Miki Fujimoto born February 26, 1985 in Takikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan), is a Japanese singer, known formerly as a solo artist from Hello! Project. At one point she was the leader of the popular Japanese pop group Morning Musume, but only after a few weeks a magazine published a scandal which resulted in her resignation from the group.
Fujimoto originally started out as a solo singer in 2002 under the idol family Hello! Project, becoming the first of six members to debut under Hello! Project after losing a Morning Musume audition. She is often called by fans as Aya Matsuura's rival, but in fact, they are the best of friends. After a successful performance on the music program on New Year's Eve, "Kōhaku Uta Gassen", producer Tsunku added her to Morning Musume as a sixth generation member in 2003. At the time, she was the 3rd oldest person to join the group, as she was nearly 18 years old, although with the addition of Chinese member, Junjun, she is now the 4th oldest. She is also one of two members to debut as a part of the Hello! Project before joining Morning Musume (the other being Eighth Generation member Linlin).
She sang many of the lead lines in Morning Musume songs, especially after Natsumi Abe's graduation. She and fellow Morning Musume member Asami Konno were also lent to Country Musume, a group that features "Country Girls from Hokkaidō", such as Miki and Asami (the group has been known, however, to include members not from the rural island--such as former featured singers Rika Ishikawa and Miuna Saito).
In October 2002, she was placed in the one-shot unit, Gomattou with two other prominent pop soloists under Hello! Project, Maki Goto (a former Morning Musume member), and Aya Matsuura. She was also in Hello! Project Shuffle groups Odoru 11, 11Water, H.P. All Stars and Sexy Otonajan.
In 2003, when Morning Musume was split into two groups, she was placed in Morning Musume Otomegumi.
On June 15, 2006 it was announced that Fujimoto and Aya Matsuura would join together in a new Hello! Project duo called GAM. Their debut single was released on September 13, 2006, and after two other singles, their debut LP was released on May 23, 2007.
On May 6, 2007, after the graduation of then-leader Hitomi Yoshizawa, Fujimoto took her place as the fifth leader of Morning Musume.
On May 24, 2007, Fujimoto was rumored to be in the latest edition of the Japanese gossip magazine Friday —the same magazine responsible for the cancellation of Ai Kago's contract— pictured walking with Tomoharu Shōji, a member of the comedy duo Shinagawa Shōji. Friday explains that they had a two-hour dinner together, drove to Fujimoto's apartment, then went to the sauna, returning to Shōji's apartment just after midnight. It soon became apparent that she was to be involved in a scandal that would jeopardize her position in Morning Musume. After seeing the article, Up-Front Agency had no intention to deal with the situation since there was no proof of them dating.
On the May 26, 2007 edition of Young Town Doyōbi (a radio show with Ai Takahashi, Fujimoto and Sanma Akashiya), she confirmed that the pictures were of her, and that she had been going out with Tomoharu Shōji. She also mentioned that she was going to talk to the head of Up-Front Agency, Naoki Yamazaki, about the situation.
On June 1, 2007, Fujimoto resigned from her position in Morning Musume. She will continue with GAM and remain contracted with Hello! Project and Up-Front Agency.
On February 11, 2008, it was announced that Fujimoto would release a single entitled "Okitegami" (置き手紙, lit. Leftover Letter?). The single, a collaboration with fellow Up-Front singer Takao Horiuchi, was released on April 23, 2008.
In June 2008, it was announced that Fujimoto would play the part of Rizzo in the fall musical, Grease.
On March 24, 2009, Fujimoto announced her engagement to Tomoharu Shōji. The wedding took place on July 3 in Hawaii.
