"Berryz Workshop"[1]) was a Japanese idol girl group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2004 and associated with Hello!
Project Kids members Saki Shimizu, Momoko Tsugunaga, Miyabi Natsuyaki, Chinami Tokunaga, Maasa Sudo, Yurina Kumai, and Risako Sugaya; Maiha Ishimura left the group in 2005.
[2] In 2007, Berryz Kobo became the youngest act ever to give a solo concert at Saitama Super Arena.
Miyabi Natsuyaki was selected to be in Aa!, while Saki Shimizu and Momoko Tsugunaga were in the group ZYX.
In addition to their activity as Berryz Kobo, the girls also performed as backup dancers in music videos of the newly created Hello!
[10] Ishimura's graduation took place on 2 October 2005, on the last night of the Berryz Kobo autumn 2005 concert tour.
In February 2007, Berryz Kobo made news headlines after it was announced that the group would be holding a concert at Saitama Super Arena on 1 April.
[2][5] At the time its members' average age was 13.8,[5][11] with the previous record of 16.3 set by Morning Musume four years earlier.
[13] In October, Berryz Kobo participated at the 2008 Asia Song Festival in South Korea, representing Japan alongside W-inds and Anna Tsuchiya.
Berryz won the festival's Best Asian Newcomer Award[2][5] alongside the SM Entertainment group Shinee.
[15] The year ended with the group's debut at the 58th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen,[5] an annual music show broadcast on 31 December.
[18] The 22 March concert in Nagoya was cancelled just a few days before the date, because two members, Miyabi Natsuyaki and Risako Sugaya, were suffering from influenza.
[21] On 21 June, the group held a mini-concert in South Korea,[22] which became their first commercial solo concert outside Japan.
On Tuesday, 13 October, fans were notified that Momoko Tsugunaga was diagnosed with influenza and would be absent from the concert scheduled for Saturday.
[23][24] The next day, Miyabi Natsuyaki was reported to be diagnosed as well after having felt sick the previous evening,[25][26] and it was announced that the Sunday concert had to be cancelled due to Maasa Sudo and Risako Sugaya also having influenza.
[34] On 3 March, the group released their third double A-side single, "Otakebi Boy Wao!/Tomodachi wa Tomodachi Nanda!
The concert that was scheduled for 12 March in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, was abruptly canceled due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami which hit the day before.
[36][37] In April, the group performed at Sakura-Con 2011, an anime convention in Seattle, Washington, United States.
It was announced on 19 May in Tokyo's Hibiya Park that Berryz Kobo would be holding a concert at the Nippon Budokan arena on 29 November 2013.
Tsunku added he would "like to see them chase new dreams" and asked for continued support throughout their remaining time as an active group.
[54] On 24 February 2015, Shimizu and Tokunaga announced on their blogs they would remain with the company as advisors, where they would act as the "go-between" for the staff and members.
On the last day of the group's Autumn 2010 concert tour, captain Saki Shimizu announced that they would be performing at the anime convention Sakura-Con in Seattle, the United States on 22–24 April 2011.
[41] Fans traveled from all over the world, including many parts of the US, Canada, France, Mexico, and Japan to support the group as they celebrated their seventh year together.
During the weekend the members appeared at the event's opening and closing ceremonies, participated in a live audience Q&A, held two 60-minute sessions where they signed autographs,[39] and performed an hour-long concert[40] consisting of 14 songs.
The tour ran on August 10, 2004, to October 11, 2004, featuring Morning Musume sub-unit W which is consisting of Nozomi Tsuji and Ai Kago.