Megumi Murakami

For the Japanese beach volleyball player, see Megumi Murakami (volleyball).

Megumi Murakami (村上 愛, Murakami Megumi, born June 6, 1992, in Saitama Prefecture) is a Japanese choreographer and former singer and actress. She first gained recognition when she joined Hello! Project Kids and later became the lead vocalist of the girl group Cute until her retirement in 2006.

Megumi Murakami
村上 愛
Born	(1992-06-06) June 6, 1992 (age 32) Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Nationality	Japanese
Other names	Meg, Meguru
Occupations	Singer actress
Agents	Up-Front Promotion (2002–2006) WANTS (2011–present)
Musical career
Genres	J-pop
Years active	2002–2006
Labels	Zetima
Formerly of	Cute ZYX Hello! Project Kids

Career

2002–2005: Hello! Project Kids and ZYX

In 2002, Murakami auditioned for Hello! Project Kids with the song "Pittari Shitai X'mas!" by Petitmoni. Her audition tape was aired on Morning Musume's variety show Hello! Morning.^[1] She was placed in the group with 14 other girls.^[2] She made her first appearance in the 2002 film Koinu Dan no Monogatari.^[3][4]

In 2003, Murakami became a member of the subgroup ZYX along with Mari Yaguchi from Morning Musume, Erika Umeda, Maimi Yajima, Saki Shimizu, and Momoko Tsugunaga.^[5] They released their debut single, "Iku ZYX! Fly High" on August 6, 2003,^[6] followed by "Shiroi Tokyo" on December 10, 2003.^[7]

During the summer of 2004, Murakami appeared in the music video for "Yokohama Shinkirou" by Maki Goto.^[8] Later that year, she participated in singing "All for One & One for All!", a collaboration single released by all Hello! Project artists under the name "H.P. All Stars."^[9] Murakami sang the coupling track, "Suki ni Naccha Ikenai Hito", with Reina Tanaka and Airi Suzuki.^[9]

2005–2006: Cute

Main article: Cute (Japanese idol group)

In 2004, Berryz Kobo was created with the intention of rotating all of the members of Hello! Project Kids to make time for school,^[10] but the idea was later scrapped, and the remaining girls who were not chosen were rebranded under the name Cute on June 11, 2005.^[11] Murakami became one of the lead vocals on all of the group's indies singles.

Murakami was grouped with Miki Fujimoto from Morning Musume and Miyabi Natsuyaki from Berryz Kobo for the shuffle unit Sexy Otonajan.^[12] They released the song "Onna, Kanashii, Otona" on June 22, 2005.^[13]

On November 1, 2006, shortly before Cute made their major label debut, Murakami left the group to concentrate on her studies.^[14] Following Cute's disbandment in 2017, she attended their final concert.^[15][16]

Choreography work

Murakami arranged the choreography for Musumen's 8th single, "Shinsen! Ryūgūjō RENBO."^[17]

Discography

For Megumi Murakami's releases with Cute, see Cute (Japanese idol group) discography.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Koinu Dan no Monogatari	Hitomi Ayada	Supporting role[18]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes
2002–2006	Hello! Morning	Herself	TV Tokyo	Morning Musume's variety show
2002–2004	Hello Kids	Herself	TV Tokyo	Minimoni's variety show
2003	Little Hospital	Aiko Murata	TV Tokyo	Lead role
2005	Musume Document 2005	Herself	TV Tokyo	Morning Musume's variety show
2005–2006	Musume Dokyu!	Herself	TV Tokyo	Morning Musume's variety show
2005	Takaramono	Chihiro Takeda (young)	GyaO

Music video

Year	Artist	Song	Notes
2004	Maki Goto	"Yokohama Shinkirou"

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Here's Love	Susan Walker	Double-cast with Airi Suzuki

References

1. ハロー!モーニング。 (in Japanese). June 30, 2002. TV Tokyo.
2. ハロープロジェクト・キッズ (in Japanese). Hello! Project. Archived from the original on November 26, 2005.
3. 仔犬ダンの物語 東映ビデオ株式会社 (in Japanese). Toei Video. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
4. "テレビ東京 CINEMA STREET / 仔犬ダンの物語/ミニモニTHEムービーお菓子な大冒険" (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
5. "ZYX" (in Japanese). Hello! Project. Archived from the original on December 10, 2005.
6. "行くZYX! FLY HIGH" (in Japanese). Hello! Project. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
7. "白いTOKYO" (in Japanese). Hello! Project. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
8. Maki Goto (July 7, 2004). シングルV 横浜蜃気楼 [Single V "Yokohama Mirage"] (DVD) (in Japanese). Piccolo Town. PKBP-5020. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
9. ハロー！プロジェクト オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Hello! Project. December 1, 2004. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
10. ハロプロ史上最年少グループ「Berryz工房」誕生 (in Japanese). ZAKZAK. January 15, 2004. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
11. "つんく♂から「°C-ute（キュート）」に関してコメント" (in Japanese). Hello! Project Official Site. June 13, 2005. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
12. セクシーオトナジャン (in Japanese). Hello! Project. Archived from the original on January 3, 2006.
13. オンナ、哀しい、オトナ／印象派 ルノアールのように／人知れず 胸を奏でる 夜の秋 (in Japanese). Hello! Project. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
14. "『°C-ute 村上 愛』について皆様へ大事なお知らせ" (in Japanese). Hello! Project. November 1, 2006. Archived from the original on November 3, 2006.
15. Megumi Murakami [@Mgm5683] (June 13, 2017). "最強アイドルだよ〜〜。 泣きすぎたぁ〜〜。 °C-uteのみんなをはじめ、°C-uteのまわりには暖かい人だらけで、当時もやめてからも愛を感じてました。 最後のこの空間に、8人で居れてよかったぁぁぁ。 ありがとう。おつかれさま♡" (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved July 23, 2017 – via Twitter.
16. "°C-ute解散で12年間の歴史に幕 ラストコンサートに中澤裕子・道重さゆみら駆けつける＜セットリスト＞" (in Japanese). Model Press. June 12, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
17. 振り入れにmegさんがやってきた！！！（前編） on YouTube (in Japanese)
18. "テレビ東京 CINEMA STREET / 仔犬ダンの物語/ミニモニTHEムービーお菓子な大冒険" (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Retrieved June 20, 2017.