ayaka was born Iida Ayaka in Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture on December 18th 1987. During her high school years, ayaka attended the private music school Ongaku Jyuku Voice in Fukuoka, which was founded in 1996 by Nishio Yoshihiko, who has contributed in some manner to a vast majority of ayaka’s works.
Every weekend, ayaka would make the journey between Osaka and Fukuoka, and under Nishio’s guidance, began to create music. It was also around this time that ayaka wrote the lyrics for the song Mikazuki, which described her feelings for her family and friends.
Following vocals lessons, demotapes were sent to Warner Music Japan. In December 2005, Mikazuki, which was used as the theme song for the NHK program “Tsunagaru Television@Human,” was made available for internet download throughout all Asian countries.
On January 15th 2006, I believe was made available via Chaku-Uta Downloads and a mere 42 days later, it was revealed that the song had been downloaded over 1,000,000 times. This made I believe the fastest downloaded debut single for a female singer/songwriter. The single was released in CD format on February 1st and a mere five days later ranked at #3 on the Oricon Single Chart and became the 3rd highest selling debut single for a female popular singer/songwriter, after Utada Hikaru’s First Love and Nakashima Mika’s STARS respectively.
On May 10th, ayaka released her second single melody ~SOUNDS REAL~, which was limited to 50,000 copies to commemorate her first national tour. The coupling track on the release Blue Days was used as an insert song for the FUJI TV drama “Suppli.” Later that year, her fourth single Mikazuki was released. The song was ayaka’s first love ballad and centred on the theme of a long-distance relationship. Mikazuki had been made available for internet download throughout several Asian countries from December 2005 and was originally slated to be her debut single.
However, before her debut, I believe had been recorded as a promotional CD during a live performance and it was consequently decided that the song would be released as her first single. The release peaked at #1 on the Oricon, becoming ayaka’s first single to do so. On November 1st, ayaka unveiled her debut album First Message, which peaked at #1 on the Oricon. The album initially shifted 351,000 copies, which signalled the highest selling debut album since Nakashima Mika’s debut TRUE, released nearly four years prior.
On December 16th, ayaka was awarded the Best Newcomer Award at the 39th Nihon Yuusen Taishou and on December 30th the same award at the 48th Nihon Record Taishou.
The beginning of 2007 signalled the formation of the collaborative unit ayakaxKobukuro and on February 28th, the single WINDING ROAD was released.
ayaka unveiled her latest solo single Jewelry day on July 4th, which peaked at #2 on the Oricon charts. The release was her first solo venture in around ten months and was also ayaka’s first single to feature in a movie, which was consequently used as the theme for “Last Love.”
From May 16th to July 10th, ayaka conducted her first hall tour Peace loving… This was followed in September with the release of her first double A-side single CLAP&LOVE/Why. The first track was used as the theme song for the TBS drama “Jigoku no sata mo yome shidai,” whilst WHY was tied in with the PSP release of “CRISIS CORE –FINAL FANTASY VII-.“
ayaka also released her first digital single in November, entitled For today, which also featured on her second full album Sing to the Sky. On December 20th, ayaka held her first live performance at the Nippon Budokan. On December 30th, at the 49th Nihon Record Taishou, ayaka won her first gold medal.
The year 2008 promised to be just as busy for ayaka, with her first notable public performance occurring on February 29th at the POWER OF MUSIC event. On June 25th, she released her second studio album Sing to the Sky, which peaked at #2 on the Oricon.
From July 19th to September 21st, ayaka conducted her second hall tour Sing to the Sky. A few days after the tour's conclusion, the collaborative effort ayakaxKobukuro unveiled their second single Anata to. The release’s title track was used as the CM song for the “Nissan Cube” and peaked at #2 on the Oricon. Later that year, at the 59th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen, ayaka was invited to perform for her third consecutive year.
On April 3rd 2009, ayaka held a press conference in order to confirm rumours that she had married actor Mizushima Hiro on February 22nd 2009. ayaka also revealed that shortly after her debut in 2005, she was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease which affects the autoimmune system and would be pausing her singing career at the end of the year to concentrate on treatment.
Despite this announcement, ayaka continued to release new material and on April 22nd unveiled her third A-side single Yume wo mikata ni/Koikogarete mita yume. The single was her first solo attempt in around 11 months and also her first since her marriage. The first track, Yume wo mikata ni, was used as part of the Benesse Corporation’s campaign to encourage elementary, lower secondary school and upper secondary school students in their studies.
On July 8th, ayaka released her last single of the year, Minna sora no shita, which peaked at #4 on the Oricon. In September, the compilation album ayaka’s History 2006-2009 was unveiled and peaked at #1 on the Oricon.
Despite being a compilation album, the release has been certified by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) as shifting over a million units. In its first week of sales, the album shifted almost 350,000 units, making it the highest selling album for a female artist in 2009. By the conclusion of 2009, it was announced that ayaka’s History 2006-2009 was the only album released by a solo artist to break the 1,000,000 mark. On December 31st, ayaka made her last television performance before her hiatus on the 60th Kouhaku Uta Gassen with a rendition of Minna sora no shita.
Although ayaka’s career may have been postponed due to unfortunate circumstances, the young artist displays an artistic flair which is beyond her years and fans will wait impatiently for her return to the music industry.
