Ai Takahashi

(born September 14, 1986) is a Japanese pop singer. She sings upbeat songs in the group Morning Musume which is a part of the Hello! Project unity. She was the leader of the group.

## Biography

Her first appearance on TV was in 1999, on a children's talent show, where she won a prize.

She joined Morning Musume in 2001 with Asami Konno, Makoto Ogawa and Risa Niigaki. Her first single was "Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no BIG BAND~" which she sang with the group. In 2002 she launched her first photobook alone and joined the group Mini Moni. She also acted in a movie, _MiniMoni Ja Movie: Okashina Daibouken_. She was called "Takkity" by her fans because her dress in the movie was like a black cat.

In 2003 she replaced Mari Yaguchi in the group Mini Moni. In 2007 she became leader of the group Morning Musume after Miki Fujimoto left the team. In 2008 she joined a new group, High King, created to promote the musical: "Cinderella the Musical". Takahashi plays the main character in this musical.

In 2009 she was made the leader of the group Hello!Project. She is the only member of Morning Musume that plays a character in a dorama (Japanese drama).

### Singles

|#|Title|Release Date|Information|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|1||2006|Only released for digital purchase and download; later released as part of the _Petit Best 7_ compilation CD|

### Photobooks

|#|<small>Romaji Japanese English</small> !!width="38%"| Title !!width="14%"| Release date !! Publisher ISBN !!width="25%"| Description|||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|–|colspan="2"|* _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|August 13, 2002|Wani Books|Photobook starring all of the 5th generation members.|
|1|colspan=2|* _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|First solo photobook.|
|2|colspan=2|* _Alo Hello! Takahashi Ai_ * アロハロ!高橋愛|December 17, 2003|Kadokawa Shoten|Second solo photobook.|
|3|colspan=2|* _Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Wataame"_ * 高橋愛写真集 わたあめ * Ai Takahashi Photobook Cotton Candy|May 27, 2004|Wani Books|Third solo photobook.|
|4|colspan=2|* _Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Ai Gokoro"_ * 高橋愛写真集 愛ごころ|June 25, 2005|Wani Books|Fourth solo photobook.|
|5|colspan=2|* _Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "19"_ * 高橋愛写真集『19』 * Ai Takahashi Photobook "19"|January 27, 2006|Wani Books|Fifth solo photobook.|
|6|colspan=2|* _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|Compilation photobook.|
|7|colspan=2|* _Love Hello! Takahashi Ai Shashinshū in Phuket_ * 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|Seventh solo photobook. Photographed in Phuket, Thailand.|
|8|colspan=2|* _Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Mizu"_ * 高橋愛写真集『水』 * Ai Takahashi Photobook "Water"|October 26, 2007|Wani Books|Eighth solo photobook. Photographed in Bali.|
|9|colspan=2|* _Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Mō Hitotsu no Ai"_ * 高橋愛写真集『もうひとつの愛』|May 25, 2008|Wani Books|Ninth solo photobook.|
|10|colspan=2|* _Takahashi Ai Shashinshū "Watashi"_ * 高橋愛写真集『私』 * Ai Takahashi Photobook "I"|_May 25, 2009_|Wani Books|Tenth solo photobook.|

### DVDs

|#|Title|Release date|
| --- | --- | --- |
|1||December 17, 2003|
|2||April 11, 2007|

### Television dramas

|Title|Start date|End date|
| --- | --- | --- |
|_Angel Hearts_|2002||
|_Mini Moni's Brementown Musicians_|January 10, 2005|January 31, 2005|
|_Hitmaker Aku Yuu Monogatari_|August 1, 2008||
||January 8, 2009|_March 12, 2009_|

### Television shows

|Show|Start date|End date|Network|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
||2001|April 1, 2007|TV Tokyo|
|_Matthew's Best Hit TV_|May 29, 2002|TV Asahi||
||July 5, 2002|March 26, 2004|Nihon TV|
||September 29, 2003|December 26, 2003|TV Tokyo|
||April 21, 2004|April 23, 2004|TV Tokyo|
|July 23, 2004|July 29, 2004|||
||December 1, 2004|December 6, 2004|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|_Ongoing_|TV Tokyo|

### Radio

|Program|Start date|End date|Network|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
||April 12, 2003|Ongoing|MBS Radio|
||March 3, 2005|CBC Radio||
||May 16, 2005|May 27, 2005|TBC|

## Other websites

- Morning Musume: Official Hello! Project profile
- Hello Project – Official webpage.
- Hello Online - English community of Hello!Project.

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **name**: Ai Takahashi
高橋愛
- **image**: Morning Musume 20100703 Japan Expo 29.jpg
- **caption**: Ai Takahashi at the Japan Expo, July 3, 2010
- **background**: solo_singer
- **origin**: Sakai, Fukui, Sakai, Fukui Prefecture, Fukui, Japan
- **genre**: Japanese pop
- **occupation**: Singer, Actress, Dancer
- **years active**: 2001 - Present
- **label**: Zetima
- **associated acts**: Morning Musume, Mini Moni, Sakuragumi, Happy 7, 7Air, H.P. All Stars, Elegies (J-pop), Elegies, High-King
- **website**: [http://www.helloproject.com Hello! Project.com]