Ai Takahashi

(born September 14, 1986) is a Japanese J-pop singer. She sings upbeat songs in the group Morning Musume which is a part of the Hello!Project unity. She was the leader of the group.
Biography.
Her first appearance on TV was in 1999, on a children's talent show, where she won a prize.
She joined Morning Musume in 2001 with Asami Konno, Makoto Ogawa and Risa Niigaki. Her first single was "Mr. Moonlight ~Ai no BIG BAND~" which she sang with the group. In 2002 she launched her first photobook alone and joined the group Mini Moni. She also acted in a movie, "MiniMoni Ja Movie: Okashina Daibouken". She was called "Takkity" by her fans because her dress in the movie was like a black cat.
In 2003 she replaced Mari Yaguchi in the group Mini Moni. In 2007 she became leader of the group Morning Musume after Miki Fujimoto left the team. In 2008 she joined a new group, High King, created to promote the musical: "Cinderella the Musical". Takahashi plays the main character in this new group and Reina Tanaka is the leader.
In 2009 she was made the leader of the group Hello!Project. She is the only member of Morning Musume that plays a character in a dorama (Japanese drama).