generasia:Featured article for 2021 week 5
Otsuka Ai
Otsuka Ai (大塚愛) is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter on the avex trax label. She first appeared in September 2003 with the single "Momo no Hanabira", but it wasn't until her second single "Sakuranbo" that her talent was noticed.
A piano player since age four, Otsuka composes and co-produces her own songs, as well as writes her own lyrics. Her music ranges from upbeat pop/rock music to ballads. For a short period of time around late 2001, she was part of a duo called HimawaRi, along with classmate Nishida Mami, releasing only the song "Sakuranbo" on the Internet. She later sent demo tapes to record labels with no positive results, until she got a call back from Avex just before her graduation from university.
Her debut single, "Momo no Hanabira", was released on September 10, 2003. The single was a minor hit, peaking at #24 on the Oricon weekly singles chart, but stayed on the charts for 21 weeks. Her second single, "Sakuranbo", was released on December 17, 2003. The song debuted at #20 on the Oricon charts, but managed to get into the Top 10 in February 2004 and went to peak at #5. The single remained on the chart for a total of 101 weeks (almost two years), and a special "encore press" version was commissioned, which peaked at #4, and it became the twelfth best selling single of the year. In early March 2004, Otsuka released her third single, "Amaenbo". The song peaked at #6 on the Oricon charts, while at the same time "Sakuranbo" was at #5. This was the first time in Japanese music history a female artist was able to have two singles in the top ten in the same week.
With the release of her second studio LOVE JAM, Otsuka finally topped the Oricon charts. The album sold 224,381 units in its first week and 656,700 units in total. Ironically, it went on to become her lowest selling studio album. Her first best hits compilation album Ai am BEST in 2007 not only topped the Oricon charts but is her best-selling album with 64,396 copies sold its first day and over 350,000 copies sold in its first week.
Her first remix album, Otsuka Ai One on One Collaboration, is released this week on February 3rd.
