Nozomi Tsuji aka Nozomi biography

Real biography: Introduction

Nozomi Tsuji (legally Nozomi Sugiura, born June 17, 1987) is a Japanese pop singer and former fourth-generation member of Morning Musume. She was famous as one-half of the "Two Top" with Ai Kago. The two are extremely close friends, and were rarely ever apart during their time together in the Hello! Project. They were considered to be a duo long before they became one officially in W.

Career

Tsuji joined Morning Musume in 2000 as a member of the fourth generation, alongside Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, and Ai Kago. The latter was to become her best friend for the rest of their careers.

Seeing their hyperactivity as well as height, it was decided that Tsuji and Kago should become part of Mari Yaguchi's wacky subgroup, Minimoni. Tsuji was a part of Minimoni for all of its four-year long career.

Morning Musume was split in half in 2003: Sakuragumi and Otomegumi. Tsuji was placed into Otomegumi, which surprised many as Kago was in Sakuragumi. However, Tsuji branched out on her own as a part of Otomegumi, and was seen in Morning Musume as beginning to be her own separate person.

Tsuji graduated together with Kago in summer 2004 to focus full-time on their duo, W. W was quite successful, famous for often covering popular songs from older Japanese duos, such as Wink and Pink Lady, who had been popular in the Showa era.

However, W was not to last, when Kago was caught smoking in early 2006. She was immediately suspended, leaving Tsuji hanging in limbo. Tsuji began hosting TV shows, appearing more frequently with Morning Musume, and doing radio programs while waiting for Kago's return. However, this was not to be. In 2007, Kago was caught in another scandal and was fired from the Hello! Project.

Forced to continue without her other half, Tsuji became part of the ganguro-themed group, Gyaruru. She adopted the moniker "Tsujiji" in an effort to distance herself from her Morning Musume "Nono" persona. However, Gyaruru wasn't meant to be either, when in May 2007, Tsuji announced that she was pregnant and engaged to the father, Taiyou Sugiura (better known to the Japanese as Ultraman.) Tsuji has since changed her legal name to "Nozomi Sugiura", though "Nozomi Tsuji" is still her stage name.

Nono gave birth to her daughter, Noa Sugiura, on November 26, 2007. She expects to return to the Hello! Project soon.