Editing Morning Musume (section)

===2001: "The Peace" and the 5th Generation===
In April 2001, group leader Yuko Nakazawa left to focus on her solo career (stating her age as a factor as well—she felt it was limiting her ability to meet the physical demands of the group's activities) making Kaori Iida and Kei Yasuda Morning Musume's co-leaders. During this time, Rika Ishikawa was "lent" out to the rather inactive group, [[Country Musume]]. She did not officially join, but participated as a feature singers in number of their singles.

By July 2001 the string of number one hits had yet to be broken with the release of the single "[[The Peace!]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.up-front-works.jp/discography/zetima/29/s_12/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116180409/http://www.up-front-works.jp/discography/zetima/29/s_12/index.html|url-status=dead|title=Up-Front Works Discography – The Peace!|archive-date=January 16, 2014}}</ref> The Peace! features a distinctive [[Call and response (music)|call and response]] chants, with Rika Ishikawa as the center focus.

British newspaper ''The Guardian'' described the promotional video echoed the song's "strangeness" by placing the group in the middle of what appeared to be a gigantic public bathroom, displaying the girls dancing amongst the urinals and posing for photographs in the stalls; supposedly as a response to hidden camera footage of the members that had recently surfaced, filmed from a toilet in their production offices.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/aug/21/popandrock3|title=Japan's bizarre music industry|first=Chris|last=Campion|newspaper=The Observer|date=August 21, 2005|via=www.theguardian.com|archive-date=June 14, 2013|access-date=December 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614000713/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/aug/21/popandrock3|url-status=live}}</ref>

At the end of January 2001, the best selling Hello! Project album to date was released: ''[[Best! Morning Musume 1]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.up-front-works.jp/discography/zetima/29/a_06/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116183344/http://www.up-front-works.jp/discography/zetima/29/a_06/index.html|url-status=dead|title=Up-Front Works Discography – Best! Morning Musume 1|archive-date=January 16, 2014}}</ref> It sold 2,259,510 copies. It featured 15 tracks, the only original song being "Say Yeah! -Motto Miracle Night-".

At the end of 2001, four new members joined the group as the fifth generation through the audition "Love Audition 21:" [[Ai Takahashi]], [[Asami Konno]], [[Makoto Ogawa]], and [[Risa Niigaki]], bringing the roster to 13 girls. Their first single "[[Mr. Moonlight: Ai no Big Band]]",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.up-front-works.jp/discography/zetima/29/s_13/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302095320/http://www.up-front-works.jp/discography/zetima/29/s_13/index.html|url-status=dead|title=Up-Front Works Discography – Mr. Moonlight: Ai no Big Band|archive-date=March 2, 2007}}</ref> (done in the style of [[big band]]) featured fourth generation member Hitomi Yoshizawa as the central focus and main vocalist of the song.