Atsuko Maeda

Atsuko Maeda
Background information
Also known as	Acchan (あっちゃん)
Born	July 10, 1991 (1991-07-10) (age 20)
Origin	Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan
Genres	J-pop
Years active	2005-
Labels	DefStar Records/King Records

Atsuko Maeda (前田 敦子, Maeda Atsuko^?, born July 10, 1991 in Ichikawa, Chiba) is a member of the Japanese idol group AKB48. She is in Team A and is one of the most prominent members in the group, being voted number one in the 2009 and 2011 Senbatsu Elections. In the 2010 Senbatsu Election, however, she lost to fellow member Yuko Oshima, who was the lead for their 17th Single: Heavy Rotation. She is part of the "Senbatsu" group in the most recent singles.

AKB48

AKB48 released "Aitakatta" on the major label Defstar Records. Before this release, two singles were released as independent records. For this song, 20 members were selected from the 36 members of Team A & Team K. Maeda was one of these selected members, and she performed a leading role in the promotional video of this song. She has appeared at the front of every single ever since. The group's 12th single, "Namida Surprise," included voting tickets for the 2009 AKB48 Senbatsu Election, where fans can vote for who will be featured in the next single. Maeda won with 4630 votes, becoming AKB48's most popular member and frontgirl for their 13th single, "Iiwake Maybe".^[1] However, in 2010, another election was held and Maeda lost to Yuko Oshima, who had 31,448 votes, whereas Maeda had 30,851 votes, so Yuko became the frontgirl for "Heavy Rotation."^[2] Later that year a different type of election was held (AKB48 Janken Senbatsu Tournament) where any member in the group could be front girl. The members were selected by using the rock-paper-scissors method and Mayumi Uchida received the top spot of AKB48's single "Chance no Junban" which marked the first time a relatively unknown member has been at the front of a single.^[3] Maeda and Yuko were back at the front spots for the next single, "Beginner". In 2011, a third AKB48 senbatsu election was held. During the early results, Yuko Oshima was leading with first place. However in the final results Maeda won first place with 139,892 votes whereas Yuko Oshima had 122,843 votes beating her with 17049 votes.^[4]

As a solo singer

On April 23, 2011, it was announced by Maeda herself at AKB48's handshake event in Nagoya Dome that she would make her solo debut with her debut single "Flower", one of the insert songs for Moshidora, a movie in which Maeda plays the leading role, released on June 22, 2011.^[5][6] She is the second AKB48 member to release a solo single after Tomomi Itano with the single "Dear J".

Acting career

In 2007, Maeda played the sub-leading role in the movie "Ashita no Watashi no Tsukurikata" (「あしたの私のつくり方」^?), which was her first performance as an actress. She started shooting this film August 20, 2006 and finished it in late September. After that, she landed various TV drama roles, including lead roles in the dramas "Majisuka Gakuen" and "Q-10."

Maeda, along with fellow AKB member Minegishi Minami, starred in Moshidora, a film released on June 4, 2011, marking her first lead role as a movie actress. Moshidora is a movie about how a weak high school baseball team's caretaker named Minami Kawashima that Maeda plays leads the team to the National High School Baseball Championship by learning strategies from Peter Drucker's business book Management.

In 2011, she played Mizuki Ashiya in Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, a remake of the popular 2007 drama series.

AKB48 senbatsu elections

• Ranked 1st in the 1st Senbatsu Election, held in 2009
• Ranked 2nd in the 2nd Senbatsu Election, held in 2010
• Ranked 1st in the 3rd Senbatsu Election, held in 2011

Solo discography

Singles

• "Flower" (June 22, 2011)

Appearances

Single

• Sakura no Hanabiratachi
• Skirt, Hirari
• Aitakatta
• Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru
• Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou
• Bingo!
• Boku no Taiyou
• Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka?
• Romance, Irane
• Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008
• Baby! Baby! Baby!
• Oogoe Diamond
• 10nen Zakura
• Namida Surprise!
• Iiwake Maybe
• River
• Sakura no Shiori
• Ponytail to Chouchou
• Heavy Rotation
• Beginner
• Chance no Junban
• Sakura no Ki ni Narō
• Dareka no tameni -What can I do for Someone?-<Download-only charity song>
• Everyday, Katyusha
• Flying Get!

