Aya Matsuura

Template:Short description Template:Wikidata image is a Japanese pop singer and actress, from Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.

Career

2000–09: Hello! Project

Aya auditioned in 2000 for the fourth Morning Musume & Heike Michiyo Protegee Audition and was selected along with Sheki-Dol to become a part of what was later known as Hello! Project. After being chosen from that audition, Matsuura began her solo career. In time, she would become one of Hello! Project's biggest acts.

Aside from a successful solo career, Matsuura (nicknamed Ayaya), also did numerous collaborations with other members of Hello! Project, including special, usually short lived groups Gomattou with Maki Goto and Miki Fujimoto; Nochiura Natsumi with Maki Goto and Natsumi Abe; and DEF.DIVA with Maki Goto, Natsumi Abe, and Rika Ishikawa. She also did the "Folk Song" series which feature Yuko Nakazawa and other Hello! Project artists, as well as Hello! Project's shuffle groups (3nin Matsuri in 2001, Odoru 11 in 2002, Salt5 in 2003, and the larger H.P. All Stars in 2004).

She also formed the duo GAM with Miki Fujimoto in debuted September 2006. Their first single, "Thanks!" reached the #2 position on the Oricon.

Matsuura starred in the Japanese film Sukeban Deka: Codename = Asamiya Saki (known internationally as Yo-Yo Girl Cop) opposite Rika Ishikawa, released on September 30, 2006.

On October 9, 2006, both concerts she was supposed to hold that day were cancelled, as she was not feeling well. Soon several unsourced rumours emerged considering the possibility she might be suffering from Temporomandibular joint disorder. Following the cancellation of the two concerts, Matsuura's management confirmed the rumours, reported the young idol had been taking painkillers to continue working and scheduled a press conference to discuss her condition. On the following day Matsuura made a public statement on PBS apologizing to her fans and expressing her desire to get back to her singing career as soon as possible.

Since her press conference, Matsuura returned to her normal hosting duties on her weekly radio show, "Matsuura Aya no All Night Nippon" and returned to singing in a limited capacity, as demonstrated on her appearance on Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ on October 23, 2006.

On March 8, 2008, Matsuura—as a secret guest—performed at the opening ceremony of the Fourth Special Olympics Japan Winter National Games, a national event in preparation of the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games held in Boise, Idaho. She performed the song "Kizuna", which was released on May 21, 2008, as her 20th single.

2008–2013: Graduation and Reshuffle

It was officially announced on October 19, 2008, that Matsuura would be graduating from Hello! Project along with the rest of Elder Club. Before her graduation, Matsuura released her fifth studio album, Omoi Afurete, on January 21, 2009, and her 21st single, "Chocolate Damashii", was released on February 11 for Valentine's Day.

Matsuura graduated from Hello! Project on March 31, 2009, but months later, on August 26, 2009, Matsuura launched her own blog called Ayablog and announced that her Omoi Afurete tour will be her last for two or three years. However, she has since released a Cover Album (Click You, Link Me, 2010). In late August 2011, it was revealed that she is diagnosed with endometriosis, which has been and will continue to limit her concert activities in the future. However, from 2009 to 2013, She has consistently released Acoustic Concerts, known as "Aya Matsuura's Maniac Series". She was signed to UpFront Create, along with some of the members of the Hello Project! Elder Club. At the end of the year, she performed along with all other Hello Project members at the concert "Hello! Project COUNTDOWN PARTY 2013 ~GOOD BYE & HELLO!~" where she announced her indefinite hiatus.

2022-24: Return to Entertainment

On January 27, Matsuura was a guest on the podcast Matthew's Matthew hosted by Takashi Fujii, thus marking the end of an almost decade long hiatus. On April 14, Matsuura was featured in a commercial for Nescafe 'Excella' coffee. On August 9, Keita Tachibana announced on Twitter that a new single 'Addicted' would be released on November 25. She also provided background vocals on Mariya Takeuchi's cover of "Subject: Sayonara", which Mariya wrote, originally intended as Aya's final single release.

