℃-ute is an all-female Japanese pop group within Hello! Project. The character "℃" (degree Celsius) is substituted for "C" in notation for the purpose of expressing ardor—the hyphen does not have any meaning in particular. The proper pronunciation for this group in Japanese is kyūto (キュート?) with pitch accents on both "ū" and "o".
History
℃-ute was formed in the year 2005, consisting of seven girls from Hello! Project Kids who were not chosen to form the group Berryz Kobo. The group was officially announced on June 11, 2005, though its formation had been rumored for several months prior. Later, in January 2006, Kanna Arihara, a Hello Pro Egg, was added at the start of the Hello! Project Winter 2006 tour, as part of the Wonderful Hearts team. On October 31, 2006, Megumi Murakami left the group suddenly without any graduation ceremony.
Prior to the band's formation, some members worked with members of Morning Musume in such side projects as Aa! and ZYX, as well as the MiniMoni movie Okashina Daibōken.
On February 21, 2007, ℃-ute's first official single "Sakura Chirari" was released. On the first day it ranked third on the Oricon charts, a feat not even accomplished by Morning Musume (who had ranked 6th on their debut single). With their debut single, they became the youngest group (with the average age of 13) to rank in the top 10.
On December 30, 2007, ℃-ute was chosen as the Best New Artist Award with Japan Record Award.
Members
Present members
* Erika Umeda (梅田 えりか?)
* Maimi Yajima (矢島 舞美?) – leader
* Saki Nakajima (中島 早貴?)
* Airi Suzuki (鈴木 愛理?)
* Chisato Okai (岡井 千聖?)
* Mai Hagiwara (萩原 舞?)
* Kanna Arihara (有原 栞菜?) – joined January 2, 2006 from Hello Pro Egg
Former members
* Megumi Murakami (村上 愛?) – unexpectedly retired on October 31, 2006 to continue schooling and lead a private life
Discography
The following CDs and DVD are released on the Zetima label.
| # | Title | Single Information |
| Indies | ||
| 1 | "Massara Blue Jeans" (まっさらブルージーンズ?) |
|
| 2 | "Soku Dakishimete" (即 抱きしめて?) |
|
| 3 | "Ōkina Ai de Motenashite" (大きな愛でもてなして?) |
|
| 4 | "Wakkyanai (Z)" (わっきゃない（Ｚ）?) |
|
| Major | ||
| 1 | "Sakura Chirari" (桜チラリ?) |
|
| 2 | "Meguru Koi no Kisetsu" (めぐる恋の季節?) |
|
| 3 | "Tokaikko Junjō" (都会っ子 純情?) |
|
| 4 | "Lalala Shiawase no Uta" (LALALA 幸せの歌?) |
|
| 5 | "Namida no Iro" (涙の色?) |
|
| 6 | "Edo no Temari Uta II" (江戸の手毬唄Ⅱ?) |
|
| 7 | "Forever Love" |
|
| 8 | "Bye Bye Bye!" |
|
Photobooks
Group
- Berryz Kobo & ℃-ute in Hello! Project 2006 Summer (Released September 21, 2006)
- So cute! – °C-ute first photobook (February 21, 2007)
- Hajimattayo! Cutie Show – ℃-ute debut solo concert live photobook (April 11, 2007)
- Moving down through Japan! Travel Diary of ℃-ute in 2007 Summer – photobook of Cutie Circuit 2007 ～MAGICAL CUTIE TOUR～ (October 4, 2007)
Individual
- Maimi – Maimi Yajima's first solo photobook (April 27, 2007)
- Airi – Airi Suzuki's first solo photobook (May 21, 2007)
- CLEAR – Airi Suzuki's second solo photobook (December 5, 2007)
- Sou Sora – Maimi Yajima's second solo photobook (January 17, 2008)
- The Fruits of June – Airi Suzuki's third solo photobook (June 20, 2008)
to be continued ...