Stage Units

Team A 1st Stage

1. Skirt, Hirari (1st + 2nd Units)
2. Hoshi no Ondo (2nd Unit)

Team A 2nd Stage

1. Nageki no Figure
2. Nagisa no Cherry
3. Senaka Kara Dakishimete
4. Rio no Kakumei

Team A 3rd Stage

1. Nage Kiss de Uchi Otose!
2. Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru

Team A 4th Stage

1. 7ji 12fun no Hatsukoi

Himawari-gumi 1st Stage

1. Idol Nante Yobanaide (1st Unit)

Himawari-gumi 2nd Stage

1. Hajimete no Jelly Beans (1st Unit)

Team A 5th Stage

1. Kuroi Tenshi

Movies

• "Ashita no Watashi no Tsukurikata" (「あしたの私のつくり方」^?) Part: Hanada Kanako (April 2007）
• "Densen Uta" (「伝染歌」^?) Part: Takahashi Kana (August 2007）
• "Nasu Shōnenki" (「那須少年記」^?) (summer 2008）
• Moshidora (June 2011）

TV drama

• "Swan no Baka! -Sanmanen no Koi-" (「スワンの馬鹿！ ～3万円の恋～」, Stupid Swan -Love of 30 Thousand Yen-^?) (October - December 2007）
• "Taiyo to Umi no Kyoushitsu" (「太陽と海の教室」^?) (July - September 2008)
• "Majisuka Gakuen" (「マジすか学園」^?) (January - March 2010)
• "Ryōmaden" (「龍馬伝」^?) (March - November 2010)
• "Q-10" ( 「キュート」^?) (October - December 2010)
• "Sakura Kara no Tegami" ( 「桜からの手紙」^?) (February - March 2011)
• "Majisuka Gakuen 2" (「マジすか学園2」^?) (April - June 2011)
• "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e" (花ざかりの君たちへ^?) (July - 2011)

TV Shows

• AKBingo!
• "Shukan AKB" (「週刊AKB」^?)
• "AKB48 nemousu TV" (「AKB48ネ申テレビ」^?)

Photobook

• Atsuko Maeda 2009 Calendar
• 1st Photobook "Hai" (1st写真集『はいっ』^?) (January 23, 2009）
• Atsuko Maeda 2010 Calendar
• 2nd Photobook "Acchan in Hawaii" (2nd写真集『あっちゃん in Hawaii』^?) (February 25, 2010)
• 3rd Photobook "Maeda Atsuko in Tokyo" (3rd写真集『前田敦子 in Tokyo』^?) (April 26, 2010)
• 4th Photobook "Atsuko in NY" (June 7, 2010)

DVD

• "Mubōbi" (「無防備」^?) (16.02.2009）

References

1. ^ "AKB48、13thシングル選抜総選挙「神様に誓ってガチです」" (in Japanese). livedoor Co.,Ltd.. http://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/4241264/. Retrieved 2011-10-08. 
2. ^ "AKB48 17thシングル選抜総選挙『母さんに誓って、ガチです』レポート(4)" (in Japanese). Scramble-Egg Inc.. http://www.scramble-egg.com/artist/akb48/127sousenkyo07.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-08. 
3. ^ "AKB48『選抜じゃんけん大会』 “圏外”内田眞由美が19thセンターを奪取!" (in Japanese). Oricon. http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/entertainment/80264/. Retrieved 2011-10-08. 
4. ^ "１１０人分足してもかなわない　最強すぎるＡＫＢ２トップ" (in Japanese). Sponichi. http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/news/2011/06/11/kiji/K20110611000995260.html. Retrieved 2011-10-08. 
5. ^ "前田敦子　ソロデビュー曲決定「話を聞いたのは最近ですが…」" (in Japanese). Sponichi Annex. Sports Nippon. http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/news/2011/04/23/kiji/K20110423000684240.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
6. ^ "[Update: Video AKB48's Maeda Atsuko will officially go solo in June"]. tokyohive. tokyohive. 2011-04-23. http://www.tokyohive.com/2011/04/akb48s-maeda-atsuko-will-officially-go-solo-in-june/. Retrieved 2011-04-24. 

External links

• AKB48 Official profile
• Atsuko Maeda at the Internet Movie Database
• Ohta Pro Profile
• Atsuko Maeda Official Blog

Persondata
Name	Maeda, Atsuko
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 10, 1991
Place of birth	Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan
Date of death
Place of death