- Tsunku
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hhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiii| name = Tsunku | image = | image_size = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Mitsuo Terada | alias = つんく♂ | birth_date = October 29, 1968 | death_date = | origin = Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan | genre = Various forms of Pop (Electronica, Synth Pop, Contemporary R&B, Big Band Music, Video Game Music, Disco, etc.), Rock (Hard Rock, Funk Rock, Pop Rock, etc.) | occupation = Singer-songwriter, talent manager, record producer, mix engineer, songwriter, musician, actor, television presenter | years_active = 1992–present | label = Zetima, Piccolo Town, hachama | associated_acts = Sharam Q, Hello! Project, The Tsunku♂ Beat | website = Tsunku.net }} Mitsuo Terada (寺田 光男 Terada Mitsuo, born October 29, 1968 in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan), better known professionally as Tsunku (つんく, often written as つんく♂), is a prolific Japanese record producer, songwriter, and vocalist.[1]
He is best known for having two major roles in the Japanese music landscape: first as the lead singer of the popular rock group Sharam Q, and now as the producer, primary composer, lyricist and main studio backing vocalist for idol supergroup Morning Musume, in addition to Aya Matsuura and other associated artists under the Hello! Project banner, for whom he has written and produced vast majority of their chart-topping hits. He has also produced music for other Japanese artists, including Ayumi Hamasaki's first number one single.[2] His musical influences include The Beatles,[1] Queen, and Onyanko Club.
Contents
History
In June 2006, Tsunku married Kanako Idemitsu (出光 加奈子), a 25 year-old former model from Fukuoka.[3]
Tsunku later worked with Nintendo and J.P.ROOM to create the music video game, Rhythm Tengoku. It was released for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance on August 3, 2006, and later as an arcade on September 20, 2007. He also worked on Rhythm Heaven for the DS.[1]
On October 1, 2006, it was announced that Tsunku had created a new company called TNX consisting of singers such as Ami Tokito and other people including Tatsuya Naka, a magician who appeared on Hello! Morning.
On September 26, 2007, Tsunku released a compilation album with the temporary title of "Sharam Q ~ Morning Musume" ~Tsunku 15 Years in Entertainment Commemoration Album~, containing songs by both Sharam Q and Morning Musume, and another one on December 5, 2007 titled Tsunku Best Work Collection, containing songs sung by Tsunku himself.[4]
On March 24, 2008, Tsunku announced that his wife was expecting their first child in May, after already being eight months pregnant at the time.[5] The next day, Tsunku revealed on his blog that his wife was actually expecting twins.[6][7] Tsunku then announced on April 30, 2008 that his wife had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl through natural childbirth. An article stated, "The boy is healthy while the girl is expected to spend a few days in the incubator before rejoining the family."[8] Currently, Tsunku's solo career is on hold as he deals with an unspecified throat condition.
On March 18, 2011, Tsunku shared with his fans that he has become father for the second time.[9][10][11]
Music composition and lyrical works
Hello! Project
Tsunku is responsible for majority of the musical composition and lyrics in Hello! Project, noticeably for Morning Musume where all of their singles have ranked in the Oricon Weekly Singles Top 5 (excluding "Morning Coffee" and "Mikan"). Arranging is normally left to outside parties with track records in arranging popular, anime and game music.
His works are mainly pop-oriented with catchy melodies and romantic, idealistic and sometimes even humorous lyrics which are pitched to appeal to a young audience. However, many of the female vocalists who perform his songs have a large, dedicated fan base composed of older male wota, mostly in their twenties and thirties. Some of his more recent works are dark, mature and hard-hitting, such as "Onna ni Sachi Are", "Kanashimi Twilight" and "Resonant Blue". Although he can create regular rock songs and even relatively simple acoustic pieces, he is best known for creating sequencer-driven music with characteristics such as rapid chord changes, layers of contrapuntal instrumental phrases, melodic basslines, and extensive use of synthesizers, as well as guitar riffs and solos which sometimes show hard rock or heavy metal influences (such as in Morning Musume's "Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii Jan" and ℃-ute's "Forever Love"). Typical vocal arrangements in the songs he writes for Hello! Project's groups tend to revolve around the members taking turns at singing lines and sometimes even short phrases in quick succession, building up to a chorus in which all or most members sing in unison rather than using vocal harmonies; any harmonies that are present in the songs are often sung by Tsunku himself, sometimes with the help of other backing singers, notably Atsuko Inaba. However there have been some exceptions, such as the Morning Musume songs "Morning Coffee", "Furusato", "Memory Seishun no Hikari", "Love Machine" and "I Wish", where most (if not all) of the harmonies were sung by the group's members themselves.
