Ai Takahashi
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese pop singer formerly associated with Hello! Project
Hello! Project
is the umbrella name for all female idol Japanese pop recording artists collective that are under contract with the Up-Front Group. The "mothership" group of Hello! Project is the super-group Morning Musume. Hello! Project's current leader is Risa Niigaki, the leader of Morning Musume...

, and best known as leader of Morning Musume
Morning Musume
, sometimes referred to as is a Japanese idol girl group, whose act generally revolves around singing and dancing to upbeat melodies. They are the lead group of Hello! Project, which is managed and produced by Tsunku, who composes nearly all the lyrics and melodies of their songs...

 and Hello!Project until 2011, and former member of its popular subgroup, Mini Moni
Mini Moni
is a former subgroup of Japanese pop girl group Morning Musume, and a current group within Hello! Project. They were one of Morning Musume's most popular subgroups for their entire existence, because of the combination of their outrageous music videos and live performances, and their widely varied...

.

Biography

Ai Takahashi joined Morning Musume in 2001 as part of the group's fifth generation, along with Makoto Ogawa
Makoto Ogawa
is a Japanese pop singer and actress best known as a former member of Morning Musume. She joined the group in August 2001 along with fellow fifth generation members Ai Takahashi, Risa Niigaki, and Asami Konno.Ogawa is currently a member of Dream Morning Musume....

, Asami Konno
Asami Konno
, born May 7, 1987, is a Japanese pop singer, best known as former fifth generation member of the all-girl Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined the group in the August 2001, along with fellow fifth generation members Ai Takahashi, Makoto Ogawa, and Risa Niigaki.- Biography :Konno joined...

, and Risa Niigaki
Risa Niigaki
is a fifth generation member and current leader of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined Morning Musume in 2001 along with Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno and Makoto Ogawa. She grew up in Yokohama after moving there at age six. As of 2009, she was the longest-serving sub-leader of Morning...

.

Her audition involved a training camp of three days and two nights, in which participants were expected to learn a new song, a dance routine and a script. Out of 25,000 applicants, nine were selected for the camp in which Takahashi passed.

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!. Her first appearance within a Hello! Project shuffle unit release was on the 2002 single "Shiawase Beam! Suki Suki Beam!" under the group name Happy 7
Happy 7
Happy 7 may refer to:* Happy Seven, anime series* Happy 7, Hello! Project shuffle units...

.

In 2003, Takahashi replaced Mari Yaguchi
Mari Yaguchi
, known professionally by her birth name of is a Japanese pop artist and former member of Hello! Project. She is a former member of Morning Musume and Tanpopo, one of its first sub groups, and also founded Minimoni...

 in the Morning Musume spinoff group Mini Moni
Mini Moni
is a former subgroup of Japanese pop girl group Morning Musume, and a current group within Hello! Project. They were one of Morning Musume's most popular subgroups for their entire existence, because of the combination of their outrageous music videos and live performances, and their widely varied...

, first appearing in the group's movie Mini Moni ja Movie: Okashi na Daibōken! and its accompanying soundtrack. Her best-known nickname amongst non-Japanese fans, "Takitty", was derived from the cat suit (complete with tail) which she wears in the movie.

Later in 2003, she was part of the Morning Musume splinter group Morning Musume Sakuragumi
Morning Musume Sakuragumi
, meaning "Sakura Group", was one of the subgroups derived from the Japanese pop group Morning Musume in 2003. Its equivalent was Morning Musume Otomegumi. Like its counterpart, the sole purpose of Sakuragumi was to accommodate towns with smaller concert venues. The group was meant to embody the...

, which performed mainly slower numbers on the group's two EPs
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

, "Hare Ame Nochi Suki
Hare Ame Nochi Suki
- Single V DVD:-Members at time of single:*1st generation: Natsumi Abe*2nd generation: Mari Yaguchi*4th generation: Hitomi Yoshizawa, Ai Kago*5th generation: Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno, Risa Niigaki*6th generation: Eri Kamei-External links:...

" and "Sakura Mankai
Sakura Mankai
is the second single of the J-pop idol group Morning Musume sub-group Morning Musume Sakuragumi. In addition to the title song and its karaoke version, the also single contains Morning Musume Sakuragumi versions of the earlier Morning Musume songs "Say Yeah!: Motto Miracle Night" and "Daite Hold on...

", 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" onward. She also had a duet with Tsunku
Tsunku
, better known professionally as , is a prolific Japanese record producer, songwriter, and vocalist.He is best known for having two major roles in the Japanese music landscape: first as the lead singer of the popular rock group Sharam Q, and now as the producer, primary composer, lyricist and main...

 on the cover version of Tsunku and Ayumi Hamasaki
Ayumi Hamasaki
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, record producer, model, lyricist, and actress. Also called "Ayu" by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" because of her popularity and widespread influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to...

