Aya Matsuura

Love Mail" in 2001. Her subsequent singles, "Love Namidairo" (2001), "Momoiro Kataomoi (2002), "Yeah! Meccha Holiday" (2002) charted within the top 5 of the Oricon Weekly Singles Charts, and were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Aside from her solo activities, Matsuura was also a member of the sub-groups Gomattō, Nochiura Natsumi, Def.Diva, and several Hello! Project Shuffle Units.

• Name — Aya Matsuura • Native Name — 松浦 亜弥 • Born — 25 June 1986 • Birthplace — Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan • Occupation — * Singer • actress • Years Active — 2000–2013, 2022–present • Children — 3

Matsuura 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• # — 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 — Double Rainbow — October 10, 2007 — #22 — 12,536 — 3 • 5 — Omoi Afurete — January 21, 2009 — #29 — 5,821 — 2

• # — 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 — 3,578 — 4

• # — Title — Release date — Peak rank — Total sales — Weeks on chart • – — Aya Matsuura Best 1 — March 24, 2005 — #2 — 121,361 — 13 • 7 — 10th Anniversary Best — December 21, 2011 — #56 — 3,053 — 2

• # — Title — Release date — Peak rank — Total sales — Weeks on charts • 1 — "Dokki Doki! Love Mail" — April 11, 2001 — #10 — 72,070 — 6 • 2 — "Tropical Koishiteru" — June 13, 2001 — #7 — 64,490 — 6 • 3 — "Love Namidairo" — September 5, 2001 — #3 — 172,340 — 9 • 4 — "100Kai no Kiss" — November 28, 2001 — #2 — 102,820 — 7 • 5 — "Momoiro Kataomoi" — February 6, 2002 — #2 — 225,566 — 13 • 6 — "Yeah! Meccha Holiday" — May 29, 2002 — #2 — 130,960 — 19 • 7 — "The Bigaku" — September 19, 2002 — #2 — 123,138 — 18 • 8 — "Sōgen no Hito" — December 11, 2002 — #2 — 92,995 — 11 • 9 — "Ne~e?" — March 12, 2003 — #3 — 121,776 — 10 • 10 — "Good Bye Natsuo" — June 4, 2003 — #3 — 88,483 — 11 • 11 — "The Last Night" — September 26, 2003 — #3 — 57,451 — 8 • 12 — "Kiseki no Kaori Dance" — January 28, 2004 — #3 — 80,322 — 7 • 13 — 風信子 (ヒヤシンス) — March 10, 2004 — #7 — 56,400 — 13 • 14 — "Your Song ~Seishun Sensei~" Theme song of "Aijo Ippon!" — July 14, 2004 — #3 — 41,306 — 10 • 15 — "Watarasebashi" † — October 20, 2004 — #6 — 47,857 — 6 • – — "Tensai! Let's Go Ayayamu" Theme song of "Hamtaro the Movie 4" — November 26, 2004 — #47 — – — 5 • 16 — "Zutto Suki de Ii desu ka" — February 23, 2005 — #7 — 45,022 — 8 • 17 — "Ki ga Tsukeba Anata" — September 21, 2005 — #6 — 56,822 — 9 • 18 — "Suna wo Kamu you ni... Namida" — February 1, 2006 — #14 — 20,212 — 5 • 19 — "Egao" — August 29, 2007 — #16 — 13,286 — 5 • 20 — "Kizuna" — May 21, 2008 — #20 — 7,623 — 3 • 21 — "Chocolate Damashii" †† — February 11, 2009 — #19 — 4,795 — 2 • 22 — "Futari Osaka" — March 29, 2011 • 23 — "Subject: Sayonara" — 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.

