Morning Musume is an all-girl J-pop group from Japan. They are sometimes also referred to as "Momusu". Their act revolves around singing and dancing to generally upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, masterminded by Naoki Yamazaki, and managed by producer Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies for their songs. Currently, Morning Musume is Japan's Best Selling Female Group.

Japanese producer Tsunku started the group in 1997 through an audition for a female rock vocalist for his band Sharan Q. The audition was held on the Japanese TV show Asayan. The winner was Heike Michiyo, later to become a soloist under what would eventually become known as Hello! Project. However, Tsunku decided to form a girl group consisting of five of the runners-up: Yuko Nakazawa, Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Asuka Fukuda, and Aya Ishiguro. They were issued a challenge to sell 50,000 copies of their demo single, "Ai no Tane," within five days. They managed the feat in four, in a very grassroots manner, and Tsunku began his mission to create the most famous all-girl group in Japan.