Meet Filipino Japanese Idol Cover Group Ivy! Musume
Music in the Philippines is an expansive industry that has taken many forms through the years, from the rise of traditional folk songs and OPM (Original Pinoy Music) to covers and the P-Pop wave. Musical mimicry has long been a talent among Filipino singers who are known to perform songs as good as their original artists. But there is something about cover artists that makes us want to hear more.
While attending the recently concluded Cosplay Carnival, we witnessed a Filipino Japanese idol cover group take to the stage to perform a few tracks. Impressed by their thrilling performance, we were inclined to get to know these talented ladies.
Ivy! Musume is the brainchild of John Espiritu, the founder of Hello! Project Philippines, a music organization handling various idol groups and artists. John describes the group as a reimagined Filipino version of Morning Musume, one of Japan’s top all-girl groups formed in 1997. The group is currently the lead artist of Hello! Project Japan, holding the Oricon record of most top 10 singles — 64 of them to be exact!
Consisting of members Trina, Nicole, KD, Elaine, Lia, Kayli, Colin, and Jade, Ivy! Musume was formed in 2010 and has since been the cornerstone of the Philippines' Japanese idol scene, delivering powerful performances at various events nationwide. Fourteen years later, the group remains strong, having “graduated” several members through the years — their lineup ever-fluctuating yet retaining their charm, talent, and charisma. Now, the current generation and their creator are hoping to direct their path towards releasing original music that will ultimately transform what Ivy! Musume is all about.
The Beat Asia sat down with the members as well as their handler, John, to know more about the group’s origins, their journey as cover artists, and what we can expect from the girl group this year.
Hi Ivy! Musume! Can you introduce yourselves and your roles in the group?
Trina: Hello! I'm Trina. I'm the leader and one of the main vocalists.
Nicole: Hi! I'm Nicole. I'm the appointed sub-leader, one of the main vocals, and lead dancer.
KD: Konnichiwa (hello)! I’m KD, and I hold the title “Ambassadress of Hello! Project Philippines.”
Elaine: Hi! My Name is Elaine, I’m currently the main dancer.
Lia: Hi! I’m Lia, also one of the lead dancers.
Kayli: Hi! I'm Kayli, one of the lead vocalists, and hold the kawaii (cute) concept in the group. My image color is Sky Blue!
Colin: Hi! I’m Colin, one of Ivy Musume’s main vocalists.
Jade: Hi! I'm Jade, one of the lead vocalists and the visual of the group. I'm also the youngest.
Can you tell us about how the group formed?
John: Back in the 2000s, there weren’t a lot of cover groups in Manila covering Morning Musume, so I came up with an idea to start one. It was a challenge, but I was determined to start a ‘sing and dance’ group.
Although at first, I was banking on a solo idol because I loved Aya Matsuura. She was the first Hello! Project Act I have known. Previous J-Pop acts I’d gotten into were Shibuya Kei [pop microgenre], liked Pizzicato Five, Kahimi Karie, Ayumi Hamasaki, and of course, Ayaya. From there, I was introduced to Morning Musume. By being into Aya, I was able to absorb all the ingredients to start a formal group that eventually became Ivy! Musume in 2010.
It was first formed and patterned after Morning Musume from Japan and took inspiration from Bananarama in the 80s and the Spice Girls from the 90s as its blueprint, who were two of the most successful all-time girl group acts at that time.
Is there a story behind the group name?
John: I’m a big fan of indie pop music. There was this song called “Imperial Violets” which I repeatedly listened to in 1999, and I thought of how it was a nice name for a band or musical group. I’ve kept that in mind since.
When the girl group had their very first stage performance in the House of Runes café in West Avenue, Quezon City — thirty minutes before their stage performance, I christened them the name Ivy! Musume.
“I” is from “Imperial” because I wanted them as if with royalty of East Asia, while “Vi” is from Violet. I changed the I to Y, added a punctuation mark, then appended the Japanese word “Musume.”
Cool! Did all the girls undergo training?
John: Yes, all members were taken into training because the group's concepts were new for each member, since the first generation was to be indoctrinated. First, basic vocal harmonies will be assigned to each member, as well as the dance choreography. They are simple, but fun compared to the more strict K-Pop movements prevalent at that moment.
We also had to elect a leader and sub-leader to manage the group members. Discipline and commitment are basic requirements to join. They need to prove their loyalty to what they are doing. I also choose the best material for their covers.
For the members, did you always enjoy listening to Japanese music? Anything you’re currently listening to?
Trina: I like the melody and calmness of “Chiisana Koi No Uta” covered by Kobasolo & Apricot Masako.
Nicole: I rarely listen to J-pop songs, but there are some that I would like to hear again, like “Kokoronashi” by Majiko and “Tokyo Summer Session” ft. Chico and HoneyWorks.
KD: I’m an avid fan of BENI (Beni Arashiro), mostly her “Best of BENI” collection; Morning Musume (“Renai Hunter”), Maki Goto (“Tear Drops” and “Eyes”). I’m also still experiencing LSS (last song syndrome) to “Chichi wo Motomete” by Aoi Akira.
Elaine: “Yuzurenai Negai” by Naomi Tamura, the OST version. It was popularized by the anime “Magic Knight Rayearth,” which was famous back then.
Lia: I like Aimyon's songs, especially “Marigold” and “Hadaka no Kokoro.”
Kayli: I have a lot, but so far I have been listening to my favorite groups Liella, Girls², and ME:I recently. “Ikenai Borderline” by Walkure is one of my most repeated songs right now, too.
Colin: I started listening to J-Pop because of Babymetal’s “Road of Resistance” that I played on Osu’s beatmaps. So, yeah! It’s one of my most memorable J-Pop/Kawaii Metal songs. Another is Babymetal’s “Arkadia” for its message, and lastly, “Ima Suki Ni Naru” by HoneyWorks.
Jade: One of my favorite J-Pop songs is “Morning Coffee” from our beloved girl group Morning Musume.
Do you have a favorite or memorable performance?
Trina: For me, it’s our performance at Pinoy Otaku Festival 2017: Danketsu. Ivy! had solid coordination that time, and our performance was appreciated even by those people who don't have any idea about our piece. The crowd was cheering and applauding for us.
Nicole: Our performance at NyanCon 2015 at Robinsons Place Antipolo! It was the first performance of the 5th generation together with the senpais (seniors). I could still remember the adrenaline I felt when I first performed in a group. It made me want to keep on performing with them.
KD: I have two in mind. One is 1st Manila Idol Matsuri 2018. That was a blast and a fun experience to be on the same stage with other idol groups like MNL48 and Japh Dolls. Second is the “Pinoy Otaku Festival 2017: Danketsu.” I loved the crowd as we could hear them applauding and my friends in the community were very supportive of us. Plus, the staff was very accommodating!
Elaine: One of my unforgettable performances was the 1st Manila Idol Matsuri last 2018, because we had the chance to meet some other local idol groups in the Philippines, such as MNL48, Japh Dolls, and Pastel Mix, who are all well-known in the industry. We even performed together on one stage! We enjoyed the warm welcome and the stage performances. It was a pleasure to be part of that big event.
Lia: My most memorable moment is when we performed at Geek+Pop, where we met Japanese idol groups!
Kayli: Our performance at Cosplay Carnival 2025 Day 1, of course! And also every time Ivy! Musume performs with eight complete members.
Colin: I would say Geek+Pop is my most memorable performance because I got sick days before the performance. *laughs* I thought that I wouldn’t be able to recover in time, but good thing that I felt a lot better two days before and was able to join my fellow 9th Gen for our debut performance.
Jade: All of them so far! I really like performing, and it’s especially fun when we perform together as eight complete members.
Can you tell us about some of the challenges of being in a girl group?
Trina: There are actually lots such as managing our member schedules, financial ability, and group coordination. Also, charming the audience. We need to find songs that are popular to get support, considering that we have so many idol groups now who are covering J-Pop songs that have a bigger fanbase. Now that we're working with our original songs, I hope we still shine for the audience as we perform our own this time.
Nicole: One of the challenges is time. Every one of us has different lifestyles, so it's really hard for some of us to engage in group activities. That also makes our practices very limited and makes us work harder to deliver a good performance.
How would you describe your journey so far?
Trina: Overwhelming yet fulfilling. We may be all getting tired due to successive events, but at the end of the day, my heart is happy because we're getting the exposure and opportunities the group deserves. I can really say that we are now really getting into our goals.
KD: Happy and fulfilling regardless of sweat and tears. It’s all worth it. As long as we’re still aligned, I will support them.
Jade: Fun and full of surprises!
John: It has its own highs and low points, but overall, we’re happy we made it to our 14th year together with each different generation to continue Ivy! Musume’s legacy.
Considering Ivy! Musume’s long-standing history, what else does the group hope to achieve?
John: I want to direct Ivy! Musume’s path into singing original songs composed specially for them and getting them released for fans to disseminate more awareness and following. Also, to produce more quality, conceptualized videos.
Trina: To be a legitimate artist and produce our own content with our original songs. I also want to experience performing overseas. Dream big, right?
Nicole: To release our own songs and perform in other places.
KD: The next thing I want to achieve is to produce and release our very own songs. Hopefully, we can perform as well in Japan.
Elaine: Hoping we can perform in Japan with our idol group Morning Musume!
Lia: The thing I want to achieve is to perform in Japan.
Kayli: To perform in any Cosplay PH events and outside Metro Manila in the future. Hopefully, we also get to release our very own original song.
Colin: Same with most of the members. I hope for the group to perform outside Metro Manila — in Japan, specifically.
Jade: For me, it’s to release our own songs and to inspire people by doing what we love.
Please tell us what we can look forward to from Ivy! Musume this year.
Trina: We are now working on our original songs, and we're all hoping that an album will be released this year. We're so excited about that! And of course, expect more live events from us till the end of this year. How about a live concert? Let's see! *laughs*
KD: Surprise and secret! We’re cooking something up!
Elaine: Just follow us for more updates!
Lia: Yes! Please look forward to our first original song.
Kayli: There’s A LOT! We’re currently planning and preparing things to share with you all in the future.
Jade: Please look forward to our new merch and continue to support us throughout this journey!
Follow along Ivy! Musume’s official Facebook and Instagram pages for updates on new releases and upcoming events.
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