Singer and TV personality Dekami-chan guides us through the history of female idols in the 2000s

Guide: Dekami-chan

From TV idols to familiar faces in the theater. Morning Musume and AKB48, the two major national idols who prepared the way for the Sengoku period.

The 2000s were the era of Morning Musume (hereafter referred to as Morning Musume) [A] and AKB48 (hereafter referred to as AKB) [C]. This was a decade in which idols underwent a dramatic transformation from being "distant idols" active on TV to "people you can meet and get close to."

Formed in 1997 after appearing on the audition program "ASAYAN" [D], Morning Musume appeared in the Red and White Song Battle for 10 consecutive years from 1998. They produced hit songs such as "LOVE Machine" in 1999, "Happy Summer Wedding" and "Renai Revolution 21" in 2000, and "The Peace!" the following year, and quickly became national idols.

At the same time, Hello! Project spin-off units such as Pucchimoni in 1999 and Minimoni in 2000 also appeared. From 2000 to 2005, there was also a shuffle unit with a different theme each year. In 2001, Ishikawa Rika, Kago Ai, and Matsuura Aya formed the "Festival Unit" (Triperson Festival) and released "Chut! Natsu Party." I remember well that in the early 2000s, when I was in elementary school, everyone wanted to sing "LOVE Machine" during our performances (laughs). That's how pervasive and popular they were.

Aya Matsuura was a member of Hello! Project, which has produced a wide variety of groups and units, but she also had a particularly special career. She also gained popularity as a solo idol with songs like "LOVE Namidairo" in 2001 and "Yeah! Meccha Holiday" in 2002. Perhaps no other female idol has had such a successful solo career, not only at the time, but since Matsuura.

Then, in 2005, AKB appeared with the concept of "idols you can meet." What a shock it was to see idols jump out of the TV...and personally, I was doubly surprised because Maeda Atsuko was the same age as me. In 2006, they made their major debut with "Aitakatta" and the following year they made their first appearance at the Red and White Song Battle. At that time, I was in high school, and AKB was the only idol group at school. In 2008, the first sister group, SKE48, was formed, and because we were from nearby hometowns, all sorts of rumors spread around the school about who had auditioned, or that one of the members was a friend of so-and-so (laughs).

AKB is also important in the sense that it had a strong influence on idol culture that followed. For example, the first general election held in 2009, regardless of whether it was good or bad, had characteristics that were similar to the underground idol scene that was just emerging at the time. That is, it was essential for fans to take the initiative in promoting it. I think this was probably not unrelated to the rise of the underground idol scene around 2010, led by Dempagumi.inc and BiS. On the other hand, the Sakamichi series, including Nogizaka46, formed in 2011, also gained national popularity, and it can be said that AKB was the source of the "Idol Warring States Period" of the 2010s.

Well, in the late 2000s, the main source of information was the internet. I've since closed it, but I also started a personal blog and got information from idol fans. Around 2008, when Momoiro Clover first appeared, there was a buzz in the community that "there's an idol performing live on the street, giving it their all," and shortly after that, I saw photos of them in magazines like "Up to Boy" and "BLT." By becoming a Hello! Project fan, I was able to get information about all kinds of idols.

The most memorable one was Tsugunaga Momoko's music video. She was so cute that my eyes turned into hearts (lol). The reason I saw it firsthand was because a male senior in high school secretly told me about it. Looking back, back then, there was still a certain amount of hesitation for men to publicly admit that they liked idols. There were very few female fans, as well. It feels like a different era from today, when the word "oshi" (oshi) is so commonplace.