Ai Otsuka

[ai-chan]

Ai Otsuka (大塚愛) is a Japanese pop female singer-songwriter and pianist who was born on the 9th of September, 1982, in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. As a child she wanted to be a ballerina. She made her solo debut on September 10, 2003 with the single, Momo no Hanabira (桃ノ花ビラ). Her second single, Sakuranbo (さくらんぼ), released on the 17th of December 2003, was a major success, staying in the Top 200 Oricon Weekly Singles Chart for 85 weeks, and selling an estimated, 525,784 copies. Since the release of さくらんぼ, she has released in total: 19 singles, 4 successful studio albums (LOVE PUNCH, LOVE JAM, LOVE COOK and LOVE PiECE), 1 compilation album (Ai am Best), 5 live DVD’s (JAM PUNCH Tour 2005 ～コンドルのパンツがくいコンドル～, LOVE COOK Tour 2006 ～マスカラ毎日つけてマスカラ～, 大塚 愛 【LOVE IS BORN】 ～3rd Anniversary 2006, 愛 am BEST Tour 2007」～ベストなコメントにめっちゃ愛を込めんと!!! and 大塚 愛 【LOVE IS BORN】 ～4th Anniversary 2007), two singles under the bunny character, Love-Chan (Love no Theme and White Choco).

A piano player since the age of 4, Ai Otsuka started composition and songwriting at the age of 15. Her music ranges from upbeat catchy pop/rock music that can be heard in tracks like “Happy Days” and “Sakuranbo” to touching ballads like “Daisuki da yo” and “Amaenbo”. Several of her songs have also been used as theme songs, such as Planetarium in Hana Yori Dango, Cherish in Love for Nana, and Friends and Yumekui for the Tokyo Friends drama and movie respectively (which she starred in). Her latest single was “Kurage, Nagareboshi” which was released on September 10, 2008 including the B-side track: “H20”.

From: last.fm