's duet "Love: Since 1999" on his solo album Take1.

In 2005, Morning Musume's first single release of the year, "The Manpower!!!
The Manpower!!!
is the twenty-fifth single of Japanese pop idol group Morning Musume. It also served as the last single of the last founding member of the group Kaori Iida....

", featured Takahashi in a prominent co-lead-vocal role, a role she has retained on subsequent singles since. In the summer of that year, she became part of the 2005 shuffle Group Elegies.

In 2006, Takahashi played the lead role, Sapphire, in the musical "Ribbon no Kishi
Princess Knight
is a Japanese manga that ran through four serializations from 1954 to 1968, as well as a 1967 Japanese children's animated series. It was dubbed into English and brought over to Western audiences in 1970, where it was called Choppy and the Princess. In 1973, this series was dubbed in Portuguese and...

 The Musical" which was a collaboration work of Takarazuka Revue
Takarazuka Revue
The Takarazuka Revue is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals, and sometimes stories adapted from shōjo manga and Japanese folktales. The troupe takes its name...

 (a famous Japanese all-female musical group) and Hello! Project. The musical was based on Tezuka Osamu's manga and also starred v-u-den
V-u-den
is a Japanese pop group within Hello! Project. The group was formed in August 2004 and consists of members Rika Ishikawa , Erika Miyoshi, and Yui Okada, with Ishikawa being the leader. The name means: , , and...

, Nozomi Tsuji
Nozomi Tsuji
, known professionally by her birth name of is a Japanese tarento and a former member of the pop idol group Morning Musume, its subgroup Mini Moni, and the duo W. She has participated in the shuffle groups 10-nin Matsuri, Odoru 11, and 11Water, H.P...

, Aya Matsuura
Aya Matsuura
is a Japanese pop singer from Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.-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 a part of what was later known as Hello! Project. It is a common...

, and Natsumi Abe
Natsumi Abe
is a Japanese singer and actress, a former member of Morning Musume, and currently a member of Dream Morning Musume.-Career:On August 13, 2003, she released her first single, "22 Sai no Watashi," which means "Me, 22 years old," just a few days after her 22nd birthday...

, as well as Marcia and Kaoru Ebira of the Takarazuka Revue
Takarazuka Revue
The Takarazuka Revue is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals, and sometimes stories adapted from shōjo manga and Japanese folktales. The troupe takes its name...

. Soon thereafter, Takahashi released her first and only solo single to date, "Yume Kara Samete".

Following then-leader Hitomi Yoshizawa
Hitomi Yoshizawa
is a former leader of the pop group Morning Musume and current member of the duo Hangry & Angry as Hangry. She is the current leader of the Hello! Project futsal team Gatas Brilhantes H.P...

's graduation from Morning Musume on May 6, 2007, the current sub-leader, Miki Fujimoto
Miki Fujimoto
, professionally known by her birth name , is a Japanese pop singer and television actress. After failing the audition to join girl group Morning Musume with the fourth generation members, Fujimoto debuted as solo artist within Hello! Project in 2002 with the single "Aenai Nagai Nichiyōbi"...

 ascended to the leader position, with Takahashi becoming the new sub-leader of the group. However, on June 1, 2007, after Fujimoto's resignation, Takahashi took over as the new leader.

Takahashi is also captain of the Hello! Project
Hello! Project
is the umbrella name for all female idol Japanese pop recording artists collective that are under contract with the Up-Front Group. The "mothership" group of Hello! Project is the super-group Morning Musume. Hello! Project's current leader is Risa Niigaki, the leader of Morning Musume...

 kickball
Kickball
Kickball is a playground game and competitive league game, similar to baseball, invented in the United States in the first half of the 20th Century. Kickball may also be known as kick baseball, base soccer, soccer-base, or soccer-baseball...

 team, Metro Rabbits H.P..

In 2008 Takahashi became a member of Hello Project's new unit High-King
High-King
is a Japanese idol group within Hello! Project. The group was created to promote Morning Musume's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, titled . Their sound is said to have an R&B feel....

, a group created to promote Morning Musume's upcoming Cinderella the Musical, in which Takahashi will play the main character.

Takahashi is a fan of Broadway and musicals such as Phantom of the Opera and Chicago
Chicago (musical)
Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...

. She harbors an ambition to one day perform in a New York production. She is also a fan of Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...

.

