Megumi Murata
Encyclopedia
, born March 3, 1981 in Sendai is a former member and sub-leader of Melon Kinenbi
, an all-girl J-pop
group formerly within Hello! Project
, currently working as a tarento
and solo artist.
, Murata, Masae Ōtani and Ayumi Shibata
) were chosen to form a new Hello! Project group, called Melon Kinenbi. Murata was originally leader of the group at the time of its founding in 1999, until leadership was given to Hitomi Saito
in September 2002. Murata participated in a number of shuffle units - 10-nin Matsuri, Odoru 11, 11Water and H.P. All Stars.
For several years her "trademark" within the group was wearing glasses; however, since 2006 she has rarely worn them, saying that the glasses had become "too comfortable" to her - while performing she wears contact lenses, but still wears glasses at home.
In May 2010, Melon Kinenbi officially disbanded. It was announced in June that Murata would remain contracted with Up-Front Agency, the company behind Hello! Project, and pursue a solo career. She also altered her stage name slightly as of July 1, writing it in all-katakana
instead. Murata became the first (and to date only) member of Melon Kinenbi to be included on Hello! Project's official list of graduates, as the only member still with Up-Front.
} || 2005-11-11 - 2005-11-15 || 2005-11-29 - 2005-11-30
|-
| || 2005-8-18 || 2006-09-29
|-
| || 2008-3-25 || Still running
|}
} ||align="center"| 2005-4-1 ||align="center"| 2008-3-29
|-
| ||align="center"| 2008-4-5 ||align="center"| 2008-6-28
|-
| ||align="center"| 2010-??-?? - present, each Tuesday ||align="center"| —
|}
Melon Kinenbi
was an all-girl Japanese pop group within Hello! Project. They were formed after they successfully passed the 2nd Morning Musume & Michiyo Heike Imotobun Audition. Melon Kinenbi is the oldest group in the history of Hello! Project not to have changed any of its members since its formation...
, an all-girl J-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...
group formerly within 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...
, currently working as a tarento
Tarento
is a Japanese rendering of the English word "talent" and is used as a catch-all term for mass media personalities who regularly appear on television. Detractors of the phenomenon have referred to it in an English sense as "famous just for being famous" because many that fall into this career line...
and solo artist.
Biography
Murata passed the second Morning Musume & Michiyo Heike Imōtobun Audition, out of about 4,000 total people to audition. The final four (Hitomi SaitoHitomi Saito
, born October 31, 1981 in Niigata, Japan, is a former singer. She was the leader of Melon Kinenbi, an all-girl J-pop group formerly within Hello! Project, until its disbandment in 2010...
, Murata, Masae Ōtani and Ayumi Shibata
Ayumi Shibata
is a member of Melon Kinenbi, an all-girl J-pop group which is part of the Hello! Project. She joined the group Tanpopo in 2002 until the group went into an indefinite hiatus after releasing one single...
) were chosen to form a new Hello! Project group, called Melon Kinenbi. Murata was originally leader of the group at the time of its founding in 1999, until leadership was given to Hitomi Saito
Hitomi Saito
, born October 31, 1981 in Niigata, Japan, is a former singer. She was the leader of Melon Kinenbi, an all-girl J-pop group formerly within Hello! Project, until its disbandment in 2010...
in September 2002. Murata participated in a number of shuffle units - 10-nin Matsuri, Odoru 11, 11Water and H.P. All Stars.
For several years her "trademark" within the group was wearing glasses; however, since 2006 she has rarely worn them, saying that the glasses had become "too comfortable" to her - while performing she wears contact lenses, but still wears glasses at home.
In May 2010, Melon Kinenbi officially disbanded. It was announced in June that Murata would remain contracted with Up-Front Agency, the company behind Hello! Project, and pursue a solo career. She also altered her stage name slightly as of July 1, writing it in all-katakana
Katakana
is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora...
instead. Murata became the first (and to date only) member of Melon Kinenbi to be included on Hello! Project's official list of graduates, as the only member still with Up-Front.
Television
| Show | Start date | End date |
|---|
|-
| || 2005-8-18 || 2006-09-29
|-
| || 2008-3-25 || Still running
|}
Radio
| Program | Start date | End date |
|---|
|-
| ||align="center"| 2008-4-5 ||align="center"| 2008-6-28
|-
| ||align="center"| 2010-??-?? - present, each Tuesday ||align="center"| —
|}