Reina Tanaka

***Reina** redirects here, if you are looking for the 13th generation member of Morning Musume with the same name, head to Reina Yokoyama.*

**Reina Tanaka** is a Japanese pop-rock singer. She is one of the vocalists in the band LoVendoЯ. She is a former sixth generation member of the J-pop group Morning Musume. Her professional first name is spelled in hiragana to differ her from the Japanese actress Tanaka Rena whose name is the same in kanji.

On November 18, 2012, it was announced that Tanaka would graduate from both Morning Musume and Hello! Project at Morning Musume's 2013 Spring concert tour in order to focus on her newly formed band, LoVendoЯ. She officially graduated on May 21, 2013 at Nippon Budokan.

## History

### Early Life

Reina Tanaka was born on November 11, 1989 in Fukuoka, Japan.

Tanaka Reina auditioned for a spot in Morning Musume's 5th Generation in 2001 and passed, but had to leave the training camp when it was found out that she was underage. She attempted again in 2002 -- now old enough to audition -- for a position in the 6th Generation and passed along with other members Eri Kamei and Sayumi Michishige, along with Miki Fujimoto. Her audition song was Morning Musume's "Do it! Now." Once the 6th Generation joined, it made it the group's biggest formation up to that point, with 15 members in total.

### 2003-2004

In July, she provided the main vocals for the group's nineteenth single Shabondama, making her one of the few members of Morning Musume who was able to lead on her debut single.

Tanaka was chosen to become the leader of a new Hello! Project unit named Aa! alongside Hello! Project Kids members Suzuki Airi and Natsuyaki Miyabi. The group released their first and only single, FIRST KISS, in October. The group later disbanded, but occasionally reunited to perform live, though Tanaka was no longer a member of the band.

Tanaka was featured in two solo versions of Memory Seishun no Hikari on a fan club release CD. She released her first album with Morning Musume, Ai no Dai 6kan in December.

During her first year in the group, Morning Musume was split into two groups: Morning Musume Otome Gumi and Morning Musume Sakura Gumi. Tanaka was put in Otome Gumi and released two singles with the group before they went on hiatus.

### 2005-2007

Tanaka was also one of the few members to be selected for the 2005 summer shuffle groups, as a member of Elegies. They contributed the song "Inshouha no Renoir You ni" to the summer shuffle CD that year.

### 2008-2012

On March 28, it was announced that Tanaka would be voice acting as Kirara, a main character in Sanrio's anime Onegai My Melody Kirara, the fourth My Melody series. The show premiered on April 6.

In 2008, Tanaka became a member and a leader of Hello Project's new unit High-King, formed to promote their new musical, Cinderella the Musical. The group released one single (C\C (Cinderella\Complex)).

It was revealed that Tanaka would be voicing the main/title character of the new anime series, Kaito Reinya. The character, Reinya, had initially been modeled on Tanaka. The show began airing on January 9 and aired a total of 12 episodes.

Tanaka opened her first blog with the title, Tanaka Reina no Otsukareina.

In November, Tanaka, Michishige and Eri Kamei were involved in a racism scandal, photos of the three stretching their eyes trying to "look like a Korean person," were posted to Tanaka's blog. All three later apologized.

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

Tanaka and Sayumi Michishige hosted a premium Christmas dinner show. The date was December 23, and the show was hosted at the Prince Hotels.

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

It was announced Tanaka would be the center in a new band with new vocalists and a guitarists. The audition for the new vocalists and a guitarists began on June 17 and continued for 4 consecutive weekends.

On November 18, the winners of Tanaka's band member audition were revealed to be Uozumi Yuki, Miyazawa Marin, and Okada Marina. On the same day, it was announced that Tanaka Reina would be graduating from Morning Musume and Hello! Project. Tsunku and Tanaka made an announcement of her graduation in order to focus on her new band and to present new opportunities for Tanaka.

Tanaka would graduate from Morning Musume at the end of their 2013 spring concert tour, where she would conclude her activities in both Morning Musume and Hello! Project.

On November 30, it was announced that Tanaka would be joining the M-Line fan club in June 2013.

### Early 2013

On January 19, both Tanaka and Michishige Sayumi officially had 10 full years in Morning Musume.

On January 23, the day their single, Help me!!, was released, it was revealed her graduation date would be May 21, 2013, at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.

On February 3, the name of her new rock band was revealed to be LoVendoЯ.

In February, she revealed in a blog post that she had been diagnosed with Duodenal ulcer and Esophagitis. She would be taking medicines to cure herself rather than receiving surgery.

Due to her illness, she missed several events.

On March 23, she experienced painful ringing in her ears, and had to leave an event, and on March 24, she missed a concert, as a result, LoVendoЯ had to perform without her.

On May 21, Tanaka graduated officially from both Morning Musume and Hello! Project. She then appointed Mizuki Fukumura and Haruna Iikubo as the groups sub-leaders.

### After Morning Musume

On May 22, CD&DL Data magazine released a compilation book of Reina's "Tanakamesen" magazine series that contained all 73 volumes, from 2006 to 2013.

