Erina Ikuta

*"Chantel DuBois!"*
-Erina Ikuta
**Erina Ikuta** is a Japanese pop singer under Hello! Project and former fashion model. She is a ninth generation member since 2011 and leader since 2023 of Morning Musume and Hello! Project and a member of units Harvest and HI-FIN. She is also the adoptive mother of Chantel DuBois. Erina Ikuta is also a golfer and fashion designer. As of 2018, she has her own golfing television program, and is also the founder of the 2020 clothing brand ELEYVS GOLF.

## Appearance

Erina wears a lime green shirt, lime green jogging bottoms and lime green trainers. She has light brown hair and has a lime green headband on her.

## History

### Early Life

Erina was born in Fukuoka in Japan on July 7th, 1997. At a young age, Ikuta expressed her desire to become an idol. Prior to auditioning for Morning Musume she was a model under Elegant Promotion for a short period of time.

### 2011

On January 2, at the first Hello! Project 2011 Winter ~Kangei Shinsen Matsuri~ A gana Live concert, Tsunku announced that Erina Ikuta is one of the new members of Morning Musume's ninth generation. She joined alongside Mizuki Fukumura, Riho Sayashi, and Kanon Suzuki. The ninth generation made their concert debut the same day, participating in the song "Tomo" and "Aozora ga Itsumademo Tsuzuku You na Mirai de Are!"

Ikuta's debut single in Morning Musume is titled "Maji Desu ka Ska!"

On June 12th, Ikuta's first e-Hello DVD was announced, "Greeting Ikuta Erina," which was later released on July 2nd.

On August 25, it was announced that Ikuta replaced Ogawa Saki from S/mileage on the children's morning program, Oha Suta, as a member of the show's idol unit Oha Girl Maple.

Ikuta starred in a new stage play titled Reborn ~Inochi no Audition~ along with Risa Niigaki, Reina Tanaka, the other 9th Generation members, and Haruka Kudo.

### 2012

On January 13, the Morning Musume 9th generation and 10th generation members began a web talk show exclusive to fanclub members, titled *Maji DE Pyoko!*. They also began a radio show on April 7, titled *Morning Musume no Morning Jogakuin ~Houkago Meeting~*, on Radio Nippon.

On March 27, Ikuta, along with the other Oha Girl Maple members, graduated from Oha Suta.

On April 18, it was announced that Tanaka Reina and Morning Musume's 9th & 10th Generation members would star in a new stage play, titled Stacey's Shoujo Saisatsu Kageki. The musical ran from June 6 through June 12.

On April 21 and 22, Ikuta surprised fanclub members by attending Niigaki Risa's last fanclub tour as Morning Musume member, Morning Days Happy Holiday ~ Tokubetsuhen Risa Niigaki Fanclub Tour In Shizuoka. The tour from her perspective was released as a fanclub-exclusive DVD, titled Ikuta Erina ga 5 Gousha ni Niigaki Risa Fanclub Tour in Shizuoka.

On May 13, information was released about an event for the 9th and 10th generation members of Morning Musume as well as S/mileage’s 2nd generation members, titled Mosuma FC Event ~Gachi☆Kira~, was set to take place on June 15th, 18th, and 20th at Yokohama Blitz.

From June 15 to June 28, a series of fanclub events titled Mosuma FC Event ~Gachi☆Kira~ featuring the 9th and 10th generation members of Morning Musume and the 2nd generation members of S/mileage took place at Yokohama Blitz. Ikuta finished with the fourth most points and was awarded a solo performance on July 1 for placing in the top six.

On July 4, Ikuta announced on her Ustream show that she would change her official member color from Purple to Lime in the fall.

On October 10, it was announced that Ikuta would be a member of the new unit Harvest alongside Ayumi Ishida, Masaki Sato, and Takeuchi Akari.

### 2013

Ikuta was featured in a special gravure book titled “Graduation ~Chuugaku Sotsugyou~.” The book had various photos and interviews about going from middle school to high school, it was released on February 27.

On March 2, it was announced that Ikuta would be a member of new SATOUMI Movement unit Plumeria, alongside Nakajima Saki, Fukuda Kanon, Hagiwara Mai, and Ayumi Ishida.

On May 16, the Morning Musume 9th generation and 10th generation members' fanclub-exclusive web talk show *Maji DE Pyoko!* ended with a total of 70 episodes.

On May 22, it was announced that Ikuta would host another Niigaki-san wo Ouen Suru Kai, entitled "Niigaki-san wo Ouen Suru Kai Dai Nikai Kaigou ~Ikuta no Tanjoubi dakedo, Yappari Kyou mo Niigaki-san wo Ouen Suru Kai~". It took place on July 7, Ikuta's 16th birthday, with Haruna Iikubo and Sakura Oda as guests.

