If you found yourself here by accident or you're a new fan of Ai, please read this article. It will answer the most important questions you might have about Ai Otsuka - who she is, what she's famous for, etc. Ready? Let's go!
Q1: Who is Ai Otsuka?
Ai Otsuka (Jap. 大塚愛) is a Japanese singer, composer and lyricist born 09 September 1982 in Osaka. She is known for her upbeat and cheerful J-pop songs and emotional ballads. Her nicknames are: Ai-chin, Ai-chan, AiO. She's married to RIP SLYME's SU and they have a daughter born 23 March 2011.
Q2: What kind of music does she create?
Ai Otsuka is associated with J-pop, however, she experiments with lots of different genres. Her favourite genres which are present in her music are pop, rock, jazz and a little bit of electro-pop. Her music sounds natural, it's usually arranged with traditional music instruments and ther's very little or no computer processing in her vocals. You can find a lot of emotions in her songs - from carefree joy to deep sadness and melancholy. If you're interested in her whole discography, check it out here.
Q3: I haven't heard of her. Is she famous?
In fact, Ai is not as famous as Ayumi Hamasaki, but she sure is one of the most recognised and loved singers in Japan. She has released a lot of hit singles and albums which climbed very high on Oricon charts. The reason why you might not have heard of her is that she was on a 2-year hiatus since 2010 and she concentrated mostly on her family during that time. If you dig into Japanese pop music of the mid-00's, you will probably realise that she's indeed very successful and recognised.
Q4: What are her most successful singles?
Ai has released over 20 singles during her career and most of them were pretty popular. Her break-through single was her second single "Sakuranbo" released in 2003. Check it out below:
Didn't like it? Well, not everybody likes such typical J-pop. But Japanese people loved it back in 2003 and the single sold more than 500,000 copies...
Ai Otsuka, however, has a lot more to offer. Do you like slower, more emotional songs? Check out "Kingyo Hanabi" and "Daisuki Dayo".
Kingyo Hanabi
Daisuki da yo
You might also like her possibly most successful and touching singles: "Planetarium" and "Ren'ai Shashin':
Planetarium
Ren'ai Shashin
Right now you might think that Ai is all about ballads. You can't be more wrong :) Here's a small collection of her more upbeat or rocky songs: "Frienger", "Kuroge Wagyuu Joshio Tanyaki 680 Yen", or "Cherish".
Frienger
Kuroge Wagyuu Joshio Tanyaki 680 Yen
Cherish (live version)
As you can see, Ai Otsuka is a very versatile singer who can deal with a lots of genres. I think that everybody could find something interesting in her discography.
Q5: I want to listen to her but I don't know where to start. Which single / album would you recommend?
For a start, I would recommend her "best of "album "AI am BEST". In this compilation, you will find her most successful singles since the debut in 2003 till 2005. It's a CD full of real hits. Then, I would listen to "LOVE PiECE" and "LOVE LETTER". Then, her first albums "LOVE PUNCH", "LOVE JAM" and "LOVE COOK". Optionally, you can check out also her second "best of" compilation "LOVE is BEST" where you will find her love songs and a couple of B-sides.
Q6: I don't like typical J-pop. Is there something in her music that could interest me anyway?
Yes. Recently, Ai focuses on creating more mature and musically developed songs. As I said before, she likes jazz and she tends to use this genre more often in her music. I think she's gradually abandoning typical pop sound. Just check out her last studio album "LOVE LETTER". You will find there ballads, jazz and rock.
Q7: What record label is she signed to?
She's signed to Avex Trax, a sub-label of Avex Group, a house label for Ayumi Hamasaki, Koda Kumi, Namie Amuro, TVXQ and many others.
Q8: Is she an idol or a singer? How talented is she?
Ai doesn't just sing and she's not an idol. She writes lyrics, arranges her songs, draws, creates artwork for her releases, creates books for children, sometimes tries acting.
Q9: Does she sing live or lip-sync?
During her tours and concerts Ai sings absolutely live.
Q10: Ok, then I will have a look around and find out more about her :)
Please do so :)
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