Who should go solo / make official debut?

[Linus]

Can one person has more benefit going solo than within a group? It's said Rika Ishikawa has more fans than Morning Musume as a whole, although many of them are not interested in Momusu nor Viyuden. Is that possible? Yama-P from news went recently solo and sold 450,000 copies, the double of NewS singles.

Who could double Momusu sells debuting... next Wednesday?

Not Koharu, apparently...

(Jaci85 @ JPM)

She's the lesser known. So, the question is, if she sold great with Koi*Kana, what could the most known member do? Hitomi Yoshizawa, yeah. Will her fanbase support her in a solo adventure? Out of all Momusus, her face is the only one in over a million covers from RR21. And maybe 5th gen can be recognized thanks to 4th Ikimasshoi sells of 500K. Could Taka double Momusu sells by going solo? Let's all talk !!

[Asmodai]

I don't think any of them could double the group honestly.

Takahashi - going solo? She'd probably do about as well as Kaori is.

Miki would probably do about as well as she was doing before.

Everyone else would probably wind up doing worse than Kei and Mari are currently.

Japanese record buyers have not been kind to graduated/solo MM members.

[aedon]

If it's not Koharu, it doesn't make sense to me.

Edit: that pic you've posted, it looks like some poll thingie o_O
1. Koharu 76%
2. Eri 72%
3. Sayumi 71%
4. Reina 70%
5. Makoto 55%
6. Risa 54%
7. Asami 49% (what is she doing on this poll?)
8. Ai 43%
9. Miki 32%
10. Yossi 24%

[tamatron]

As of now, I think only Miki can.

[Masa]

Can one person has more benefit going solo than within a group? It's said Rika Ishikawa has more fans than Morning Musume as a whole, although many of them are not interested in Momusu nor Viyuden. Is that possible?

That ain't bullshit. For example Miki as a solo artist will always sell more than Country Musume + Miki. However I don't believe that any of the MM girls would outsell Morning Musume. If Maki and Nacchi couldn't do it, then Takahashi, Reina, Yossi etc. won't do it either.

And about that solo vs. group thing. I saw a funny comment about Viyuden in 2ch a while ago. People were talking about the weak sales of Viyuden and someone said something like that total sales of Viyuden (10 000 copies) consists of Rika (15 000) and Yui & Erika (-5000).

Even though it was a joke there is still some truth in it. The name Rika Ishikawa is still more well known than Viyuden. I saw a japanese google hits chart and the name "Rika Ishikawa" had twice as many hits than "Viyuden", "Erika Miyoshi" and "Yui Okada" combined. So I definitely believe that Rika herself would outsell Viyuden. Another example of this is that when people were talking about the sales of Fleur de Fleur some Rika-fan said that why would he buy a Viyuden PB if he didn't buy Morning Musume group PBs either.

And I understand that. I'm a Rika-fan and I only own three Morning Musume releases: The Peace single, Osaka Koi No Uta single & Rika graduation concert DVD. If Rika would have gotten solo singles while she was in MM I would have bought them. I never had any desire to buy singles like Namida or Manpower because they don't have as much Rika as The Peace.

I think the difference is even bigger with a big group like MM. I'm sure all Tsuji-fans support W and most of the Rika-fans probably support Viyuden but it's pretty hard to support a group if your favorite member is just one of 10-15 members. And especially if your favorite member doesn't get many lines or much screentime.

I believe that the first solo single by any popular member could sell around 15-20k but the next singles wouldn't do as well. For some reason hardcore fans tend to buy multiple copies of debut singles/PBs. I think Miki and Takahashi could sell as many copies as Nacchi's, Aya's or Viyuden's latest releases.

That was a lot of off topic crap but anyways, the only members I could see going solo are Miki and Takahashi.

Takahashi - going solo? She'd probably do about as well as Kaori is.

Takahashi would definitely sell more than Kaori. Takahashi and Miki are the only MM members who are considered as popular as the DEF. DIVA girls.

[~Dan~]

Reina could probably go solo.  She shouldn't though, the group need her.

[Linus]

If it's not Koharu, it doesn't make sense to me.

Edit: that pic you've posted, it looks like some poll thingie o_O
1. Koharu 76%
2. Eri 72%
3. Sayumi 71%
4. Reina 70%
5. Makoto 55%
6. Risa 54%
7. Asami 49% (what is she doing on this poll?)
8. Ai 43%
9. Miki 32%
10. Yossi 24%

Aparently the poll shows XX% know *this* girl.

So indeed, the ones with most history in H!P are more known.
Only a 24% did not know about Yossie.
From the picture, it looks like Iroppoi Jirettai time.
With Koha's solo, she must be most known nowadays.

