Atsuko Maeda


Atsuko Maeda is a Japanese actress and singer. She is a former member of the idol girl group AKB48 and was one of its most prominent members in the group at the time, regarded as the group's "eternal center" and the "face of AKB." After graduating from AKB48 on August 27, 2012, Maeda has since then continued with a solo singing and acting career.

Career

AKB48

Maeda was born in Ichikawa, Chiba. At age 14, she became a member of AKB48's first group, Team A, which composed of 24 girls and debuted on December 8, 2005.
In 2009, Maeda won the first edition of AKB48's annual general elections, which are described as a popularity contest. As a result, she was the headlined performer for the group's 13th single, "Iiwake Maybe". The following year, she placed second overall, but still had a significant choreography position in the lineup for "Heavy Rotation". Later that year, AKB48 employed a rock-paper-scissors tournament to determine the top spot of AKB48's 19th major single "Chance no Junban". Maeda placed 15th, which secured her a spot on title track. Maeda also won the group's third general election held in 2011.
Maeda was one of the members who sang on every AKB48 title track since the group's inception. Her streak of A-side appearances ended in 2011, when she lost to Team K captain Sayaka Akimoto at a rock-paper-scissors tournament which determined the featured members for the group's 24th single "Ue kara Mariko".
On March 25, 2012, during an AKB48 Concert at the Saitama Super Arena, Maeda announced that she would leave the group. This caused a large buzz in the Japanese news, and spawned a rumor that a student from University of Tokyo had committed suicide over the announcement. AKB48 later announced that Maeda would leave after the Tokyo Dome concerts; For her final performance, there were 229,096 requests filed for seat tickets. Her farewell performance and ceremony occurred on August 27 at the AKB48 theater, and was streamed live on YouTube.

Solo career

On April 23, 2011, Maeda announced that she would make her solo debut with her debut single "Flower", released on June 22. It was met with commercial success in Japan, debuting at number 1 on the Oricon Charts with first week sales of 176,967 copies.
The follow-up single "Kimi wa Boku Da", released in June 2012, was Maeda's last solo single while still a member of AKB48. It debuted at number two on the Oricon charts and reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.
On June 15, 2013, at AKB48's handshake event held at Makuhari Messe, AKB48 announced that Maeda would appear as a special guest at the group's summer concert series at the Sapporo Dome on July 31. There], she performed her third single, "Time Machine Nante Iranai", which was later released on September 18. It was selected to be the theme song for the live-action adaptation of Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo. Maeda described the song as "cheerful and fun" and hoped it would liven up the show. "Time Machine Nante Iranai" eventually peaked at number one on the Oricon Daily charts, and number two on the Oricon Weekly chart. On Billboard's Japan Hot 100, it debuted at number one and stayed there for just the week of September 30.
Maeda's 4th single "Seventh Code" was released on March 5, 2014. It was used as the theme song of the movie "Seventh Code" in which Maeda herself starred. It debuted at number 4 on the Oricon charts and reached number three on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.
On December 12, 2015, it was announced that Maeda's first album would be released later the next year. Eventually, the album was set to be released on June 22, 2016.

Acting career

In 2007, Maeda played a supporting role in the film Ashita no Watashi no Tsukurikata, which was her debut as an actress. She starred in the 2011 film Moshidora and appeared in Nobuhiro Yamashita's 2012 film Kueki Ressha. She also starred in Hideo Nakata's 2013 horror film The Complex. It was announced that she will co-star with Tony Leung Chiu-wai in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's film 1905.
In 2013, Maeda starred in a series of 30-second station ID videos for Music On! TV where she played Tamako, a Tokyo university graduate who does not find a job and lives at home where she just eats and sleeps, over the course of the four seasons. This became a TV drama special, and has been developed into a full-fledged film, Tamako in Moratorium, the last of which is planned for a theater release in November 2013.
Maeda starred in the film Seventh Code, in which she plays a Japanese woman in Russia who is trying to track down a guy she previously met. The film was shown at the Rome Film Festival in November 2013, and was released for a short theater run in January 2014. She released a single of the same name on March 5.
In May 2015, it was announced that Maeda had been cast in the role of Kyoko Yoshizawa, the female lead of the anime and manga series Dokonjō Gaeru, in a live-action version of the story set to air on Nippon TV in July.
In 2016, she took the lead role of the drama "Busujima Yuriko no Sekirara Nikki" on TBS. The first episode is set to air on April 20, 2016.

