, known mononymously as Aiko (stylized in smallcaps), is a Japanese singer and songwriter. She is most famous for her hit songs ''Ashita'', ''Kabutomushi'', ''Hanabi'', ''Sakura no Toki'', ''Boyfriend'', and ''Kira Kira''.

Music career

In April 1996, Aiko became a radio host of

FM Osaka is an FM radio station in Osaka, Japan. The station is an affiliate of Japan FM Network (JFN). FM Osaka started broadcasting on April 1, 1970. It was the second commercial FM radio station to launch in Japan after FM Aichi. During its early y ...

after graduating from college. She released a CD which she produced independently with her friends of college in August. She participated in "The 5th Music Quest Japan Final" on 10 October, and was awarded the Excellence Award shared with

Ringo Shiina , known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer, songwriter and musician. She is also the founder and lead vocalist of the band Tokyo Jihen. She describes herself as "". She was ranked number 36 in a list of Japan's top 100 musicians compiled ...

. She released an EP on an independent label in 1997, followed by a single and a mini-album in 1998. In July 1998, Aiko debuted on a major label with her first single, ''Ashita (あした)'', which was used as the theme song for the movie ''

Toire no Hanako-san Hanako-san, or , is a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a young girl named Hanako-san who haunts school toilets. Like many urban legends, the details of the origins of the legend vary depending on the account; different versions of the st ...

''. In 2000, her second album, ''Sakura no Ki no Shita (桜の木の下)'', reached number one in the Oricon weekly charts, with the total CD sales amounting to 1.4 million copies. Her sixth single, ''Boyfriend'', sold over 500,000 copies and became her best-selling CD single. She made her first appearance in NHK's 2000 '' Kohaku Uta Gassen''.

Discography

* ''Chiisa na Marui Koujitsu (小さな丸い好日)'' (1999) * ''Sakura no Ki no Shita (桜の木の下)'' (2000) * ''Natsufuku (夏服)'' (2001) * ''Aki Soba ni Iru yo (秋そばにいるよ)'' (2002) * ''Akatsuki no Love Letter (暁のラブレター)'' (2003) * ''Yume no Naka no Massugu na Michi (夢の中のまっすぐな道)'' (2005) * ''Kanojo (彼女)'' (2006) * ''Himitsu (秘密)'' (2008) * ''Baby'' (2010) * ''Toki no Silhouette (時のシルエット)'' (2012) * ''Awa no You na Ai Datta (泡のような愛だった)'' (2014) * ''May Dream'' (2016) * ''Shimetta Natsu no Hajimari (湿った夏の始まり)'' (2018) * ''Doushitatte Tsutaerarenaikara (どうしたって伝えられないから)'' (2021) * ''Ima no Futari o Otagai ga Miteru (今の二人をお互いが見てる)'' (2023)

Performances

Tours

* "Love Like Pop" (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) * College musical festivals (1999, 2003; 7 places in all) * "Baby Peenats Meeting" (2001, 2004; fan club members only) * "Love Like Rock" (2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2017 (fan club members only), 2009; no-seat concerts, 2011, 2013, 2015 at Zepp Tokyo) * "Love Like Aloha" (Summer 2003, at Katase beach, Enoshima; Summer 2006 and 2008, at Southern Beach, Chigasaki, 2012 and 2015)

Appearances

Shorts

* Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

artist

Yukari Ichijo is a Japanese '' shōjo'' and ''josei'' manga artist. She made her debut as a professional manga artist in 1968 with ''Yuki no Serenade''. In 1986 she received the Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo for '' Yūkan Club'', and in 2007, she received a ...

based the character "Eiko", in ''

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

'' (2002–2010) on Aiko, and Aiko has several times expressed admiration for Ichijo. * Aiko also sang the insert song "KissHug" for the movie ''

Hana Yori Dango Final is a 2008 Japanese film directed by Yasuharu Ishii and starring Mao Inoue and Jun Matsumoto. It is the last part of the Japanese live-action ''Boys Over Flowers'' trilogy, based on the ''shōjo'' manga by Yoko Kamio. It is marketed internation ...

'' which premiered on 28 June 2008 and "Mukai Awase" for the 2010 comedy film ''

My Darling is a Foreigner is a manga series written by Saori Oguri. The English subtitle of the Japanese editions of the first two entries is "My darling is ambidextrous"; the official English version is called ''My Darling is a Foreigner''. The books are published by ...

''.

Radio

Aiko has presented several regular radio programs, including local radio programmes in the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

area before she achieved widespread fame in July 1998. * Count Down Kansai Top40 (

, April 1996 – December 2001) * Poppun Kingdom (

MBS MBS may refer for: People * Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia * Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician Places * MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US * Mari ...

, April 1997 – ?) * Young Town Music Max (MBS, October 1997 – September 1999) * Baby Peanuts (

, October 1998 – ?) * Aiko's @llnightnippon.com ( NBS, November 1999 – March 2003), containing the popular musical feature

Sing! Aiko is a radio segment in Aiko's radio program ''Aiko's @llnightnippon.com'', which aired from 1999 until 2003. When musical guests were invited to the program, Aiko would play the piano and cover the guests'—or others'—songs; sometimes, sh ...

Works

Books

* "Aiko Bon" (2005) was the first official book about Aiko. The book contains her autobiography (in an interview style), photos, feature articles from monthly magazine ''GbMusicnet'' and

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

by herself.

Awards

References

External links

* * on Youtube * * * * (

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

top 20,000 subscribers' 2005)
'05好きなアーティストランキング – Oricon Style ミュージック

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiko 1975 births Living people Singers from Suita Japanese women pop singers Japanese women singer-songwriters Japanese singer-songwriters Japanese radio personalities Pony Canyon artists 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers