ののとゆかいな仲間たち

Ｗ（ダブルユー）

加護亜依（左）と辻希美（右）の新ユニット。2004年03月06日結成。
「Ｗ」の語源「2つのYOU」から「あなたとあなた」という意味。

大きな共通テーマは「双子じゃないのに双子みたい！」
2004年05月19日、1stシングル「恋のバカンス」でデビュー。

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【メンバー】

加護亜依（かごあい）Kago Ai（1988.02.07生）水瓶座ＡＢ型奈良県大和高田市
辻希美（つじのぞみ）Tsuji Nozomi（1987.06.17生）双子座Ｏ型東京都板橋区

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【作品 Discography】

１stSingle「恋のバカンス」（Koi no Vacance） Release：2004.05.19 Sales：39,226 Max-Ranking：10
２ndSingle「ああいいな！」（Aa Ii na！） Release：2004.08.18 Sales：41,581 Max-Ranking：7
３rdSingle「ロボキッス」（Robokiss）Release：2004.10.14 Sales：30,239 Max-Ranking：5
４thSingle「恋のフーガ」（Koi no Fuga） Release：2005.02.09 Sales：20,922 Max-Ranking：12
５thSingle「愛の意味を教えて」（Ai no Imi wo Oshiete！） Release：2005.05.18 Sales：21,408 Max-Ranking：11
６thSingle「Missラブ探偵」（Miss Love Tantei） Release：2005.09.07 Sales：18,099 Max-Ranking：13
７thSingle「どうにもとまらない」（Dounimo Tomaranai）Release：2006.03.08 Sales：Max-Ranking：発売延期

１stAlbum 「デュオＵ＆Ｕ」（Duo U&U）Release：2004.06.02 Sales：85,017 Max-Ranking：4
２ndAlbum 「２nd Ｗ」 Release：2005.03.02 Sales：27,534 Max-Ranking：11
３rdAlbum 「Ｗ３：faithful」Release：2006.03.15 Sales：Max-Ranking：発売延期

DVDmagazine「Wの映像の世界 Vol.1」（W no Eizou no Sekai 1）Release：2004.10.16 Sales：Max-Ranking：

2006年02月10日発売の写真週刊誌「フライデー」誌面において「加護亜依が東京都区部のレストランで喫煙していた」
と、写真付きで報道された。この加護亜依の不祥事発覚による謹慎処分に伴い、2006年02月に活動停止となった。

2007年03月26日発売の週刊誌「週刊現代」において、加護亜依が東京都渋谷区の人気カフェ「SOMA」のオーナーと、
群馬県の草津温泉へレンタカーで1泊旅行、再度喫煙していた写真が掲載された。

この件で契約解除、懲戒解雇となり、2007年03月31日をもって事実上解散した。

先頭へ戻る

W's formation was announced not long after the graduation of Kago and Tsuji from Morning Musume was announced in early 2004.

At the time, the duo—longtime best friends since they met at the auditions that landed them in Morning Musume
in 2000—were simultaneously in both Morning Musume and one of its most popular sub-groups, Minimoni.

Minimoni was about to be disbanded with the inevitable departure of Mika Todd,
leaving Kago and Tsuji without any associated acts with which to perform.

The decision to pair the two best friends together was made almost immediately and W was born.

As they were winding down their Minimoni and Morning Musume duties, W released their debut three-song EP,
"Koi no Vacance （恋のバカンス：Vacation of Love）"
the title track being a rocked-up cover version of a 1960's hit by Showa period female duo "The Peanuts".

The EP was followed a few weeks later by their debut album as W, "Duo U&U,"
which contained covers of other Showa period female duo songs exclusively.

One of the other groups covered by W on the first album was Pink Lady, a 70's-era duo
that was becoming active again as a performing, if not recording unit.

Since Kago and Tsuji had done two Pink Lady songs ("Southpaw" and "Nagisa no Sinbad") on Duo U&U,
Pink Lady were invited to perform with W on Japanese television as a one-time four-piece ensemble.

