Profile of Kaori Iida on Famous Like Me

A singer, Kaori Iida (飯田圭織: Iida Kaori) was born in Hokkaido, Japan on August 8, 1981.

History

Kaori was one of five runners-up in a 1997 talent contest for a new Japanese rock idol. After the contest, musician and producer Tsunku offered Kaori and the 4 other runners-up (Natsumi Abe, Yuko Nakazawa, Aya Ishiguro, and Asuka Fukuda) the chance to be taken under his wing on one condition: that they sell 50,000 CDs of their song "Ai no Tane" in 5 days. The quintet accomplished that task in 4 and, thus, the birth of Morning Musume in 1997 (and their first official single "Morning Coffee" released in 1998). The group has since been increasingly popular and is infamous for its fluctuation of memberships, with members "graduating" and joining frequently.

In 1999, Tsunku placed Kaori Iida into subgroup Tanpopo with Aya Ishiguro and 2nd generation Morning Musume member Mari Yaguchi, and they specialized in singing slower, more mature songs. Together they made four singles and an album. After Aya graduated from Morning Musume and Tanpopo in January 2000, Kaori and Mari performed Tanpopo songs as a duet until Tsunku placed 4th generation Morning Musume members Ai Kago and Rika Ishikawa into the subgroup. Tanpopo's style was also given a revamping, with songs being more upbeat and pop-ish, but nonetheless still slower than Morning Musume. In this formation, Tanpopo released 3 more singles, a compilation album, and a compilation DVD.

After Morning Musume's then-leader Yuko Nakazawa graduated in Spring 2001, Kaori took on the role as the group's leader. Additionally, when Morning Musume "split" into 2 subgroups in 2003 - Kaori was leader of Morning Musume Otome-gumi. She is also known for keeping her hair long throughout her Morning Musume career and also for spacing out frequently.

In July of 2002, Tanpopo, along with other Morning Musume subgroups Petitmoni and Mini Moni, experienced changes in their membership - partly due to graduating Morning Musume members and partly to showcase the newer members. As a result, Kaori (along with Mari and Ai K.) graduated from Tanpopo.

In Hello! Project's summer shuffle groups - Kaori was placed in Punk-rock Aoiro 7 in 2000, folky festival style 10 nin Matsuri in 2001, folky style Odoru 11 in 2002, and ska-punk 11 Water in 2003.

Additionally, Kaori Iida is pursuing a solo career as an artist and singer. Her solo musical career includes 2 albums outside of Hello! Project where she sings covers of French, Greek, and Italian songs (in their respective languages). She also has 2 singles in Japanese, released in advance of her impending graduation from Morning Musume - though still set in a Mediterranean-esque style. But in Morning Musume Kaori mostly sings harmony with a few solo lines.

On December 29th, 2004, Kaori released her 3rd album, this time within Hello! Project and in Japanese.

On January 30, 2005, Kaori - the last original member to stay on - graduated from Morning Musume to further pursue her solo singing and art careers. Mari Yaguchi started taking over her role as Morning Musume's leader upon her graduation.

Discography

Singles

[2004.02.04] Aegekai ni Dakarete (エーゲ海に抱かれて)
[2004.07.28] Door no Mukou de Bell ga Natteta (ドアの向こうでBellが鳴ってた)

Albums

[2003.04.23] Osavurio ~Ai wa Matte Kurenai~ (オサヴリオ～愛は待ってくれない～)
[2003.10.22] Paradinome ~Koi ni Mi wo Yudanete~ (パラディノメ～恋に身をゆだねて～)
[2004.12.29] Avenir ~Mirai~ (アヴニール～未来～)

DVD

[2004.02.04] Ege Kai (エーゲ海) with Shoko Aida

Filmography

Movies

Morning Cop (モーニング刑事)
Pinch Runner (ピンチランナー)
Nama Tamago (ナマタマゴ)
Koinu Dan no Monogatari (仔犬ダンの物語)

Others

• Gan Dong Series

Publications

Photobooks

Iida Kaori Sashin Shuu Kaori Kaori Kaori (飯田圭織写真集かおりKAORI圭織)
Ege Kai Aida Shoko & Iida Kaori Sashin Shuu (エーゲ海―相田翔子&飯田圭織写真集)

Art / Picture Books

Sketchbook of Mind (心のスケッチブック)
Lion's Margin (ライオンのマルジャン)

Essays

[1999.05 & 2001.06] Paranoia Diary (パラノイアダイアリー)

External Links

• Wiki.theppn: Iida Kaori
• IMDb: Iida Kaori

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