Other appearances

Matsuura has appeared in many commercials for various companies; notably Pretz snack foods, Epson color printers, and Kirin beverages. She has also taken part and co-hosts the television show Utawara with other names in Japanese entertainment such as Johnny Jimusho's Jun Matsumoto.

Personal life

Matsuura and Keita Tachibana registered their marriage on August 4, 2013, after almost 12 years of dating. They held their wedding ceremony in Hawaii on October 7. On December 21, 2014, the couple announced the birth of their first child, a baby girl.

Discography and releases

Studio albums

#	Title	Release date	Peak rank	Total sales	Weeks on chart
1	First Kiss	January 1, 2002	#2	301,530	13
2	T.W.O	January 29, 2003	#2	316,986	18
3	X3	January 1, 2004	#10	124,939	9
4		October 10, 2007	#22	11,764	2
5		January 21, 2009	#29	4,873	1

Cover albums

#	Title	Release date	Peak rank	Total sales	Weeks on chart
–	Naked Songs	November 29, 2006	#24	18,961	2
6	Click you, Link Me	November 24, 2010	#72	3,007	?

Compilations

#	Title	Release date	Peak rank	Total sales	Weeks on chart
–		March 24, 2005	#2	121,361	13
7	10th Anniversary Best	December 21, 2011	#?	?	?

Singles

#	Title	Release date	Peak rank	Total sales	Weeks on charts
1		April 11, 2001	#10	72,070	6
2		June 13, 2001	#7	64,490	6
3		September 5, 2001	#3	172,340	9
4		November 28, 2001	#2	102,820	7
5		February 6, 2002	#2	224,480	13
6		May 29, 2002	#2	130,960	19
7		September 19, 2002	#2	115,480	18
8		December 11, 2002	#2	92,995	11
9		March 12, 2003	#3	121,776	10
10		June 4, 2003	#3	88,483	11
11	"The Last Night"	September 26, 2003	#3	57,451	8
12		January 28, 2004	#3	80,322	7
13		March 10, 2004	#7	56,400	13
14	Theme song of "Aijo Ippon!"	July 14, 2004	#3	41,306	10
15	†	October 20, 2004	#6	47,857	6
–	Theme song of "Hamtaro the Movie 4"	November 26, 2004	#47	–	5
16		February 23, 2005	#7	45,022	8
17		September 21, 2005	#6	56,822	9
18		February 1, 2006	#14	20,212	5
19		August 29, 2007	#16	13,286	5
20		May 21, 2008	#20	6,007	3
21	††	February 11, 2009	#19	4,028	2
22		March 29, 2011
23		December 20, 2011
24	Addicted	November 25, 2022

^† A cover of Chisato Moritaka's 1993 original. The bridge in the title is one of twelve bridges that cross the Watarase River in the city of Ashikaga.

^†† Last release within Hello! Project, as she graduated soon after its release.

DVDs

Title	Release date
	August 7, 2002
	October 9, 2002
	December 11, 2002
	January 16, 2003
	February 19, 2003
	February 26, 2003
– With the original casting	March 5, 2003
	March 12, 2003
	May 2, 2003
	May 21, 2003
	June 4, 2003
	July 2, 2003
	September 18, 2003
	January 28, 2004
	February 4, 2004
	April 14, 2004
	May 12, 2004
	July 7, 2004
	July 28, 2004
	August 11, 2004
	November 10, 2004
	December 1, 2004
	May 2, 2005
	June 20, 2005
	September 28, 2005
	December 7, 2005
	September 6, 2006
	October 25, 2006
	January 17, 2007
	January 23, 2008
	September 24, 2008
	December 23, 2009
	February 11, 2015

Videos

• 2001-04-25 –
• 2001-06-27 –
• 2001-09-05 –
• 2001-12-12 –
• 2002-08-07 –
• 2002-10-09 –
• 2003-02-19 –
• 2003-02-26 –
• 2003-03-12 –

