends, making it 5 members out of 7.^[27] But the story didn't end there, cause in the beginning of November the flu got to Chinami Tokunaga,^[28][29] followed by Yurina Kumai a couple of days later;^[30][31] they had to miss November 7 and 8 concerts.^[31]

2010: More Inazuma Eleven endings [link]

In spring, Berryz performed in Bangkok, Thailand, for the first time.^[32]

On March 3, Berryz released their third double A-side single, "Otakebi Boy Wao!/Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda!".^[33][3] The single debuted in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart at number 3, making it their highest-ranking single to date. It also stayed in the top 10 for a second week, ranking 9th.

In July they released a new single, "Maji Bomber!!", which was used as an ending theme for both the anime Inazuma Eleven and the game that the anime was based upon.

Their next single and their last Inazuma Eleven ending theme, "Shining Power", was released on November 10.

2011: Oricon Daily number 1 and first concert in America [link]

On March 3, the group started its seventh anniversary tour. March 3 is the day when, seven years ago, Berryz Kobo debuted^[34] with their first single, so they call this day Berryz Kobo no Hi ("Berryz Kobo's Day").

Berryz Kobo's 25th single "Heroine ni Narō ka" ("Let's be Heroines") reached number 1 in the Oricon Daily Singles Chart for March 6.

The concert that was scheduled for March 12 at Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, was abruptly cancelled because of the strike of the grand March 11 earthquake the day before the concert. All of the group's members were safe, but the tour had to be stopped. The concerts were either canceled or postponed until the end of March.^[35]

In the end of March 2011, Berryz Kobo released their 7th album, 7 Berryz Times.^[34][1]

In April 2011, Berryz Kobo successfully performed to their American fans at Sakura-Con 2011, an anime convention in Seattle, Washington, USA. This was the first performance by Berryz Kobo in the United States of America.^[36] The group participated in events such as autograph sessions,^[37] questions and answers, and a concert.^[38] 3,500 people were reported to have attended the concert.^[39]

On June 8, 2011, Berryz Kobo released their 26th single, titled "Ai no Dangan".^[34][40]

On August 10, 2011, Berryz Kobo released their 27th single, titled "Aa, Yo ga Akeru".^[41][42]

2012 [link]

In 2012, Berryz Kobo's leader Saki Shimizu announced on her official blog that on March 21 new Berryz Kobo's single "Be Genki! (Naseba Naru)" will be released.

Berryz' 8th album Ai no Album 8 was released on February 22.^[43]

On June 8–10, 2012, Berryz Kobo will be appearing at AnimeNEXT in Somerset, New Jersey,^[44] which will make it their second live performance in USA.

Performances outside of Japan [link]

Berryz Kobo have had performances and appearances outside of Japan for oversea fans numerous times.

In 2009, M-net and Up-Front Works arranged a Berryz Kobo mini-concert in South Korea on June 21, 2009, at Yonsei University Auditorium, titled Berryz Kobo Mini Live in Korea.^[20] This was the group's 1st concert outside of Japan.

In 2010, Berryz Kobo was chosen out of Morning Musume and C-ute to perform in Thailand. Their concert was held on March 27, 2010, at the Hua Mak Sports Complex Indoor Stadium.^[32] This was the second performance by Berryz Kobo outside of Japan.

On the last day of the Berryz Kobo's fall 2010 concert tour, Berryz Kobo's captain Saki Shimizu announced that the group would be performing at the anime convention Sakura-Con in Seattle, USA on April 22–24, 2011.^[45]

When Sakura-Con came around, it was a big success for Berryz Kobo. The seven-member Hello! Project idol group Berryz Kobo made their American concert debut at Sakura-Con 2011^[36] for an audience of 3,500 fans.^[39] Fans traveled from all over the world including multiple parts of the USA, plus Canada, France, Mexico, and Japan to support the pop vocal group who is celebrating their 7th year together. The Berryz Kobo members kept busy during the April 22–24 weekend, appearing at the event's opening and closing ceremonies, participating in a live audience Q&A and two separate 60-minute sessions where they signed autographs for their fans,^[37] and an hour long concert^[38] which consisted of 14 songs.^[39] And not only was this Berryz Kobo's 3rd performance outside of Japan, but it was the first performance outside of Asia. And also they were the third Hello! Project major act to perform outside of Asia after Morning Musume, who has performed in Los Angeles in 2009 and Paris in 2010, and Erina Mano, who performed in Los Angeles in 2010.

On November 13, 2011, during their Berikyū single release event, Berryz Kobo announced they would be attending AnimeNEXT, an anime convention in Somerset, New Jersey on June 8–10, 2012.

Discography [link]

Bibliography [link]

Concert tours [link]

Awards [link]

[edit] Asia Song Festival

Japan Cable Awards [link]

The Japan Cable Awards (日本有線大賞, Nihon Yūsen Taishō^?) are sponsored by the National Cable Music Broadcasters Association (全国有線音楽放送協会^?).

* awarded to the most requested song of the year on the cable radio

See also

• 41st Japan Cable Awards

References [link]

External links [link]

• Berryz Kobo's channel on YouTube
• Berryz Kobo's leader Saki Shimizu's official Ameblo blog (Japanese)
• Berryz Kobo's official Hello! Project profile (Japanese)
• Berryz Kobo official discography (Japanese)
• Berryz Kobo Kiritsu! Rei! Chakuseki! website (Japanese)
• List of reviews: Berryz Kobo - Hotexpress (Japanese)