Ai Takahashi
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(born September 14, 1986) is a Japanese singer and actress formerly associated with the
Hello! Project is a Japanese musical collective consisting of all female recording artists and groups under Up-Front Promotion, a subsidiary of Up-Front Group. The name was initially used as Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume's fan club name in 1999, but ...
and is best known as the leader of
Morning Musume , formerly and commonly known as and colloquially referred to as , is a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most to ...
and
Hello! Project is a Japanese musical collective consisting of all female recording artists and groups under Up-Front Promotion, a subsidiary of Up-Front Group. The name was initially used as Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume's fan club name in 1999, but ...
until 2011. She is also a former member of its popular subgroup Mini Moni.


Biography


Morning Musume career (2001–2011)

In 2001, Ai Takahashi joined the Japanese idol group ''Morning Musume'' as part of the group's fifth generation of performers, along with Makoto Ogawa, Asami Konno, and Risa Niigaki. Her audition involved a three-day training camp where participants were expected to learn a new song, a dance routine and a script. Takahashi was one of nine applicants selected out of 25,000 for the camp. Her debut with the group was on their single " Mr. Moonlight: Ai no Big Band", and her first appearance on a Morning Musume full-length release was their fourth studio album, ''
4th Ikimasshoi! is the fourth studio album from the J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in ...
''. Her first appearance within a
Hello! Project shuffle unit was a Japanese idol project group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2000 and associated with Hello! Project. Beginning in 2000, the Shuffle Unit project was a yearly collaboration among existing Hello! Project acts, where members were recombined ...
release was on the 2002 single "Shiawase Beam! Suki Suki Beam!" under the group name Happy 7. In 2003, Takahashi replaced Mari Yaguchi in the Morning Musume spinoff group Mini Moni and debuted in the group's movie '' Mini Moni ja Movie: Okashi na Daibōken!'' and its accompanying soundtrack. Later in 2003, she was part of the Morning Musume splinter group Morning Musume Sakuragumi, which performed mainly slower numbers on the group's two
EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
, " Hare Ame Nochi Suki" and " Sakura Mankai", and the shuffle group 7Air, an R&B-inspired septet. Takahashi's vocals became more prominent on the second and final Mini Moni album, '' Mini Moni Songs 2'' (2004), as well as on Morning Musume's singles from their spring 2004 release, " Roman: My Dear Boy". She sang a duet with
Tsunku , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer, record producer, and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Sharam Q. As a songwriter, Tsunku is the primary producer for Morning Musume and other Hello! Project acts, such as Co ...
on the cover version of Tsunku and
Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter and producer. Nicknamed the "Empress of Pop" on account of her influence throughout Asia, she is widely recognized for her versatile music production, songwriting, and live performances. Hamasaki is the List of ...
's duet " Love: Since 1999" and on his solo album '' Take1''. In 2005, Morning Musume's first single release of the year, " The Manpower!!!", featured Takahashi in a prominent co-lead-vocal role which she has continued in on subsequent singles. That summer she became part of the 2005 shuffle group Elegies. In 2006, Takahashi played the lead role, Sapphire, in '' Ribon no Kishi The Musical'' which was a collaboration work by Hello! Project and the Japanese all-female theatrical company
Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway theatre, Broadway-style productions of musicals and stories adapted from films, nov ...
. The musical was based on Tezuka Osamu's manga and starred
v-u-den was a Japanese idol girl group associated with Hello! Project. The group was formed in August 2004 and consists of members Rika Ishikawa (Morning Musume), Erika Miyoshi, and Yui Okada, with Ishikawa being the leader. The group officially disb ...
, Nozomi Tsuji,
