was to be done by hand, began on November 3, 1997 in Osaka and was scheduled to take place throughout the month in four other major cities, with the final day on December 7 in Tokyo.[12] They managed to reach the sales goal in just four days on November 30.[13]

On January 28, 1998, they debuted with their first official single, "Morning Coffee".[14] The success of the single, which in its first week it reached #6 on Oricon singles chart,[15] resulted in the decision to hold the Morning Musume Tsuika Audition for new members. Yasuda Kei, Yaguchi Mari, and Ichii Sayaka were announced as the three winners and joined the group as the second generation, bringing the total member count to eight.

On December 31, 1998, Morning Musume received theBest New Artist Award from the 40th Japan Record Awards.[16] They also made their first annual appearance on the New Year's Eve music show Kohaku Uta Gassen as members of the red team.[17]

In March 1999, Morning Musume received a New Artist of the Year Award in The Japan Gold Disc Award 1999.[18][19]

On April 18, 1999, Fukuda Asuka became the first member to leave the group, graduating at the end of the group's first concert tour, the Morning Musume '99 Memory Seishun no Hikari Tour.

In June 1999, Tsunku announced a second audition for a third generation of Morning Musume.[20] Two girls were expected to be admitted,[21] but ultimately only Goto Maki was added.[22]

On September 9, 1999, the group released their seventh single, "LOVE Machine". It became a national hit,[23]