Asami Konno

, born May 7, 1987, is a former television presenter at TV Tokyo. She is a former Japanese pop idol singer, best known as former fifth generation member of the all-girl Japanese idol pop group Morning Musume. She joined the group in the August 2001, along with fellow fifth generation members Ai Takahashi, Makoto Ogawa, and Risa Niigaki. She joined TV Tokyo on 1 April 2011 after her graduation from Gatas Brilhantes H.P. on 31 March.

Her husband is a Japanese baseball player Toshihiro Sugiura.

Biography

History
Asami Konno was born on May 7, 1987.
 
Konno joined the Japanese female idol group Morning Musume in 2001. Although her performance in the  has been called mediocre even by the judge of the audition and producer of Morning Musume, Tsunku, he said that she passed the audition because of her potential and the amount of effort she put into it.

She debuted on the group's thirteenth single, "Mr. Moonlight (Ai no Big Band)", released on October 31, 2001. In the same month, during a filming of music variety show Utaban, she injured her leg and was not able to participate in the remaining performances of the group's national tour at that time.

Her first album appearance was the fourth album 4th Ikimasshoi!, released on March 27, 2002.

In May of the same year, Konno was unexpectedly given the lead role for the second half of Morning Musume's annual play, Morning Town. In the summer of that year, she also debuted in a shuffle unit, as part of Odoru 11. Coincidentally, she was separated from all the other fifth generation members, who were in Happy 7.

Later in September, all the fifth generation members were placed into a subgroup. Along with fellow member  Risa Niigaki and Melon Kinenbi's Ayumi Shibata. Konno was put into Tanpopo as the third generation. They only released one single before becoming inactive.

Konno, along with many other members of Japanese pop idol group Morning Musume at that time, starred in a drama entitled Angel Hearts which was released in 2002.

In 2003, when Morning Musume was split into two groups (Sakuragumi and Otomegumi) after the sixth generation members had joined, she was placed into Sakuragumi. Gatas Brilhantes H.P., Hello! Project's futsal team, was also formed that year. Konno became one of its founding members, and remained with the unit until her graduation.

In July of the same year, she was added into Japanese idol pop band Country Musume with fellow Morning Musume member Miki Fujimoto. Under this new formation, named "Country Musume ni Konno to Fujimoto", three singles were released. She also made a guest appearance in a drama, Kochira Hon Ikegami Sho 2 (which Ai Kago starred in as a regular) that year, as a hit-and-run victim's sister.

She is considered to be one of the most intelligent members after achieving the highest mark during a special episode of Mecha-Mecha Iketeru! in early 2003, where the "Bakajo Test" was given to see who was the "idiot girl" of Morning Musume. She is also athletic, according to another special episode of Mecha-Mecha Iketeru! later that year (after the sixth generation joined) focusing on sports, placing as the fifth most athletic Morning Musume member.

In late 2004, Tsunku's choice of giving Konno the main vocals for "Namida ga Tomaranai Hōkago" yet again surprised many people, as it was known that she had rather weak vocals when compared to the other members.

She also joined the Hello Project concert unit, Hello! Project Akagumi.

In March 2006, she proved her athletic abilities by placing first in the 1500 meter race at Hello! Project's 2006 sports festival in the time of six minutes and thirteen seconds, getting her the MVP award plus defeating the previous winner, Maimi Yajima, whom Konno had lost to in Hello! Project's 2003 sports festival. On July 23, 2006, Konno graduated from Morning Musume and Hello! Project to continue her studies at a university. The last single and album she participated in were "Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii Jan" and Rainbow 7 respectively.

The news of Konno's acceptance to Keio University, one of the top private universities in Japan, known for producing two prime ministers, was announced on December 11, 2006, by several news sources. On December 28, 2006, she confirmed these claims personally, in a message posted on the main Hello! Project website.

Although she was officially no longer part of Hello! Project at the time, on January 28, 2007, she appeared on stage at Hello! Project's 10th anniversary concert (the first graduated member to do so), giving her last messages to Asami and Miuna of Japanese pop band Country Musume, who were graduating that night.

On June 18, 2007, Up-Front Agency confirmed that Konno was returning to Hello! Project to rejoin members of Gatas Brilhantes H.P. in the Japanese pop idol group Ongaku Gatas. Their first single, titled "Narihajimeta Koi no Bell" was released on August 22, 2007. It was stated that Konno would remain an active member within the agency and Ongaku Gatas while continuing her university studies.

She performed at the Hello Pro Award '09~Elder Club Sotsugyo Kinen Special~concert on February 1, 2009.

In early 2009, Konno graduated from Hello! Project with the rest of the Elder Club, though continued as a member of her band Ongaku Gatas, and continuing to tour with them. She was placed into M-Line, the official fan-club for graduated Morning Musume members. It was announced via the Hello! Project official site on October 1, 2010, that she would debut as a reporter for TV Tokyo in April 2011.

It was announced on Tokyo Hive that she and her co-host (MoexKon) would be releasing a single titled "Jyunjyou Fighter".

Konno and fellow former 5th generation member Makoto Ogawa made a special appearance at Morning Musume's Autumn Tour the day before Ai Takahashi's graduation

Appearances

Filmography

DVDs

Dramas 
 2002 – Angel Hearts
 2002 – 
 2003 –  (Guest)
 2004 – 
 2005 –

Movies 
 2002 – 
 2003 –

Photobooks 

Source:

Radio

TV shows

Internet

References

External links 
 Official Hello! Project profile
 (Lovely Konkon Info) Asami Konno's fansite & Blog (in Japanese)
 Mobile Phone version of (Lovely Konkon Info) Asami Konno's fansite & Blog (in Japanese)
 Hello! Database entry
 Hello! Project Stats
 
 Konno Asami blog @ TV Tokyo

Category:11Water members
Category:1987 births
Category:Country Musume members
Category:Japanese television personalities
Category:Living people
Category:Morning Musume members
Category:People from Sapporo
Category:Tanpopo members
Category:Former Hello! Project members
Category:Musicians from Sapporo
Category:Keio University alumni