• Title — Release date • Matsuura Aya First Concert Tour 2002 Haru "First Date" at Tokyo Kokusai Forum — August 7, 2002 • Matsuura Aya Single M Clips 1 — October 9, 2002 • Bi-Shojo Nikki I, II — December 11, 2002 • Aya no DNA — January 16, 2003 • Yeah! Meccha Live at Nakano Sun Plaza — February 19, 2003 • Alo-Hello! — February 26, 2003 • Sōgen no Hito – With the original casting — March 5, 2003 • Ne~e? — March 12, 2003 • Kotomikku Daijiten Jōkan, Gekan — May 2, 2003 • Musical "Sōgen no Hito" — May 21, 2003 • Good Bye Natsuo — June 4, 2003 • Moero! Manābu 1, 2 — July 2, 2003 • Concert Tour 2003 Haru ~Matsu Ringu Pink~ — September 18, 2003 • Kiseki no Kaori Dance — January 28, 2004 • Matsuura Aya Concert Tour 2003 Aki ~Ayaya Hit Parade!~ — February 4, 2004 • Matsuura Aya Single V Clips 2 — April 14, 2004 • Musical Real Audition!! — May 12, 2004 • Alo-Hello! 2 Matsuura Aya — July 7, 2004 • Single V Your Song ~Seishun Sensei~ — July 28, 2004 • Matsuura Aya Concert Tour 2004 Haru ~Watashi to Watashi to Anata~ — August 11, 2004 • Single V Watarasebashi — November 10, 2004 • Matsuura Aya Concert Tour 2004 Aki ~Matsu Crystal Yoyogi Special~ — December 1, 2004 • Single V Zutto Suki de Ii desu ka — May 2, 2005 • Matsuura Aya Concert Tour 2005 Haru 101 Kaime no Kiss ~Hand in Hand~ — June 20, 2005 • Single V Ki ga Tsukeba Anata — September 28, 2005 • Hello Pro Party! 2005 ~Matsuura Aya Captain Koen~ — December 7, 2005 • Concert Tour 2006 Spring ~Otona no Namida~ — September 6, 2006 • Aya Matsuura: Live in Shanghai — October 25, 2006 • Concert Tour 2006 Fall — January 17, 2007 • Concert Tour 2007 Fall ~Double Rainbow~ — January 23, 2008 • "AYA THE WITCH" Concert Tour Spring 2008 — September 24, 2008 • Concert Tour Fall 2009 ~Omoi Afurete~ — December 23, 2009 • Luxury Christmas Night 2013 at Cotton Club — February 11, 2015

• 2001-04-25 – Bi Shojo Nikki Part 1 • 2001-06-27 – Bi Shojo Nikki Part 2 • 2001-09-05 – Bi Shojo Nikki Part 3 • 2001-12-12 – Bi Shojo Nikki Part 4 • 2002-08-07 – Concert Tour 2002 Haru "First Date" at Tokyo Kokusai Forum • 2002-10-09 – Matsuura Aya Single M Clips 1 • 2003-02-19 – Yeah! Meccha Raibu at Nakano Sun Plaza • 2003-02-26 – Alo-Hello! • 2003-03-12 – Ne~e?

• Solo photobooks • 2001-12-01 – Matsuura Aya 1st Photobook • 2003-02-14 – Alo-Hello! • 2004-01-15 – Ma'! Chura • 2004-06-25 – Alo-Hello! 2 • 2005-03-19 – a • Concert photobooks • 2002-06-04 – First-Date • 2004-07-07 – ~Watashi to Watashi to Anata~ • Other photobooks • 2003-04-11 – Ayaya to Mikitty • 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 – Nochiura Natsumi Live Photobook "Triangle Energy"

• Show — Start date — End date — Network • Hello! Morning — April 2000 — April 1, 2007 — TV Tokyo, etc. • Minna no TV — April 13, 2005 — September 28, 2005 — Nippon TV and others • A — April 2005 — June 26, 2005 — Nippon TV and others • Utawara Hot Hit 10 → Utawara — October 16, 2005 — January 28, 2007 — Nippon TV and others • Ayaya Golf — April 4, 2006 — September 26, 2006 — Nippon TV • Ayaya Golf 2 — April 4, 2007 — September 26, 2007 — Nippon TV • Meringue no Kimochi — April 7, 2007 — September 24, 2011 — Nippon TV • Collaboration Lab. — April 8, 2008 — April 1, 2009 — WOWOW

• Title — Start date — End date — Network — Role • Saigo no Kazoku — October 18, 2001 — December 13, 2001 — TV Asahi and others — Tomomi Uchiyama • Goldem Bowl Episode 9 — June 22, 2002 — Nippon TV and others — Miyako Yoshizawa • Victory! ~Foot Girls no Seishun~ — November 22, 2003 — Fuji TV and others — Shuko Ashida • Aijo Ippon! — July 17, 2004 — September 18, 2004 — Nippon TV and others — Tomoe Natsuyagi • Inochi no Kiseki (for the 50th anniversary of Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting Co. Ltd. starting telecasting) — October 25, 2006 — CBC, TBS, and others — Yoshimi Hirai • The Quiz Show — April 18, 2009 — June 24, 2009 — Nippon TV and others — Rena Takasugi • Sakura and Satsuki — April 1, 2011 — ABC (only in the Kansai region) — Sakura Haruno

• Matsuura Aya Let's do it!! – JOLF, etc. (April, 2001—2005-03-27) • Matsuura Aya All Night Nippon – 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)

• 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.

• 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)

Aya Matsuura is recorded as actress, singer, tarento and japanese idol.