It was announced in July 2008, that Takahashi and fellow Morning Musume member Risa Niigaki would play the 80s J-Pop duo Pink Lady
Pink Lady (band)
is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...

 in the TV Drama Hitmaker Aku Yuu Monogatari.

As of January 2009, she and Risa Niigaki have the longest tenures of any member. She is also one of only seven members to remain in the group for seven years or more (the others being Kaori Iida
Kaori Iida
is a Japanese pop singer and actress, associated with Hello! Project and best known as a founding member of the girl band Morning Musume. She has also recorded with the Morning Musume side project band Tanpopo and is currently a solo artist...

, Yoshizawa, Niigaki, Eri Kamei
Eri Kamei
was a 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 December 15, 2010 in Yokohama Arena along with Junjun and Linlin....

, Sayumi Michishige
Sayumi Michishige
is a sixth generation member of the J-pop group Morning Musume and has the third longest tenure of any member in the group ....

 and Reina Tanaka
Reina Tanaka
is one of the sixth generation members of the J-pop group Morning Musume. Her professional first name is spelled in hiragana to distinguish her from the Japanese actress Rena Tanaka, whose name is spelled using the same kanji , who is similarly from Fukuoka Prefecture.- Biography :Tanaka auditioned...

) 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
Yokohama Arena
is an indoor sporting arena located in Yokohama, 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 closest subway station, Shin-Yokohama Station on the JR/Yokohama...

, Yuko Nakazawa passed on her leadership position in Hello! Project to Takahashi.

Around December 2009, Takahashi was one of many people to advertise for the release of Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy XIII
is a console role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Released in 2009 in Japan and 2010 in North America and PAL regions, it is the thirteenth major installment in the Final Fantasy series...

 in Japan.

2010–present

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
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 currently a member of Dream Morning Musume.- Biography :...

 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 14th.

On September 30th, 2011, on the last day of Morning Musume's 'Ai Believe' tour, Takahashi graduated from Morning Musume and Hello! Project at the Nippon Budokan, passing her current role of leader to Risa Niigaki
Risa Niigaki
is a fifth generation member and current leader of the Japanese pop group Morning Musume. She joined Morning Musume in 2001 along with Ai Takahashi, Asami Konno and Makoto Ogawa. She grew up in Yokohama after moving there at age six. As of 2009, she was the longest-serving sub-leader of Morning...

.
Her first role after graduation will be the lead role of Sarah in the musical Dance of the Vampires
Dance of the Vampires
Dance of the Vampires is a musical remake of a 1967 Roman Polanski film of the same name . Polanski also directed the original German production of this musical...

 at the Imperial Garden Theater
Imperial Garden Theater
The is a Japanese theater located in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan operated by Toho. Opened in 1911 as the first Western-style theater in Japan, it stages a varied program of musicals and operas.-External links:...

.

Discography and releases

Singles

# Title Release Date Information
1
} ||align="center"| 2006 || Only released for digital purchase and download;
later released as part of the Petit Best 7 compilation CD
|-
|}

Photobooks

# Romaji
Japanese
English
Title Release date Publisher
ISBN 
Description
  • 5: Morning Musume 5 Ki Member Shashinshū
  • 5 モーニング娘。5期メンバー写真集
  • 5: Morning Musume 5th Generation Members Photobook
    Photobook
    A photo-book or photobook is a book in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content. The most critically acclaimed photo-books celebrate the creative work of an individual photographer, but can also result from the collaboration between a photographer and a writer, an...

August 13, 2002 Wani Books
ISBN 4-8470-2721-3
Photobook starring all of the 5th generation members.
1
  • Takahashi Ai: Solo Shashinshū "Takahashi Ai Shashinshū"
  • 高橋愛 ソロ写真集「高橋愛写真集」
  • Ai Takahashi: Solo Photobook "Ai Takahashi Photobook"
  • December 9, 2002 Wani Books
    ISBN 4-8470-2741-8
    First solo photobook.
    2
  • Alo Hello! Takahashi Ai
  • アロハロ!高橋愛
  • December 17, 2003 Kadokawa Shoten
    Kadokawa Shoten
    is a well-known Japanese publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. Kadokawa has published both manga novels and magazines, such as Newtype magazine...