Ikuta had a birthday event titled Niigaki-san wo Ouen Suru Kai Dai Nikai Kaigou ~Ikuta no Tanjoubi dakedo, Yappari Kyou mo Niigaki-san wo Ouen Suru Kai~ with guest Haruna Iikubo and Sakura Oda

### 2014

On July 7, Ikuta celebrated her 17th birthday. The special event is called Morning Musume '14 ~Ikuta Erina Birthday Event 2014~, the event featured one performance in Tokyo.

On October 31, Ikuta released her second solo e-Hello! DVD, It's a lovely day.

On November 12, Ikuta participated in the 2014 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Pacific Ocean Masters Pro-Am Charity Golf Tournament as a celeberty guest alongside AKB48/SKE48 member and rival Yamauchi Suzuran.

On November 23, Ikuta was appointed sub-leader of Morning Musume by Sayumi Michishige. It was officially announced during Michishige's graduation concert on November 26. Ikuta will share the position with Haruna Iikubo, who was sub-leader since May 2013.

### 2015

On March 5, Ikuta announced that she would be a regular on the NHK Education channel show Karada wo Ugokasu TV. She made her first appearance in the show on March 25.

On July 7, Ikuta celebrated her 18th birthday. The special event was called Morning Musume '15 Ikuta Erina Birthday Event, the event featured one performance in Tokyo at Yamano Hall.

On October 20, Ikuta was a guest at Risa Niigaki's birthday event, Niigaki Risa Birthday Event 27. [12]

On October 26, Ikuta was invited to play at the Takano Yuri CUP 38th Hirao Masaaki Charity Golf with OG member Yoshizawa Hitomi.

On November 11, Ikuta participated in the 2015 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Pacific Ocean Masters Pro-Am Charity Golf Tournament as a celebrity guest for the second year in a row.

### 2016

On July 7, Ikuta celebrated her 19th birthday at a special event called Morning Musume '16 Ikuta Erina Birthday Event, featuring one performance at Yamano Hall.

On October 2, Ikuta announced she would release her first solo photobook, titled *Erina*, on October 22.

On November 9, Ikuta participated in the 2016 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Pacific Ocean Masters Pro-Am Charity Tournament as a celebrity guest for the third consecutive year.

In December, Ikuta was added as member of the Hello! Project Dance Club.

### 2017

On February 22, it was announced that Ikuta would guest star in the first episode of TV Tokyo's 14th "Friend-Ship Project" and semi-documentary drama *Konnichiwa, Joyuu no Sagara Itsuki Desu.* which would air on March 6. She appeared alongside Momoiro Clover Z's Sasaki Ayaka and NMB48's Fujie Reina.

On May 23, Ikuta participated in the 18th Jojoen Cup Celebrity Golf Champion Tournament.

On July 21, Ikuta celebrated her 20th birthday at a fanclub event titled Morning Musume '17 Ikuta Erina Birthday Event. The event had two performances at Yamano Hall.

On November 8, Ikuta made her fourth consecutive appearance at the 2017 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Pacific Ocean Masters Pro-Am Charity Tournament.

### 2018

On January 20, Ikuta released her second solo photobook, titled *if*.

On March 31, she began a golf challenge project with the magazine and website *GOLF LESSON COMIC* to beat her personal best score of 89 in three months with the help of professional Yachi Shuya, which was also documented as a YouTube series. In the final episode, she had improved her golf score to 87. A manga titled *Idol Lesson Comic ~ERIPON CHALLENGE ANOTHER~* starring Ikuta as the main character was later announced to begin serialization in the July 2018 issue of the magazine.

On May 29, Ikuta participated in the 19th Jojoen Cup Celebrity Golf Champion Tournament.

On July 10, Ikuta celebrated her 21st birthday at a fanclub event titled Morning Musume '18 Ikuta Erina Birthday Event, featuring two shows at Yamano Hall.

On August 13, it was revealed by talent Ota Akina that Ikuta recorded her own golf TV program for TOKYO MX1 titled *Ikuta Erina no VS Golf*. On September 11, Ikuta officially announced the show on her blog and that it would begin airing on September 16.

On November 7, she placed third in the 2018 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Pacific Ocean Masters Pro-Am Charity Tournament, where she played as a celebrity guest for the fifth consecutive year. She was also invited to play in the annual Hirao Masaaki Memorical Charity Golf on November 28.

### 2019

On March 22, Ikuta attended the Japan Golf Fair at Pacifico Yokohama as a PR supporter for Waccine Goods.