I'm sure Miki could release something else if GAM is a success and puts both soloists back to the spotlight

[smoothee]

As of now, I think only Miki can.

thats what i was thinking.. the only one who could actually go solo and yet keep a regualr fanbase would be miki in my opinion.. but now that GAM is certain i dont see that happening..

and sure.. ai-chan and yossi have huge amount of fans.. i think they work better in a group? like.. their popularity has been contributed by the group effort of momusu.. i doubt either of them could make it solo.. myabe ai-chan if she had like 80000 hardcore fans that all buy her CD.. otherwise.. NO

[tivx]

the only ones i can see doing well solo is miki and aichan. reina is great but i don't know, i guess it's cause she's still young. personally i can't see yossi doing well as a loner, it'd be great if she joined a group but i can see her graduating then living a life as a housewife or soccer mom or something.

[suki*]

Needless to say, I think that Miki must and will go back solo within the foreseeable future. This is ME talking! Such an expectation is a given!

Okay. Enough of that. Seriously though, the only other one that I can see going solo is Takahashi. Girl has the looks and the voice. Talent is one thing. Somehow I still find that she needs other people around her to help her shine.

[RionZ]

I can honestly only think of Miki and Ai going solo.  Reina doesn't have the voice IMO, but I love Reina, nonethelesss, so don't take that as a bashing ^_^;

Ai surprised me with her solo song...I loved it...and I listen to it everyday, and it actually charted, despite being an online-only single.  and Miki is just Miki...can't say much about her lol

w00t 50 posts >_>

[Princess Pudding]

Reina could probably go solo.  She shouldn't though, the group need her.

The group does need her. She needs the group. There's no way she could survive on her own, imo.

The best canidate for me is Miki and even that's iffy. Maybe after GAM and the movie she might be able to do it, but I don't think anyone could beat MM's CD selling...

[reine]

It takes Gomattou, three top H!P artist and a good song to beat MM in sales, I don't think any of current MM member can pull it off alone. They might sell well on their debut song maybe 20-30k? Then follow the usual H!P pattern of spiraling down. Damn that's depressing x_x;

I agree though about Rika's better off on her own than in VUden, I never bought any VUden goods because I don't really quite care about the other 2.

[shirenuファクトリー]

What Masa said
This is a bit off-topic, but seriously, especially to foreign fans (those who can't go to Japan) it really sucks being the fan of a non-solo member because there's not much stuff you can buy with *only* your favourite member. It's mostly just PBs (which are rare anyway), with luck UFA pics on eBay, and err maybe other concert merchandise on eBay, or if you have contacts, from Japanese yahoo auctions. But it's just not the same as buying a solo member's product.

Instead of graduating a member from MM to a solo career right now, maybe UFA should try releasing random members' solo single for example twice a year just as a side project (like Koharu's one). Two singles per year, and the member is always different (until they run out, lol). But older members would have priority because they've had more time to make themselves known. Like the first two to get their single would be Yossi and Miki. Does that make sense? I think it would be HUGE fanservice, something I'd definitely buy if I had a strong favourite member in MM (heck, I'd probably buy Eri's). Well, it's an idea they should consider. Sometimes I wish UFA really had spies on foreign forums to at least give some ideas a try LOL!

[Saburo]

Mikitty, of course.  Duhh.

That said, it seems to me that Morning Musume and Hello! Project is more than just "music on compact discs" these days.  I get the impression that a "solo artist" doesn't even have to sell THAT many CDs to have a viable "solo career."

I don't see any current members of Musume and Company being viable solo singers unless it's in the vein of "Folk Songs XIII" or whatever.

[reyfer]

Right now, I can only think of Miki and Takahashi as solo artists. Miki had a good starting point before entering MM, and Takahashi's voice and improved stage presence can help (anyone seen her OSAKA KOI NO UTA solo on the Rainbow 7 concert? HOT)

Instead of graduating a member from MM to a solo career right now, maybe UFA should try releasing random members' solo single for example twice a year just as a side project (like Koharu's one).

[twissie]

Heh, I can't really picture anyone in the current MM lineup going solo and doing better than Morning Musume as a whole o_o; This has been said previously, but yesh. Chiming in, agreeing with what seems obvious. Miki and Takahashi sure seems like the prime candidates for a future solo career, but I'd personally like to see Reina er Eri get a solo single or two. I'm a huge Yossi fan, but even I don't think that she'd do well on her own o_o; I love her voice, but her style is more suited for a group than solo stuff. At least in my opinion.

Agreeing with shirenu's thoughts about random solo singles during the year. That would have been really interesting, although perhaps a bit unhealthy for the girls. I'm thinking in terms of them getting competitive and jealous o_o; Who knows, perhaps that would liven things up ;

[StreakInTheSky]

MIkitty is the only one I could see in Momusu that could go solo. Reina could go solo, but like dan has said, the group needs her. As good as a singer Takahashi is, a solo career for her I think would end up probably just a little better than Kaori, and at best as well as Nacchi's

[Koolmon93]

I say Miki should go solo or persue GAM. GAM has a lot of potential seeing it has two of the best singers in H!P. It could bring H!P back on top!

[StreakInTheSky]

I say Miki should go solo or persue GAM. GAM has a lot of potential seeing it has two of the best singers in H!P. It could bring H!P back on top!

Well if you look at current idol music, they still are