On June 29, Tanaka's joint radio show, Tanaka Time ended due to Time Machine 3go leaving J.P. Room. It was then announced that LoVendoЯ would have their own radio show, titled LoVendoЯ no Rabu On!, which began airing on July 6.

On July 27 and July 28, Tanaka, along with her fellow LoVendoЯ members, performed at the 2013 J-Pop Summit Festival in San Francisco, California. This marks the second time Reina had visited mainland United States for group activities.

On August 2, Reina announced that she would be on Nishikawa Takanori's (TM REVOLUTION) Niconama show on August 15 from 9 pm through 10 pm Japan Standard Time.

On September 20, it was announced that Tanaka would have a solo event to celebrate her birthday at the Tokyo FM Hall on November 11.

On March 4, it was announced that Tanaka would be the lead actress in the musical *Aku no Musume* from June 4 to 11. It is based on the 2008 song made using Vocaloid characters Kagamine Rin and Len, which later expanded into a series and was adapted into other forms of media, such as novels and other theater productions.

On March 30, Tanaka began a web show on SHOWROOM, titled *Moto Morning Musume Tanaka Reina no "Reina no Jiyuu Jikan♡"*, which would broadcast every Thursday at 21:00. Joujou Gundan were her first guests on the show.

From April 8 to April 17, Tanaka starred as the heroine Yuki Miaka in the first musical adaptation of the shoujo manga *Fushigi Yuugi*, titled *Fushigi Yuugi ~Shu no Shou~*.

On September 14, she and Michishige Sayumi were surprise guests at the Morning Musume Kessei 20 Shuunen Kinen Event ~21 Nenme mo Ganbatte Ikimasshoi!~. They performed "Ookii Hitomi" together and "Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai!" with Morning Musume '17.

On November 11, she celebrated her 28th birthday at a fanclub event titled Tanaka Reina Birthday Event OtsukaReina Kai 6 ~28sai♡Kyou Made Arigato. Kore Kara mo Yoroshiku ne!~, which had two shows at Shinjuku ReNY.

On November 21, Tanaka made a surprise appearance alongside Takahashi Ai and Michishige Sayumi during the Morning Musume Tanjou 20 Shuunen Kinen Concert Tour 2017 Aki ~We are MORNING MUSUME~ at Nippon Budokan. The three of them performed "Shabondama" and "Resonant Blue" with all of the current members.

On November 24, Tanaka appeared at a press conference for the game *Nobunaga no Yobou・Taishi* (titled *Nobunaga's Ambition: Taishi* outside of Japan). It was announced that she would perform as the character Oichi in the stage play adaptation *Nobunaga no Yabou・Taishi Haru no Jin Tengafubu ~ Kondei no Kubi Hen* from May 16 to 27, 2018.

From February 9 to 13, Tanaka starred as the character No.4 in the musical *YoRHa Ver1.2*, which was based on universe of the video game *NieR: Automata* and was written by the series' creator Yoko Taro.

On April 17, Tanaka held Zoku Reina 100%!!!!! with two shows at COTTON CLUB in Tokyo.

On June 25, it was announced that she and Takahashi Ai would be starring in a new commercial titled "Ai to Reina" for S.T. Corporation's fridge odor eliminator product Dasshuu Sumi.

On July 30, Tanaka and Michishige Sayumi held the Michishige Sayumi・Tanaka Reina 6ki 15 Shuunen Omedetou Event to celebrate the 15th anniversary since the 6th generation joined Morning Musume and debuted in "Shabondama".

On August 31, Tanaka opened an official website and accounts for Twitter and Facebook. On September 9, she held the Tanaka Reina Tandoku Kouen ~ Reina 100%! vol.3 ~Dancing Night~ with two shows at Shinjuku BLAZE.

Two years since starring in *Fushigi Yuugi ~Shu no Shou~*, Tanaka reprised her lead role as Yuki Miaka in the sequel musical *Fushigi Yuugi -Ao no Fumi-* from October 13 to October 21.

On October 27, the tabloid *Shukan Bunshun* reported that Tanaka was dating actor Hirano Ryo, after they were spotted dining and hugging at a yakiniku restaurant on October 18. The two co-starred in the 2016 *Fushigi Yuugi ~Shu no Shou~* musical and recently reprised their roles in the sequel *Fushigi Yuugi -Ao no Fumi-*. Their agencies denied the reports, stating that it was a private matter and they only get along as co-stars.

From November 8 to November 12, she portrayed Oichi for a second time in the stage play *Nobunaga no Yabou・Taishi -Fuyu no Jin-*.

On November 29, Tanaka celebrated her 29th birthday at a fanclub event titled Tanaka Reina Birthday Event OtsukaReina Kai 7! ~7 tte Nanka Yokunai?~, featuring two shows at TOKYO FM HALL.

Tanaka held the Tanaka Reina Tandoku Kouen ~ Reina 100%! vol.4 Acro Diva♡ on January 25 and 26 in Tokyo and on February 9 in Saitama.