Their joint performance of "Southpaw" became a trading favorite amongst American Hello! Project fans on VCD, DVD,
and BitTorrent (Pink Lady also sat in with Kago, Tsuji, and their Morning Musume bandmates on "Nagisa no Sinbad"
and a medley of the former act's "S.O.S." and the latter's "LOVE Machine" on the same show).

Kago and Tsuji performed their graduation concert in August 2004 and a week later, their second single, "Aa Ii na!
（あぁいいな！：Ah, How Nice！）" was released.
Not only was it the duo's first release since they departed Morning Musume, it was also the first W single
to feature an original composition by Hello! Project founder/producer/songwriter Tsunku.

A third single of original material, "Robo Kiss," followed three months later.

In December 2004, W joined their fellow Hello! Project members on the 2004 shuffle unit single
"ALL FOR ONE & ONE FOR ALL!," credited to the H.P. All Stars.

W also began joining Morning Musume onstage at concerts during this period to perform Kago and Tsuji's final Morning Musume single,
"Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari （女子かしまし物語：The Story of Noisy Girls）" together with their former bandmates.

These appearances served to dispel unsubstantiated Internet rumors that Kago and Tsuji's departure
from the band was due to personal differences.

Their second album, 2005's "2nd W," released not even ten months after their first album, contained an even balance
of new W originals and more Showa period classic J-pop cover songs, many of them topically centering around the end of the duo's teenage years
(Kago turned 17 a month before the album's release; Tsuji would turn 18 that June).

Their prolific pace continued when a new non-LP single, the Devo-influenced "Ai no Imi wo Oshiete!
（愛の意味を教えて！：Teach Me the Meaning of Love！）" followed a few months afterwards.

In the Spring of 2005, W starred in their first concert musical, "Cara & Mel, the Case of the Stolen Dangerous Violin",
a stage show which was released soon after on DVD.

In September 2005 the duo released their 6th single "Miss Love Tantei （Missラブ探偵：Miss Love Detective）"
The song and video featured a more mature Kago and Tsuji and actually earned them not only critical acclaim,
but also some comparisons to Russian pop group t.A.T.u. because of the song intro's unintentional resemblance to "Not Gonna Get Us."

The video, which features Kago and Tsuji playing multiple roles (including a reprisal of their stage musical roles of Cara & Mel),
raised even more eyebrows when the duo were depicted adopting the controversial ganguro look in one scene.

In addition to their musical career, W continue to appear on Hello! Project's weekly TV show Hello! Morning, often in tandem with Morning Musume.

In videos and in concert appearances, W sometimes performed or co-headlined with Berryz Kobo,
the eight-member preteen girl group formed under Hello! Project.
Berryz Kobo appeared as dancers on W's "Aa Ii na!" and "Robo Kiss" videos.

On January 11, the release of a new single, "Dou ni mo Tomaranai （どうにもとまらない：Non Stop）" was announced to be released on February 22,
which would be followed up by their third full-length album, W3:Faithful on March 15.

The title of both of these releases became known on February 7, 2006—coincidentally, Kago's 18th birthday.

On February 9, it was confirmed that the magazine Friday (the same one that caused Yaguchi Mari's sudden departure
from Morning Musume) would be publishing photos of Kago smoking.

The legal age for smoking in Japan was 20, and Kago had just turned 18 two days prior.

On February 10, 2006, Hello! Project issued a press statement saying that the singer had been suspended "indefinitely."

Speculation as of that date was that the punishment would be brief.
However, Kago was under house arrest in her parent's home for an entire year.

As of February 10, the forthcoming seventh single and third album releases by W, scheduled for March 8 and March 15 respectively,
as well as the promotional appearances for them, have been postponed indefinitely due to the scandal.

In January, Kago returned to Tokyo and was working at the offices of UP-FRONT GROUP, the agency behind Hello! Project,
while the company was making preparations for her, and presumably, W's return to the public eye.