Aya Matsuura is a former Japanese pop singer and actress, from Himeji, Hyogo, Japan. Career 2000–2009: Hello! Project Aya auditioned in 2000 for the fourth Morning Musume & Heike Michiyo Protegee Audition and was selected along with Sheki-Dol to become ...
and
Natsumi Abe is a Japanese singer and actress, a former member of Morning Musume, and a member of Dream Morning Musume. Biography She was born in Muroran, Hokkaidō, Japan. Career On August 13, 2003, she released her first single, "22 Sai no Watash ...
as well as Marcia and Kaoru Ebira of the
Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo, Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway theatre, Broadway-style productions of musicals and stories adapted from films, nov ...
. On July 2, Takahashi released her first and only solo single to date, "Yume Kara Samete". Following then-leader Hitomi Yoshizawa's graduation from Morning Musume on May 6, 2007, sub-leader Miki Fujimoto was promoted to leader and Takahashi filled in as the new sub-leader of the group. On June 1, 2007, Fujimoto resigned and Takahashi took over as the new leader. Takahashi was also captain of the
Hello! Project is a Japanese musical collective consisting of all female recording artists and groups under Up-Front Promotion, a subsidiary of Up-Front Group. The name was initially used as Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume's fan club name in 1999, but ...
kickball team, Metro Rabbits H.P. In 2008, Takahashi became a member of Hello Project's new unit
High-King was a Japanese people, Japanese girl group associated with Hello! Project. The group was created to promote Morning Musume's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (Rodgers and Hammerstein musical), ''Cinderella'', titled . Their so ...
, a group created to promote Morning Musume's ''Cinderella the Musical'', in which Takahashi played the title character. It was announced in July 2008 that Takahashi and fellow Morning Musume member Risa Niigaki would play the 80s J-Pop duo Pink Lady in the TV Drama ''Hitmaker Aku Yuu Monogatari''. As of January 2009, she and Risa Niigaki had the longest tenures of any member; she was one of only seven members to remain in the group for seven years or more (the others being Kaori Iida, Yoshizawa, Niigaki,
Eri Kamei is a Japanese pop singer and model. She is a former member of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined in late 2003 as a sixth generation member along with Miki Fujimoto, Sayumi Michishige, and Reina Tanaka. She graduated on Decemb ...
,
Sayumi Michishige is a Japanese singer, actress and model. She is a former sixth-generation member and former leader of the J-pop group Morning Musume. Following the departure of fifth-generation member Risa Niigaki on October 12, 2013, Michishige held the longe ...
and Reina Tanaka) and one of two (along with Niigaki) to remain in the group for eight or nine years. On February 1, 2009, during the "Hello Pro Award '09 ~Elder Club Sotsugyō Kinen Special~" concert held at
Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...
, Yuko Nakazawa passed on her leadership position in Hello! Project to Takahashi. In December 2009, Takahashi was one of many celebrities to promote the release of Final Fantasy XIII in Japan. In September 2010, she became the second Morning Musume member to be at least 24 years old and the first to reach that age while in the group (original member
Yuko Nakazawa is a Japanese pop and enka singer, and actress, best known as one of the original members of the all-female J-pop group Morning Musume. She is also a member of Japanese pop group Dream Morning Musume. Biography Yuko Nakazawa was born in Ky ...
was 24 when the group was formed). On January 9, 2011, it was announced that Takahashi would graduate from Morning Musume at the end of the fall tour that year. Takahashi's last single with Morning Musume, the double A-side "Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun dayo!/ Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai" (この地球の平和を本気で願ってるんだよ!/彼と一緒にお店がしたい!), included a B-side solo by Takahashi, "Jishin Motte Yume o Motte Tobitatsu Kara" (自信持って 夢を持って 飛び立つから), and was released on her birthday, September 14. On September 30, 2011, on the last day of Morning Musume's "Ai Believe" tour, Takahashi graduated from Morning Musume and Hello! Project at the Nippon Budokan and passed her role of leader to Risa Niigaki.


