Megumi Murakami
Encyclopedia
, born June 6, 1992 in Saitama Prefecture
, Japan
is a former Japanese pop
singer. She is best known as a former member of Hello! Project
unit C-ute. Her "official" nickname is "Meguru".
audition along with fourteen other girls. In 2003, she became a member of the largely inactive unit ZYX
, and in 2004 she sang alongside Reina Tanaka
and Airi Suzuki
on "Suki ni Nacha Ikenai Hito", one of the coupling tracks on the "All for One & One for All!
" EP, making her one of only seven girls to be chosen from the entirety of Hello! Project to sing on a separate track. Murakami also appeared on multiple occasions as a backing dancer for other Hello! Project acts. In 2004, she appears on the Maki Goto
's videoclip "Yokohama Shinkirou".In 2005, Murakami was placed in the shuffle unit Sexy Otonajan. Also 2005, eight of the Hello! Project Kids were chosen for Berryz Kobo with the intention of rotating the girls around. The idea was eventually dropped, and the remaining girls who were not chosen for Berryz Kobo formed another group called C-ute. Murakami became one of the lead vocals on all of the group's indies singles, but it was announced on October 31, 2006, shortly before C-ute made their major label debut, that she left had the group effective as of November 1, 2006. Murakami did not have a graduation ceremony, making her one of the few outgoing Hello! Project acts not to receive one. The reason given for her departure was that she wished to continue her studies and live a normal life, though there has never been any official statement as to why her departure was so sudden, or why she did not receive a graduation ceremony.
Saitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...
, Japan
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...
is a former Japanese pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
singer. She is best known as a former member of 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...
unit C-ute. Her "official" nickname is "Meguru".
Career
In 2002, Murakami successfully passed the Hello! Project KidsHello! Project Kids
is a Japanese music group of fifteen young girls chosen out of 27,958 applicants in 2002. The group was formed as a part of the Hello! Project. The group has so far published a number of records under both group names and the Hello! Project Kids title....
audition along with fourteen other girls. In 2003, she became a member of the largely inactive unit ZYX
ZYX
was a short-lived Japanese pop group made up of five Hello! Project Kids members led by Mari Yaguchi of Morning Musume. Yaguchi acted as a mentor and the group released two singles. ZYX is important in that it is the first unit that Hello! Project Kids officially joined with the second being Aa!...
, and in 2004 she sang alongside Reina Tanaka
Reina Tanaka
is one of the sixth generation members of the J-pop group Morning Musume. Her professional first name is spelled in hiragana to distinguish her from the Japanese actress Rena Tanaka, whose name is spelled using the same kanji , who is similarly from Fukuoka Prefecture.- Biography :Tanaka auditioned...
and Airi Suzuki
Airi Suzuki
is a Japanese pop singer and currently member of idol groups C-ute, Buono! and Hello! Project Kids. Both of her parents, Tōru and Kyoko Suzuki, are professional golfers, although her mother has already retired.- Career :...
on "Suki ni Nacha Ikenai Hito", one of the coupling tracks on the "All for One & One for All!
All for One & One for All! (song)
"All for One & One for All!" is the first mini album by Hello! Project unit H.P. All Stars, released on December 1, 2004 in both a normal and limited edition, the limited edition having a different cover. It reached a peak of #5 on the daily Oricon charts, lasting 7 weeks...
" EP, making her one of only seven girls to be chosen from the entirety of Hello! Project to sing on a separate track. Murakami also appeared on multiple occasions as a backing dancer for other Hello! Project acts. In 2004, she appears on the Maki Goto
Maki Goto
is a Japanese singer, lyricist and former actress. Born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo, Goto began her musical career in 1999 when she joined Morning Musume as the only third generation member. Her first single with the group, "Love Machine", topped the Oricon singles charts and sold over a million...
's videoclip "Yokohama Shinkirou".In 2005, Murakami was placed in the shuffle unit Sexy Otonajan. Also 2005, eight of the Hello! Project Kids were chosen for Berryz Kobo with the intention of rotating the girls around. The idea was eventually dropped, and the remaining girls who were not chosen for Berryz Kobo formed another group called C-ute. Murakami became one of the lead vocals on all of the group's indies singles, but it was announced on October 31, 2006, shortly before C-ute made their major label debut, that she left had the group effective as of November 1, 2006. Murakami did not have a graduation ceremony, making her one of the few outgoing Hello! Project acts not to receive one. The reason given for her departure was that she wished to continue her studies and live a normal life, though there has never been any official statement as to why her departure was so sudden, or why she did not receive a graduation ceremony.