2011 - Present
As a result of the Japanese earthquake 2011, Tsunku has written a song titled "Love is here ~Kibou no Hikari~" dedicating to the victims. Tsunku is one of the many Japanese celebrities who have stepped up to support the victims and their loved ones.[12]
List of music composition and lyrical works
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
- All songs (melodic and lyrical composition) in Morning Musume's singles and albums (except 17th single's side A, 30th single's side B, 32nd single's side B and both sides of the 37th single, as well as the album Cover You). For completed list, see Morning Musume discography
- All songs (melodic and lyrical composition) in Berryz Kobo, ℃-ute (except both sides of their 9th single) and GAM's singles and albums.
- Prior 2006, all songs (melodic and lyrical composition) in Melon Kinenbi's singles and albums (except the 4th and 12th single's side A; 5th and 6th single's side B).
- All songs (melodic and lyrical composition) in v-u-den's singles and albums (except the 1st and 3rd single's side A).
Discography
Albums
# Title Release date 1 A Hard Day's Night December 6, 2000 2 Take 1 February 18, 2004 3 Type2 (タイプ2) July 13, 2005 4 V3~Seishun Cover~ (V3～青春カバー～) June 28, 2006 5 "Sharam Q ~ Morning Musume" ~Tsunku 15 Years in Entertainment Commemoration Album~
(「シャ乱Q～モーニング娘。」～つんく♂芸能生活15周年記念アルバム～)September 26, 2007 6 "Tsunku Best Work Collection" (「つんく♂ベスト作品集」) December 5, 2007 Singles
# Title Release date 1 "Love ~Dakiatte~" (Love～抱き合って～) April 28, 1999 2 "Touch Me" November 3, 1999 3 "Suggoi Ne!" (すっごいね!) February 27, 2002 References
- ^ a b c "Tsunku on Rhythm Heaven". IGN Entertainment, Inc.. 2009-04-09. http://ds.ign.com/articles/971/971209p1.html. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "つんく♂オフィシャルウェブサイト" (in Japanese). tsunku.jp. http://www.tsunku.net/pw_Music.php. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ Transcribed from ThePPN: Tsunku
- ^ "Tsunku♂ to release two BEST albums". Ikimasshoi+. July 12, 2007. Archived from the original on July 15, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070715130239/http://ikimasshoi.jphip.net/2007/07/12/tsunku%E2%99%82-to-release-two-best-albums/.
- ^ "Tsunku to Become a Father!" (in Japanese). sanspo.com. March 25, 2008. http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt200803/gt2008032522.html.
- ^ "つんく♂よりお知らせ" (in Japanese). Tsunku. Tsunku's official blog. 2008-03-26. http://ameblo.jp/tsunku-blog/day-20080325.html. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
- ^ "March 25, 2008 Tsunku Official Blog" (in Japanese). March 25, 2008. http://ameblo.jp/tsunku-blog/day-20080325.html.
- ^ "Tsunku's comments after the birth of his twins" (in Japanese). mainichi.jp. April 30, 2008. http://mainichi.jp/enta/geinou/news/20080430mog00m200032000c.html.
- ^ "ナタリー - つんく♂、第3子女児誕生を報告" (in Japanese). Natalie (Natasha,Inc.). 2011-03-18. http://natalie.mu/music/news/46489. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "Tsunku now a father of three". Tokyograph. 2011-03-18. http://www.tokyograph.com/news/tsunku-now-a-father-of-three. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "Tsunku becomes a father again to a new baby girl!". Tokyohive. 2011-03-18. http://www.tokyohive.com/2011/03/tsunku-becomes-a-father-again-to-a-new-baby-girl/. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "Tsunku writes song for earthquake victims". Tokyofever. http://www.tokyofever.com/2011/03/tsunku-writes-a-new-song-for-japans-earthquake-victims/. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
External links
- (Japanese) Official website
- (Japanese) Official blog
- (Japanese) Official Up-Front Works profile
- (Japanese) Official Twitter
Categories:- Hello! Project
- 1968 births
- Living people
- Japanese male singers
- Japanese record producers
- Japanese singer-songwriters
- People from Higashiōsaka
- Talent managers
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