Takahashi Ai

Born             :  September 14, 1986 Sakai, Fukui, Japan

Occupations :  Singer

Genres         :  Japanese pop

Personal Life

Ai Takahashi 高橋 愛 Takahashi Ai? born September 14, 1986 is a Japanese pop singer formerly associated with Hello! Project, and best known as leader of Morning Musume and Hello!Project until 2011, and former member of its popular subgroup, Mini Moni.

Ai Takahashi joined Morning Musume in 2001 as part of the group's fifth generation, along with Makoto Ogawa, Asami Konno, and Risa Niigaki.  Her audition involved a training camp of three days and two nights, in which participants were expected to learn a new song, a dance routine and a script. Out of 25,000 applicants, nine were selected for the camp in which Takahashi passed.

Her debut with the group was on their single "Mr. Moonlight: Ai no Big Band", and her first appearance on a Morning Musume full-length release was their fourth studio album, 4th Ikimasshoi!. Her first appearance within a Hello! Project shuffle unit release was on the 2002 single "Shiawase Beam! Suki Suki Beam!" under the group name Happy 7.