Minami Takahashi

Minami Takahashi
is a Japanese idol, singer, tarento and a former member of the Japanese girl idol group AKB48. She is in Team A of AKB48. She became the first of AKB48 and its sister groups. In an interview with Nippon Television in June 2010, AKB48 producer Yasushi Akimoto says she is the "eldest daughter of the 48 sisters". She is also regarded as "soul of AKB", and her motto "Making efforts will be paid" has inspired many members of AKB48. She is commonly part of the main lineup of AKB48 singles. She was a member of the AKB48 sub-group no3b, alongside fellow AKB48 graduates Minami Minegishi and Haruna Kojima. She has a business alliance with Mama&Son Inc.
Career
Takahashi was born in Hachiōji, Tokyo. In August 2005, she became one of the 30th HoriPro Talent Contest's 15 final candidates, but she did not win the competition's Grand-Prix prize. In October 2005, she participated in the first AKB48 audition and beat 7,924 other applicants to be chosen as one of the 24 founding members of the group. According to Tomonobu Togasaki, the manager of the AKB48 Theater, she had two unofficial advantages going for her, in that both her birthday (8 April; 1991-04-08) and her height (148 cm) contain the number "48". She debuted with Team A on 8 December 2005.
In 2008, no3b members, including Takahashi, appeared in the TV Tokyo drama Men Dol. She starred as Nami/Kai in this television series.
On 23 August 2009, Takahashi was officially announced as the captain of AKB48's Team A.
Three years later, on 24 August 2012, with Mariko Shinoda replacing her as the captain of Team A, Minami Takahashi was promoted to be the General Director of the entire AKB48 enterprise, including all sister groups.
Takahashi appears regularly in the AKB48 singles as one of the group's key singers. In addition, Minami frequently represents AKB48 on TV programs such as Music Station, and in other of the group's publicity events. She was also scheduled to take part in the AKB48's 3-day live concert event titled , which was to have been held on 25–27 March 2011 at the Yokohama Arena but was cancelled due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
On 25 August 2012, the second day of AKB48 Tokyo Dome Concert, it was announced by Max Hole that Takahashi would make her solo debut with the company, through its Nayutawave Records label. The single, titled "Jane Doe", was released on 3 April 2013. It is the opening theme song for the Fuji Television TV drama Saki, which stars Yukie Nakama.
On 8 December 2014, the 9th Anniversary of AKB48 Theater, it was confirmed by Takahashi herself that she would officially leave AKB48 exactly one year later, or 8 December 2015, the 10th Anniversary of the AKB48 Theater. Yui Yokoyama will then succeed her job as the General Director of AKB48.
On 25 October 2015, during the handshake and autograph event at Pacific Yokohama had announced the details of AKB48's 42nd Single and Request Hour 2016. The 42nd Single will be released on 9 December 2015. She will be the Center which will be her final appearance on an AKB48 single.
On 26 to 27 March 2016, her graduation concert titled "Congratulation Takahashi Minami Graduation "148.5 cm Have Seen a Dream" in Yokohama Stadium" was held at Yokohama Stadium, with her last theater performance on 8 April 2016.
On 8 April 2017, Takahshi held her own birthday party titled "Minami Takahashi 26th Birthday Live 2017❤︎199104080127❤︎26❤︎" with the members of no3b reunited.
Since her graduation, Takahashi has been hosting her own radio show "Takahashi Minami no [Korekara Nanisuru?]" (Takahashi Minami's "What are you going to do now?") on Tokyo FM airing every Monday-Thursday at 1:00 p.m. to 2:55 pm, as well as having a solo singer career.
Personal life
On 1 May 2019, Takahashi announced her marriage to a non-celebrity man 15 years her senior.
She was officially announced as Team A captain during the 2009 Team Shuffle. She had taken on a leader role long before this. She could often be seen giving speeches and leading the group huddles at concerts and stage performances.
This, among other things, has led to many fans to refer to her as the captain of AKB48 (until she was promoted to be official General Director of AKB48 in AKB48 in TOKYO DOME ~1830m no Yume~).
Her later nickname Sou-chan derived from Soukantoku, the Japanese word for General Director.
Her trademark hairstyle was long hair in a half-ponytail with a ribbon. She collected ribbons since the upper grades of elementary school.
Coincidentally, In May 2012, her hair caught on fire as a result of a stage pyrotechnic accident. Many inches were burned off, and she wore her hair in a bob without a ribbon for the remainder of her time in AKB48.
According to persons concerned with the investigation, the incident happened on May 4 around 2:30 pm. Before going in to work, Takahashi went shopping at a clothing store in Sarugakucho, Shibuya. She had been carrying a paper bag from a different store in her right hand. The shop was decorated with aroma candles, and one of the candles lit Takahashi's paper bag on fire. The fire was immediately put out by the store clerks, and no one was hurt.
At the time of the incident, Takahashi said that she smelled something burning. She then realized that her bag was on fire. After the fire alarm went off, a store clerk called 119 (Emergency Telephone Number in Japan).
On May 4, Takahashi updated her blog reporting that she had cut her hair and uploaded a photo of herself. Then on the 9th, fans started to speculate that her haircut was the result of the fire accident.
That same night, AKB48 held their performance, 'Tadaima Renaichu', at Tokyo Dome City Hall. Halfway through the show, Takahashi announced, "There was a happening while I was shopping in my private time," and explained the incident, "The left half of my hair burned." She then revealed that she had to cut her hair because she had work in about 4 hours, and concluded by bowing her head, "I'm sorry."
The accident took place at a popular women's clothing store. During an interview with Sankei Sports, a female worker of the store commented, "On that day, Takahashi-san came to the store by herself. There are no supervisors at the moment, so I don't know. For safety reasons, we have removed the aroma candles after the commotion."
In September 2012, she switched her bob hair to a long hair with many inches on a wig on it.
AKB48 general elections
Ranked 5th in the 2009 general election
Ranked 6th in the 2010 general election
Ranked 7th in the 2011 general election
Ranked 6th in the 2012 general election
Ranked 8th in the 2013 general election
Ranked 9th in the 2014 general election
Ranked 4th in the 2015 general election
Discography
Solo singles
Solo albums
Singles with AKB48
Albums with AKB48
Set List: Greatest Songs 2006–2007
Kamikyokutachi
Set List: Greatest Songs Kanzenban
Koko ni Ita Koto
1830m
Tsugi no Ashiato
Koko ga Rhodes da, Koko de Tobe!
0 to 1 no Aida
no3b
Stage units
Team A 1st Stage: Party ga Hajimaru yo
4. Skirt, Hirari
8. Hoshi no Ondo
Team A 2nd Stage: Aitakatta
1. Nageki no Figure
5. Glass no I Love You
7. Senaka Kara Dakishimete
8. Rio no Kakumei
Team A 3rd Stage: Dareka no Tame ni
4. Bird
8. Seifuku ga Jama o Suru
Team A 4th Stage: Tadaima Renaichuu
6. Junai no Crescendo
Team A 5th Stage: Renai Kinshi Jōrei
7. Renai Kinshi Jourei (Takahashi Team A 1 version)
8. Tsundere! (Takahashi Team A 2 version)
Team A 6th Stage: Mokugekisha
7. Itoshisa no Accel
Team A Waiting Stage
9. Ame no Pianist (original unit)
4. Kioku no Dilemma (new unit)
Himawari-gumi 1st Stage: Boku no Taiyō
7. Higurashi no Koi
Himawari-gumi 2nd Stage: Yume o Shinaseru Wake ni Ikanai
5. Bye Bye Bye
Team Surprise 1st Stage:
6. 1994-nen no Raimei
8. Oteage Lullaby
14. Dessan
Team Surprise 2nd Stage:
3. Yume wo miru nara
7. Hell or Heaven
Filmography
Movies
Dramas
Video games
Animation
Musicals
Solo Concerts
Solo Events
Radio
Television programs
Other media
Essays
(22 December 2015, Kobunsha)
Photobooks
B.L.T. U-17 summer (7 August 2008, Tokyo News Tsushinsha)
(22 September 2010, Kodansha)
(24 February 2016, Kobunsha)
Calendar
(1 November 2016, PHP)
References
External links
at Ogipro
Minami Takahashi profile at Universal Music / EMI Records
1991 births
Living people
Actresses from Tokyo
Japanese female idols
Japanese film actresses
Japanese television actresses
Japanese women pop singers
AKB48 members
Musicians from Hachiōji, Tokyo
Universal Music Japan artists
21st-century Japanese actresses
21st-century Japanese women singers
21st-century Japanese singers