    ISBN 4-04-894253-0
    Second solo photobook.
    3
  • Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Wataame"
  • 高橋愛写真集 わたあめ
  • Ai Takahashi Photobook "Cotton Candy"
  • May 27, 2004 Wani Books
    ISBN 4-8470-2806-6
    Third solo photobook.
    4
  • Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Ai Gokoro"
  • 高橋愛写真集 愛ごころ
  • June 25, 2005 Wani Books
    ISBN 4-8470-2870-8
    Fourth solo photobook.
    5
  • Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "19"
  • 高橋愛写真集『19』
  • Ai Takahashi Photobook "19"
  • January 27, 2006 Wani Books
    ISBN 4-8470-2913-5
    Fifth solo photobook.
    6
  • Takahashi Ai Shashinshū Zenshu "ai"
  • 高橋愛写真集全集『ai』
  • Ai Takahashi Photobook Complete Works "Ai"
  • October 27, 2006 Wani Books
    ISBN 4-8470-2961-5
    Compilation photobook.
    7
  • Love Hello! Takahashi Ai Shashinshū in Phuket
    Phuket City
    Phuket is a city located in the southeast of Phuket Island, Thailand. It is the capital of the Phuket Province, covering all of the island. As of 2007 the city has a population of 75,573 people...

  • ラブハロ!高橋愛写真集inプーケット
  • Love Hello! Ai Takahashi Photobook in Phuket
  • March 14, 2007 Kadokawa Publishing Group
    ISBN 4-0489-4485-1
    Seventh solo photobook. Photographed in Phuket, Thailand.
    8
  • Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Mizu"
  • 高橋愛写真集『水』
  • Ai Takahashi Photobook "Water"
  • October 26, 2007 Wani Books
    ISBN 978-4-8470-4049-8
    Eighth solo photobook. Photographed in Bali
    Bali
    Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...

    .
    9
  • Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Mō Hitotsu no Ai"
  • 高橋愛写真集『もうひとつの愛』
  • Ai Takahashi Photobook "Another Ai"
  • May 25, 2008 Wani Books
    ISBN 978-4847040887
    Ninth solo photobook.
    10
  • Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Watashi"
  • 高橋愛写真集『私』
  • Ai Takahashi Photobook "I"
  • May 25, 2009 Wani Books
    ISBN 978-4-8470-4170-9
    Tenth solo photobook.
    11
  • Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Katachi"
  • 高橋愛写真集『形(かたち)』
  • Ai Takahashi Photobook "Figure"
  • May 27, 2010 Wani Books
    ISBN 978-4-8470-4283-6
    Eleventh solo photobook.

    DVDs

    # Title Release date
    1
    } || December 17, 2003
    |-
    | 2 || || April 11, 2007
    |-
    | 3 || || June 17, 2009
    |-
    | 4 || || June 2, 2010
    |}

    Television dramas

    Title | Start date | End date
    Angel Hearts 2002
    January 10, 2005 January 31, 2005
    August 1, 2008
    January 8, 2009 March 12, 2009
    February 14, 2011

    Television shows

    Show | Start date | End date | Network
    } || 2001 || April 1, 2007 || TV Tokyo
    TV Tokyo
    is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...


    |-
    | Matthew's Best Hit TV
    Matthew's Best Hit TV
    is a show on TV Asahi hosted by Matthew Minami. It was featured in the 2003 film Lost in Translation.-Titles:*April, 2001 - March, 2002: BEST HIT TV*April, 2002 - March, 2005: Matthew's Best Hit TV*April, 2005 - March, 2006: Matthew's Best Hit TV+...

    ||colspan=2| May 29, 2002 || TV Asahi
    TV Asahi
    , also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....


    |-
    | || July 5, 2002 || March 26, 2004 || Nihon TV
    |-
    | || September 29, 2003 || December 26, 2003 || TV Tokyo
    |-
    |rowspan=2| || April 21, 2004 || April 23, 2004 ||rowspan=2| TV Tokyo
    |-
    | July 23, 2004 || July 29, 2004
    |-
    |rowspan=2| || December 1, 2004 || December 6, 2004 ||rowspan=2| TV Tokyo
    |-
    | December 16, 2004 || December 17, 2004
    |-
    | || April 4, 2005 || June 8, 2005 || TV Tokyo
    |-
    | || April 8, 2007 || September 28, 2008 || TV Tokyo
    |-
    | || October 6, 2008 || March 27, 2009 || TV Tokyo
    |}

    Radio

    Program | Start date | End date | Network
    } || April 12, 2003 || Ongoing || MBS Radio
    |-
    | ||colspan=2| March 3, 2005 || CBC Radio
    Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting
    is a regional radio and television service serving Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Its radio service is affiliated with the Japan Radio Network and its television service affiliated with the Japan News Network and the TBS Network.-Radio:Frequency...


    |-
    | || May 16, 2005 || May 27, 2005 || TBC
    Tohoku Broadcasting Company
    Tohoku Broadcasting Company is a Japanese TV and radio network affiliated with the Japan News Network...


    |}

    External links

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