Personal life

Maeda is married to actor Ryo Katsuji; they registered their marriage on July 30, 2018. She gave birth to their first child, a son on March 4th, 2019, which coincides with the 10th anniversary of the release of an AKB48 song she centered, 10nen Sakura

Stage credits

A listing of Maeda's participation in AKB48's theatre programs, called stages:

Solo singles

AKB48

YearNo.TitleRoleNotes
2006Ind-1"Sakura no Hanabiratachi"A-side
2006Ind-2"Skirt, Hirari"A-side, CenterOne of seven members who sang on the title track.
20061"Aitakatta"A-side, Center
20072"Seifuku ga Jama o Suru"A-side, Center
20073"Keibetsu Shiteita Aijō"A-side, Center
20074"Bingo!"A-side, Center
20075"Boku no Taiyō"A-side, Center
20076"Yūhi o Miteiru ka?"A-side, Center
20087"Romance, Irane"A-side, Center
20088"Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008"A-side, Center
20089"Baby! Baby! Baby!"A-side, Center
200810"Ōgoe Diamond"A-side.-
200911"10nen Sakura"A-side, Centeralso sang on "Sakurairo no Sora no Shita de", Shared center with Jurina Matsui of SKE48
200912"Namida Surprise!"A-side, Center-
200913"Iiwake Maybe"A-side, CenterRanked 1st in 2009 General Election
200914"River"A-side, Center
201015"Sakura no Shiori"A-side, Centeralso sang on "Majisuka Rock 'n' Roll"
201016"Ponytail to Shushu"A-side, Centeralso sang on "Majijo Teppen Blues"
201017"Heavy Rotation"A-sideRanked 2nd in 2010 General Election, also sang on "Yasai Sisters" and "Lucky Seven"
201018"Beginner"A-side, Center, MintAlso sang on "Kimi ni Tsuite" as subgroup Mint.
201019"Chance no Junban"A-sidePlaced 15th in rock-paper-scissors tournament., also sang on "Yoyakushita Christmas" and "Kurumi to Dialougue"
201120"Sakura no Ki ni Narō"A-side, Center, MintAlso sang on "Kiss Made 100 Mile" as Mint.
2011–"Dareka no Tame ni – What can I do for someone?"–charity single
201121"Everyday, Katyusha"A-side, Centeralso sang on "Korekara Wonderland" and "Yankee Soul"
201122"Flying Get"A-side, CenterRanked 1st in 2011 General Election, also sang on "Seishun to Kizukanai Mama", "Ice no Kuchizuke", "Yasai Uranai"
201123"Kaze wa Fuiteiru"A-side, Center
201124"Ue kara Mariko"B-sideDid not participate in title song; lineup was determined by rock-paper-scissors tournament; She sang on "Noël no Yoru", and on "Rinjin wa Kizutsukanai" as Team A
201225"Give Me Five!"A-side, Center, Selection 6Played rhythm guitar in Baby Blossom; she also sang on "Sweet & Bitter" as Selection 6
201226"Manatsu no Sounds Good!"A-side, CenterDid not participate in 2012 General Election.
201227"Gingham Check"B-sideDid not participate in title song. Participated in "Yume no Kawa" which was also her graduation song
201643"Kimi wa Melody"A-sideMarked as the 10th Anniversary Single. Participated as graduated member.

DVDs

Films

Television dramas