From March 11 to March 25, Tanaka filled in for Suzuki Airi on *HELLO! DRIVE!*, co-hosting Monday broadcasts with Miyamoto Karin while Suzuki took a three-week break from the radio show due to other work.

From April 6 to April 14, she reprised her starring role as Princess Riliane in the rerun of the musical *Aku no Musume*, which had its first run in 2017.

On April 20, it was announced that Tanaka and Yumemiru Adolescence's Kobayashi Rei would appear as guests in episodes 7 and 8 of the 43rd *Super Sentai* series *Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger* as a pair of alien sisters named Cardena (Tanaka) and Fita (Kobayashi). The episodes aired on April 28 and May 5. Their duet insert song "Keperu Pasu Peru" was included as a track in the Mini Album Kishiryuu Sentai Ryuusoulger 1, which was released on May 29.

From May 18 to May 26, Tanaka portrayed Oichi for a third time in the stage play *Nobunaga no Yabou・Taishi Mugen ~Honnoji no Hen~*.

On June 17, Tanaka and Takahashi Ai teamed up for a second time for a new Dasshuu Sumi commercial, titled "Sumi Sugee".

On June 28, it was announced that LoVendoЯ would be suspending all activities at the end of July. After Okada Marina's graduation at the end of March, Tanaka Reina and Miyazawa Marin went through repeated discussions about the band's future activities and as result the band would be suspending all activities when Miyazawa Marin's exclusive management contract with UP-FRONT CREATE expires.

On July 8, she and Takahashi Ai were cast in a commercial for S.T. Corporation's Kometouban bug repellant, titled "Ai to Reina no Bouken".

From August 17 to August 27, Tanaka starred as Anne Shirley in the *Akage no Anne* (*Anne of Green Gables*) musical tour. She was the second Morning Musume OG member to portray Anne on stage after Takahashi Ai, who was Anne in 2013 and 2014.

On October 5 and 6, she held the Tanaka Reina Tandoku Kouen ~ Reina 100%! vol.5 Neopal Lady♡ at Shinjuku ReNY.

From November 14 to November 23, Tanaka portrayed Oichi for a fourth time in the *Nobunaga no Yabou・Taishi -Rei- Okehazama Zen'ya ~Kyoudai Soukoku Hen~* stage play.

On December 6, she celebrated her 30th birthday at a fanclub event titled Tanaka Reina Birthday Event OtsukaReina Kai 8 ~30 da.~, featuring two shows at Shinjuku ReNY.

On February 28 and 29, Tanaka was set to hold the Tanaka Reina Tandoku Kouen ~ Reina 100%! vol.6 at Shinjuku ReNY, but it was later cancelled in consideration of a new policy established by the government to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

On April 27, it was announced that Tanaka Reina Tandoku Kouen ~ Reina 100%! vol.6 at Shinjuku ReNY was postponed to July 31 and August 1 rather than cancelled. This was later cancelled as well.

On May 1, she created an Instagram account for her cats.

On June 26, it was announced that Tanaka would be the lead actress in the stage play *Ken ga Kimi -Zen Sakura no Mai-* from July 8 to 12. It is based on the 2013 video game *Ken ga Kimi*.

On September 7, she revealed that she was recently rushed to the hospital for severe stomach pain. The hospital ran tests, but could not find anything wrong.

On March 11, it was announced that Tanaka would return to play the lead role in a revival of the stage play *Ken ga Kimi -Zen Sakura no Mai- Saien* from June 2 to 6. However, on April 9, it was announced that Tanaka had stepped down from her role in the stage play due to difference of opinion with the stage production. Hamaura Ayano replaced her in the role.

On June 21, Tanaka along with Takahashi Ai and Natsuyaki Miyabi released the digital song "Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun" as the one-shot unit Taiyaki Tabeta no Nande? (たいやき たべたの なんで？; *Why Did You Eat It?*), abbreviated as TTN.

On August 12, it was announced that Tanaka was diagnosed with COVID-19. She suffered from a fever on July 29 and received a PCR test the following day. Although the production of "Anne of Green Gables" attempted to accommodate her during her quarantine and recovery, she was unable to schedule enough rehearsal time to prepare before the show opens on August 16 and would not be appearing as promoted. She rested at home under medical advice.

On April 27, Takahashi Ai, Tanaka Reina, and Natsuyaki Miyabi will be releasing the collaborating album Laugh and Peace, which features comedic songs, including previously released track "Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun".

On March 12, Tanaka appeared as a guest during Fujimoto Miki 20 Shuunen Kinen! Dai Kansha Live! ~Mikitty Idol Yarimasu! Haru no Dai Shuukai! ~Ashita kara 21 Shuunen~.

## Appearance

Reina is seen wearing a cyan top, cyan shorts and cyan shoes. She has blonde pigtails.

## Trivia

* Her official YouTube username is LoVendoЯGirl
* She shares the same name as thirteenth generation member Reina Yokoyama.
* She shares the same birthday as Rio Sakurai