Ai OTSUKA
Japan Expo is honored to welcome the J-pop singer Ai OTSUKA as J-music Guest of Honor: as she is celebrating the 15th Anniversary of her career, and 15 years of success, she will take her first steps on a European stage at the festival!
Biography
The singer-songwriter Ai OTSUKA started her first compositions at 15 and the same year sent her first demo tapes to several big Japanese labels.
She made her debut as a professional artist in September 2003 with the single Momo no Hanabira. A few months later, she released her second single, Sakuranbo, an instant hit that sold up to 700.000 copies, and soon her first album, Love Punch. Within a few months, Sakuranbo had been downloaded over a million times on phone ringing stores. In November 2004, her second album, LOVE JAM, came out with every single selling over 800.000 copies.
JAM PUNCH Tour 2005 was her first big tour: 16 dates in 12 different venues. The same year, she got a role in the drama Tokyo Friends. When it was adapted as a film in 2006, she got the role of Rei Iwatsuki again in Tokyo Friends The Movie. In the meantime, she had released her third album, LOVE COOK, with over a million copies sold.
Vidéo
Her first best of album, Ai am BEST, came out in 2007. It was nominated at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 07 and got two awards: Best Pop Video and Best Video from a Film. Her new tour, the LOVE PiECE Tour 2008, had 31 dates in 24 venues. In October the same year, she held her first concert abroad, in Taiwan.
In 2010, she published her first illustrated book, before retiring for a while for the birth of her first child. She released another illustrated book two years later.
She came back on stage in September 2012 for the【LOVE IS BORN】〜9th Anniversary 2012〜 concert. She then created a group based on her mascot, Rabbit, with which she sings. In 2013 her first single since she had taken a break, Re:NAME, came out. On December 25, she held her first solo piano concert, AIO PIANO vol.1.
Her eighth album, LOVE HONEY, was released in 2017 as she kept on giving solo piano concerts with tours in Japan and Asia. She also recorded a studio album, aio piano.
Last September, Ai OTSUKA celebrated her 15 years of career with the LOVE IS BORN 15th Anniversary Live 2018 concert in Hibiya. Early this year, her second best of album, Ai am Best, too, came out and she started a new tour in April.
Now, she has chosen Japan Expo for her first show in Europe, before going on another tour of solo piano concerts in Asia, named AIO PIANO at ASIA Vol.2.
Ai OTSUKA is Japan Expo’s J-Music Guest of Honor and will be meeting you on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at the festival. She will be holding signings, a panel, and showcases. Don’t miss this J-pop star who will be celebrating the 15th Anniversary of her career and success with you, as well as the 20th Anniversary of Japan Expo!