On April 26, she was featured as a model on BEAMS GOLF's website.

On May 21, she was a guest player in the 20th Jojoen Cup Celebrity Golf Champion Tournament, where she won the Best Dresser Award out of the female players.

On June 20, she announced her second eponymous TV show for TOKYO MX1, titled *Ikuta Erina no "Shibuya 29 STADIUM"*, in which she visits different restaurants in Shibuya's Niku Yokocho ("Meat Alley" in English). The show began airing on August 18.

On July 8, she celebrated her 22nd birthday at a fanclub event titled Morning Musume '19 Ikuta Erina Birthday Event with two shows at Yamano Hall.

On July 18, Ikuta was a guest player in the Samantha Thavasa Girls Collection Ladies Tournament 2019 celebrity pro-am golf game.

On September 27, she held her first golf event, titled Dai 1kai "Ikuta Erina no VS Golf" Shusai "Eripon Cup", at Ikaho Golf Club with 100 participants.

On November 13, she played as a celebrity guest in the 2019 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Pacific Ocean Masters Pro-Am Charity Tournament for the sixth consecutive year.

### 2020

On March 14, Ikuta announced that she had produced her own clothing brand, ELEYVS GOLF. The name of the brand is a pun on her given name, and the brand primarily contains clothes for golfers, as well as casual clothes for everyday wear. The brand's main concept is "GOLF × FASHION × SUBCULTURE = BUZZ", and its creation was inspired by her regular TV program, *Ikuta Erina no VS Golf* (生田衣梨奈のVSゴルフ).

On May 14, she opened up an official Instagram account.

On June 20, Ikuta's clothing brand ELEYVS GOLF was officially launched, and an official website was opened.

On June 22, Ikuta became the longest serving sub-leader in the history of Morning Musume, beating Iikubo Haruna's previous record of 5 years, 6 months, and 25 days.

On August 27, she celebrated her 23rd birthday at a fanclub event titled Morning Musume '20 Ikuta Erina Birthday Event with two shows at LANDMARK HALL. In compliance with government policy, cheering, crowding, standing, and closeness in the venue were prohibited, and wearing masks were required to enter.

### 2021

On January 22 to 29, she and Fukumura Mizuki held a joint fanclub event titled Morning Musume '21 Fukumura Mizuki・Ikuta Erina FC Event Shin Souseiki Fantasy DX ~10 Shunen wo Mukaete~, featuring four shows at Toysou PIT and Namba Hatch.

On July 23, she celebrated her 24th birthday at a fanclub event titled Morning Musume '21 Ikuta Erina Birthday Event with two shows at KT Zeep Yokohama. In compliance with government policy, cheering, crowding, standing, and closeness in the venue were prohibited, and wearing masks were required to enter.

### 2022

On July 11, she celebrated her 25th birthday at a fanclub event titled Morning Musume '22 Ikuta Erina Birthday Event with two shows at KT Zeep Yokohama.

### 2023

On July 12, she celebrated her 26th birthday at a fanclub event titled Morning Musume '23 Ikuta Erina Birthday Event with two shows at Hitotsubashi Hall.

On August 6 to 7, she and Mizuki Fukumura held a fanclub Bus Tour titled Morning Days Happy Holiday 9ki Member Fukumura Mizuki・Ikuta Erina Fanclub Bus Tour in Gunma.

On November 25, it was announced at the end of Morning Musume '23 Concert Tour Aki "Neverending Shine Show" that she would become the new leader of the group and of Hello! Project while Sakura Oda would become the new sub-leader as Ayumi Ishida would remain sub-leader after Mizuki Fukumura's graduation.

## Trivia

* Erina was the fourth member to die in Homer Kills Morning Musume/Gets Grounded.
* Her official YouTube Username is IkutaGirl

## Appearances

* The Chantel DuBois Gets Grounded series
* Chantel's Revenge full movie
* John Ferrara Gets Grounded
* Homer kills Morning Musume/Gets Grounded
* Wubbzy watches the Eurovision Song Contest
* The Character Elimination Series

## References

1. ↑ "モーニング娘。13枚目ニューアルバム9月発売、そしてメンバー・飯窪春菜から重大(!?)発表" (in Japanese). De☆View by Oricon. 2012-07-30.
2. ↑ "★ファンクラブ会員限定イベント★「新垣さんを応援する会 第二回会合～生田の誕生日だけど、やっぱり今日も新垣さんを応援する会～」開催決定！！" (in Japanese). M-line Official Fanclub Web site. 2013.
3. ↑ http://ameblo.jp/morningmusume-9ki/entry-11997874357.html