Senin, 28 April 2014
Formed in the spring of 2008 as a six-member unit, the group was originally named Momoiro Clover ("Pink Clover" or, literally, "Peach-Colored Clover"). The name was chosen to imply that the group was composed of innocent girls who wanted to bring happiness to people. (Later in 2011, after the departure of Akari Hayami from the group, management added the letter "Z" to the group's name.) The group's slogan is "Idols you can meet right now" (いま、会えるアイドル Ima, aeru aidoru).
Momoiro Clover began as a street act in 2008, performing for bystanders in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park. As most members were students attending school on weekdays, the group was active mainly on weekends, leading them to be nicknamed "Weekend Heroines" (週末ヒロイン Shūmatsu Hiroin). In a one-year period, Momoiro Clover had a number of line-up changes. In March 2009, they became a five-member unit composed of Reni Takagi, Kanako Momota, Akari Hayami, Shiori Tamai, and Ayaka Sasaki.
To support and promote their first indie single, "Momoiro Punch", Momoiro Clover took advantage of school holidays from May to August and went by minibus on a long tour across Japan. They gave a total of 104 concerts in 24 electronic stores of the Yamada Denki network. The girls slept in the minivan, and group's managers drove. In the middle of the tour, Momoka Ariyasu was added to the group as a sixth member. The single was sold only at the group's live events and those sales were enough for it to place 11th in the Oricon Daily Singles Chart and 23rd in the weekly chart. A second single, "Mirai e Susume!", was released in November.
In March 2010, the girls stated their goals: to take first place on Oricon, to participate in Kōhaku Uta Gassen, to perform at Budokan and shake hands with all the fans who came.[note 1]
Their first major-label single "Ikuze! Kaitō Shōjo" was released in May. The single debuted on Japan's Oricon Daily Singles Chart at the first position, and at number 3 for the week. Momoiro Clover then moved to King Records. The group's first single with King was "Pinky Jones", composed by Narasaki from the Japanese rock band Coaltar of the Deepers with a "more chaotic" approach than previous songs. December 24 marked Momoiro Clover's first solo concert at a concert hall. Nihon Seinenkan, a venue with a capacity of 1,300 seats, was sold out in 30 minutes.
In January 2011 at the release event for a new song, sub-leader Akari Hayami stated that she had decided to withdraw from the group in April. Hayami explained that her character was not suited to being an idol and that her dream was to become an actress. The last single with Hayami, titled "Mirai Bowl / Chai Maxx", was released in March. At the April 10 Akari Hayami "graduation" concert, the group's management announced the name change to Momoiro Clover Z after Hayami's departure.
Momoiro Clover Z's first single after Hayami's departure was "Z Densetsu: Owarinaki Kakumei", accompanied by a new group image and stage performance. The girls wore outfits with helmets and so-called "transformation belts" reminiscent of Japanese superhero movies, and the music video also borrowed from such "Super Sentai" imagery. In July, Momoiro Clover Z released their first album, Battle and Romance. Later in December, Hotexpress described the band as the number-one breakthrough idol artist of 2011 and stated that the album became a big turning point for them. Next February, Battle and Romance won the Grand Prix at the CD Shop Awards as the best CD of the year selected by music shop employees from all over the country. Momoiro Clover Z was the first idol group to win the award. On Christmas Day, 2011, Momoiro Clover Z gave a concert at Saitama Super Arena to their biggest audience to date: all 10,000 tickets were sold out.
The band's songs are intentionally ridiculous "hyperactive J-pop numbers". Their live performances are heavily choreographed and feature acrobatic stunts. The group is noted for their "anarchic energy" that is similar to that of punk bands. The response from the audience has been characterised as "seismic". Although the girls' voices are not very stable when coupled with an intense dance, the group performs on stage live and does not lipsynch.
