is a Japanese singer. She is a former member of the Japanese girl band

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

. She debuted in AKB48 in February 2006 as a member of the "Team K". Oku's mother is Japanese and her father is Italian. she was later transferred to Team B She graduated from AKB48 in April, 2011 when she was 15 years old, and left the entertainment industry to focus on her studies. On March 5, 2018, it was announced Oku's belonging to the talent company Flave Entertainment. As of January 31, 2020, she no longer belongs to Flave Entertainment as the announcement has been exclusive on her social network.

Career

Oku was born on November 22, 1995, in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan. In 2006, she auditioned for

and was cast to Team K. She was also a member of AKB48's subgroup Honegumi (the group was formed for a kids' TV show in 2007). She was transferred to Team B on August 23, 2009. Oku released a solo single named "Katatsumuri" in 2011. The song was used as the end theme to a

NHK Educational TV , abbreviated on-screen as NHK E, is the second television service of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation). It is a sister service of NHK General TV, showing programs of a more educational, cultural or intellectual nature, periodically also s ...

's anime called ''

Ojarumaru is a Japanese anime series created by Rin Inumaru, produced by NHK Enterprises, and animated by Gallop. The series has aired on NHK E-Tele since October 1998, making it the second longest-running anime on NHK behind '' Nintama Rantaro'', a ...

''.おぐまなみデビュー!!. Manami Oku debut!! (in Japanese).
/ref> She played minor roles in the AKB48 dramas ''

Majisuka Gakuen (lit. "Majisuka Academy") is a Japanese television drama series about high school delinquents, starring members of idol group AKB48. The first season aired in 2010 on TV Tokyo. A second season Majisuka Gakuen 2 was aired the following year. T ...

'' (2010) and ''Sakura Kara no Tegami'' (2011). Oku graduated from AKB48 in April 2011.

Discography

Solo singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oku, Manami 1995 births AKB48 members Living people Singers from Tokyo Japanese idols Japanese women pop singers 21st-century Japanese singers Japanese child singers 21st-century Japanese women singers