Post Morning Musume (2011–present)

2011
Her first role after graduation was the lead role of Sarah in the musical '' Dance of the Vampires'' at the Imperial Garden Theater. On November 25, it was announced that Takahashi was cast for a stage play titled ''La Patisserie'', which ran from March 3 to March 11 in Tokyo, March 20 in Osaka, and March 22 in Ishikawa. 2012
On May 6, Takahashi announced that she had been cast in the
Taiga drama is the name NHK gives to the annual year-long historical drama television series it broadcasts in Japan. Beginning in 1963 with the black-and-white ''Hana no Shōgai'', starring kabuki actor Onoe Shoroku II and Awashima Chikage, the network regul ...
''Taira no Kiyomori''. She played Tsuneko, the wife of Kiyomori's eldest son. From September 12 to September 23, she starred in a stage play titled ''High School Uta Gekidan☆Otoko-gumi''. It was announced that Takahashi would voice a character in the hit anime series ''
Detective Conan ''Case Closed'', also known as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since January 1994; its chapters are collected in 107 ...
,'' with her episodes airing in early 2013. 2013
On February 12, Hello! Project Fanclub News announced that Takahashi would star in a stage play titled ''Moshimo Kokumin ga Shusho o Erandara'' along with
Rika Ishikawa , is a Japanese actress and model associated with Hello! Project and best known as a former member of the pop group Morning Musume. She was the leader of the Japanese pop idol trio V-u-den until June 2008. She has performed as a solo singer, a ...
, S/mileage members Ayaka Wada and Kanon Fukuda, and Juice=Juice members Karin Miyamoto and Akari Uemura. The play ran for 11 performances from April 24 to April 30. On March 18, Takahashi appeared in the commercial “Ai to Kumao” to promote the insect repellent Mushuda; it was her first time appearing solo in a commercial. On May 10, Takahashi modeled for the ''Vanquish Venus'' fashion magazine. On July 3, it was announced that she would be going to Thailand for Japan Festa 2013 from August 31 to September 1. She held a free mini live and handshake event. On July 16, she announced two live birthday concerts to be held on September 14 (Tokyo) and 16 (Osaka), titled called "Ai Takahashi Birthday Live 2013 ~HELLO♥27~", but the Osaka performance was cancelled due to a typhoon. On July 21, Takahashi held a live solo performance titled "Takahashi Ai Sparkling Live in Yuigahama". On September 10, HMV announced that Takahashi would be releasing her first style book on October 18, titled "AI am I", which would include an interview about her Morning Musume days, as well as her ideas about love. It would also include articles on fashion, hair tips, and makeup. Takahashi became a regular on the new TV drama ''Jikken Keiji Totori 2'', which began airing on October 12. In November, Takahashi was cast as Beth Spencer in the musical '' Merrily We Roll Along'', She also played Julia in ''
The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells th ...
''. From late October to November, Takahashi began filming for the movie ''Kara-age☆USA'', starring in the main role. The movie was filmed in Oita, Japan and in the United States. 2014
On March 17, Takahashi appeared in another commercial for the insect repellent Mushuda, titled "Live." In September, her film ''Kara-age☆USA'' was released in theaters. On September 13, Takahashi released her second style book ''I have AI''. 2015
Takahashi attended "Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2015 ~Haru no Koukai Jitsuryoku Shindan Test~" as a judge. In April, it was announced that she had joined a girl group with fellow Morning Musume graduates Yaguchi Mari and Tsuji Nozomi called "Datsumo Musume", under the management of Datsumo Labo, for the promotion of their hair removal services. On July 17, the women's lingerie and clothing retailer PEACH JOHN announced they would be collaborating with Takahashi for the collection "LOVE & PEACH". On September 11, it was announced that Takahashi would be collaborating with fashion brand Haco for the LOVE&PEACE Project 2015, a project that began in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to raise funds to support "a happy future for children around the world" by selling clothing from the project collection. On October 2, Takahashi modeled for a new boot collection by ASBee. 2016
In spring 2016, Takahashi starred in ''Hoshi Boshi no Yakusoku'', Japan's first live-action film made for a Fulldome Cinema, which was screened in her hometown's Fukui City Museum of Natural History Dome Theater.


Personal life

On December 20, 2013, it was announced that Takahashi and Koji Abe, her boyfriend, had engaged. They married on February 14, 2014. On June 2, 2014, they held a wedding ceremony in Hawaii attended by 30 friends and family. Takahashi and Abe held a reception on January 22, 2015, with Morning Musume members Kei Yasuda,
Rika Ishikawa , is a Japanese actress and model associated with Hello! Project and best known as a former member of the pop group Morning Musume. She was the leader of the Japanese pop idol trio V-u-den until June 2008. She has performed as a solo singer, a ...
, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Makoto Ogawa, Asami Konno, Miki Fujimoto, Mizuki Fukumura, Erina Ikuta, and Riho Sayashi, along with many others, in attendance. Riku Maeda, a Japanese
rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
and
dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
and a K-pop idol who is a member of the
K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...
boy group NCT and the Japanese subunit NCT Wish, is Takahashi's cousin.


Discography and releases


Studio albums


Singles


Photo and fashion books


DVDs


Acts


Film


Television dramas


Television shows


Radio


References


External links


Official Blog




(Oricon interview with Ai Takahashi, September 12, 2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Ai 7Air members 1986 births Elegies (group) members Happy 7 members Japanese female idols Japanese female models Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers Japanese child singers Japanese child actresses Living people Minimoni members Morning Musume members Actors from Fukui Prefecture Singers from Fukui Prefecture People from Sakai, Fukui