On March 26, following a newly publicized scandal involving Kago dating a thirty-seven-year-old man, as well as smoking again,
it was announced by UP-FRONT AGENCY that her contract had been cancelled. An English translation of the announcement:

"To whom it may concern:

Regarding our client Kago Ai and the article in the weekly magazine that went on sale on March 26th,
the information in the article has been verified with Kago herself, to our regret.

One year ago, when Kago was 17 and the smoking problem happened, we still considered her future in this company,
and as punishment, she was imposed to house arrest in her parents' home.

Seeing how she had progressed over that year, it was decided to start from scratch and start preparing for a comeback
by bringing her to Tokyo and having her do clerical and other office duties, starting on January 23rd.

Although this worked out well for two months, there was another incident and the comeback plan was abandoned.

After consulting with the family, as she is a minor, it has been confirmed, and she has been released from her contract."

01st Single「Koi no Vacance」（恋のバカンス：Vacation of Love）2004.05.19
02nd Single「Aa Ii na！」（あぁいいな！：Ah, How Nice！）2004.08.18
03rd Single「Robokiss」2004.10.14
04th Single「Koi no Fuga」（恋のフーガ：Fugue of Love）2005.02.09
05th Single「Ai no Imi wo Oshiete！」（愛の意味を教えて！：Teach Me the Meaning of Love！）2005.05.18
06th Single「Miss Love Tantei」（Missラブ探偵：Miss Love Detective）2005.09.07
07th Single「Dounimo Tomaranai」（どうにもとまらない：Non Stop）2006.03.08

01st Album「Duo U&U」2004.06.02
02nd Album「02nd Ｗ」2005.03.02
03rd Album「Ｗ３：faithful」2006.03.15

DVD magazine「W no Eizou no Sekai 1」（Wの映像の世界 Vol.1：Ｗ's Picture World 1）2004.10.16

W（Double U）是早安家族旗下的女子双人组合。
因加护亚依被传出丑闻的关系于2006年02月停止活动。
2007年03月时公司与加护亚依解除经纪约，事实上解散。

同年04月时官方网站也删除了此组合。时隔十多年后，因加护亚依与早安家族以及UFA成功破冰，W得以于2019年03月30日的演唱会上再次重组。
2004年05月，当时还是早安少女组。团员的辻希美与加护亚依组成这个组合。

团名的由来从「不是双胞胎却很像双胞胎」发想，自「W」的语源「Double　U」撷取了「YOU＆YOU、也就是‘你与你’」。
出道单曲翻唱The Peanuts的「恋爱假期」。06月发行了收录13组日本女子双人组合，共15曲的首张翻唱专辑。

2004年12月31日，与早安少女组。共同组成特别组合登上NHK红白歌合战（第55回红白）。
2006年02月09日，成员加护亚依因未成年抽烟遭八卦杂志披露，组合暂停演艺活动。

2007年03月26日，加护亚依再次被揭发抽烟，被所属事务所解除契约，辻希美转为个人活动。
2019年03月30日，加护亚依与辻希美两人以嘉宾身份出演「早安家族　Hina Fes2019」演唱会，W时隔十三年后再度合体。同日以网络下载的形式发行迷你专辑。

1st单曲「恋爱假期」2004.05.19
2nd单曲「啊好棒呀!」2004.08.18
3rd单曲「机器人之吻」2004.10.14
4th单曲「恋爱的赋格曲」2005.02.09
5th单曲「告诉我爱的意义！」2005.05.18
6th单曲「爱情侦探小姐」2005.09.07
7th单曲「怎样也停不下来」2006.03.08 発売延期

1st专辑「Duo U&U」2004.06.02
2nd专辑「2nd W」2005.03.02
3rd专辑「W3：faithful」2006.03.15 発売延期

DVD录影带「W的映像世界Vol.1」2004.10.16