Photobooks

Solo photobooks

• 2001-12-01 –
• 2003-02-14 –
• 2004-01-15 –
• 2004-06-25 –
• 2005-03-19 – a

Concert photobooks

• 2002-06-04 –
• 2004-07-07 –

Other photobooks

• 2003-04-11 –
• 2003-09-30 – Matsuura Aya in Hello! Project 2003 Summer
• 2004-03-13 – Matsuura Aya in Hello! Project 2004 Winter
• 2004-09-28 – Matsuura Aya in Hello! Project 2004 Summer
• 2005-07-06 –

Acts

Television variety shows

Show	Start date	End date	Network
	April 2000	April 1, 2007	TV Tokyo, etc.
	April 13, 2005	September 28, 2005	Nippon TV and others
A	April 2005	June 26, 2005	Nippon TV and others
	October 16, 2005	January 28, 2007	Nippon TV and others
	April 4, 2006	September 26, 2006	Nippon TV
	April 4, 2007	September 26, 2007	Nippon TV
	April 7, 2007	September 24, 2011	Nippon TV
	April 8, 2008	April 1, 2009	WOWOW

TV drama

Title	Start date	End date	Network	Role
	October 18, 2001	December 13, 2001	TV Asahi and others	Tomomi Uchiyama
Episode 9	June 22, 2002		Nippon TV and others	Miyako Yoshizawa
	November 22, 2003		Fuji TV and others	Shuko Ashida
	July 17, 2004	September 18, 2004	Nippon TV and others	Tomoe Natsuyagi
(for the 50th anniversary of Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co. Ltd. starting telecasting)	October 25, 2006		CBC, TBS, and others	Yoshimi Hirai
	April 18, 2009	June 24, 2009	Nippon TV and others	Rena Takasugi
	April 1, 2011		ABC (only in the Kansai region)	Sakura Haruno

Films

• Ao no Honō (2003)
• Sukeban Deka: Codename = Asamiya Saki (2006)

Radio

• – JOLF, etc. (April, 2001—2005-03-27)
• – JOLF and other thirty-five radio stations in Japan (2005-03-30 — 2006-12-27)
• Matsuura Aya FIVE STARS– InterFM 76.1 (TUESDAY 松浦亜弥) (Start date 2007-10-02)October 2007-September 2009 (End date 2009-09-29)

Commercials

• Pretz (2002–2006, Ezaki Glico)
• Tessera (2002–2004, Shiseido)
• Gogo no Kocha (2003–2008, Kirin Beverage)
• Colorio Printer (2003–2005, Epson)
• Sega PuyoPuyo Fever (2004)
• Papico (2004–2006, Ezaki Glico)
• Pocky (2004–2005, Ezaki Glico)
• Sky PerfecTV! (2004–2005, SKY Perfect Communications)
• Super Mild (2004–2005, Shiseido)
• Scooter Let's 4 (2004–2005, Suzuki)
• Nissin Yakisoba UFO (2005–2006, Nissin)
• Aoyama Trading (Youfuku Aoyama) (2005–2008)
• Youpack (2005–2006, Japan Post)
• Scooter Address V50 (2006, Suzuki)
• Expressway ETC (2007, Organization for Road System Enhancement) -- song only
• Center-in (2007, Unicharm)
• Fried Chicken (2008, FamilyMart) -- also the song "Kichin to Chicken" lyrics and music by Fujioka Fujimaki, a folk song duo.
• Mezamashi Gohan (2009, MAFF)
• Top "Clear Liquid" (since 2009, Lion)
• Vitamin Water (since 2009, Suntory)
• Roots Aroma Impact (since 2010, JT Foods), etc.

Video games

• CR Matsuura Aya (PlayStation 2)
• Guitar Freaks 8th mix / Drummania 7th mix (Momoiro Kataomoi, covered by Yu Uchida)
• Donkey Konga (Japanese version, Momoiro Kataomoi covered by an unknown artist)
• Daigasso! Band Brothers (Yeah! Meccha Holiday, instrumental)
• Go-Go-Tea Miniature Golf (Kirin Beverage)
• Donkey Konga 2 (Japanese Version, Yeah! Meccha Holiday)

External links

• Official profile at the Up-Front Works Template:In lang
• Template:Trim/ Template:PAGENAMEBASE at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidata