W (Double U) were formed after the graduation of Kago Ai and Tsuji Nozomi from Morning Musume in early 2004 after the announcement of the indefinite hiatus of MiniMoni. During the gradual decline of activities in both Morning Musume and MiniMoni, the duo released their first single Koi no Vacance, a hit song in the 1960s for the Shouwa Period duo, The Peanuts.
Surprisingly, after only a matter of weeks, W (Double U) released their first album. Following in the tradition of their female duo style, the album covered songs by Shouwa Period artists of the 60s, 70s, and 80s such as Pink Lady, Wink and Key West Club. The album achieved the girls' relative success, earning them #5 on the Oricon charts. Ironically, Pink Lady were reforming at the time to become a performing unit once again and as a result were invited to perform alongside W (Double U) on television.
Kago and Nozomi graduated from Morning Musume in August 2004 and only a week after their graduation, they released their second single. This was W (Double U)'s first release to contain original material penned by producer TSUNKU. Several months later, W (Double U) released their third single and their second of original material. December saw the duo joining Morning Musume on tour to perform Joshi kashimashi monogatari, the last single that the pair participated on.
The following year, the duo released their second album in March. Unlike their previous album, 2nd W compiled both original and covers of Shouwa Period songs. Due to the pair reaching the age of 17, the songs featured on the album focused on reaching adulthood and leaving childhood behind. Their following single, inspired by Devo, followed several months later. It was also during the Spring that W (Double U) starred in their first concert musical, Cara & Mel, the Case of the Strange Stolen Violin, which was later released on DVD due to its popularity.
In September, the duo released their sixth single, Miss Love Tantei, which saw the girls maturing. The songs introduction took a sample of t.A.T.u's Not Gonna Get Us and footage used in the music video created some controversy due to its portrayal of ganguro, which is a popular alternative fashion trend among young Japanese women. Not ones to remain solely interested in the music industry, W (Double U) also took part in Morning Musume's weekly TV program, Hello! Morning.
On January 11th 2006, the release of the duo's seventh single was announced along with the release of their upcoming third album, W3: Faithful. Unfortunately, it was on February 9th that Friday magazine announced that they would be publishing photographs of currently 18 year-old Kago Ai smoking in public. The following day, Hello! Project publicised a statement that Kago had been suspended indefinitely due to her actions. Due to the scandal, both upcoming releases were postponed alongside promotional appearances.
After a year suspension, Kago Ai returned to Tokyo in order to become an office worker in UP-FRONT WORKS, the agency behind Hello! Project, while the company was preparing for her comeback to the agency and presumably, for W (Double U)'s return. However, on March 26th, following a newly publicized scandal with Kago Ai dating a thirty-seven year-old as well as a return to smoking, Hello! Project announced that her contract was now void.
Despite nothing official being announced regarding the group's status, it can probably be safely assumed that there will be no further activities surrounding the duo.
