Erina Ikuta is a Japanese pop singer and member of the girl group Morning Musume (now under the name of Morning Musume 23). Erina was born on July 7, 1997 in the city of Fukuoka. It was from a young age that she (Ikuta) had the desire to become an idol. Many of us really aren’t sure what we want to do with our lives but for Erina, this was the career that she wanted. Prior to her auditioning for Morning Musume, she was a talent for Elegant Promotion for a short time. Ikuta has a younger brother and a cousin by the name of Aya Takigawa.
Entry into Morning Musume
On January 2, 2011, Ikuta was announced by the group’s producer TSUNKU that she was selected to be one of the members of the 9th generation along with Riho Sayashi, Kanon Suzuki, and Mizuki Fukumura. Ikuta’s first single participation came in the song called Maji desu kaska! On July 2nd, 2011, Ikuta released her first DVD called Greeting Erina Ikuta. One month later on August 2, 2011, Ikuta ended up replacing Saki Ogawa from the girl group S/mileage on the morning children’s program called Oha Suta. She would play the role of Oha Girl Maple.
17th Birthday event
On July 7, 2014, Ikuta celebrated her 17th birthday during an event called Morning Musume 14 Ikuta Erina Birthday Event 2014. There was one performance in Tokyo.
Ikuta Rises to Position of Sub-Leader
On November 23, 2014, Ikuta was appointed sub-leader of Morning Musume by then band leader Sayumi Michishige. This would be announced on November 26, 2014 during Michishige’s graduation concert. Ikuta would share the position with Haruna Iikubo who had been serving as sub-leader since May 2013.
Erina Ikuta’s Career from 2015-2020
On March 5, 2015, Ikuta announced that she would be a regular member on the NHK Education channel show called Karada wo Ugokasu TV. She made her first appearance on the show on March 25th of that year. On November 11, 2015, she took part in the 2015 Mitsui Sumitomo VISA Pacific Ocean Masters Pro-Am Charity Tournament as a celebrity guest for the 2nd year in a row. On October 22, 2016, she released her first solo photo book called Erina. On May 23, 2017, Ikuta would take part in 18th Jojoen Cup Celebrity Golf Champion Tournament. On January 20, 2018, Ikuta released her 2nd solo photo book called If. On April 26, 2019, she was featured as a model on the website of Beams Golf. On March 14, 2020, Ikuta announced that she had produced her own clothing line called ELEVYS GOLF. The name of the brand is a pun on her given name and it has clothes for golfers as well as clothes that can be worn every day. On June 20, 2020, the brand was officially started and the website was up as well. On June 22, 2020, Ikuta became the longest serving sub-leader in the history of Morning Musume surpassing Haruna Iikubo’s previous record of 5 years, 6 months, and 25 days.
SEE ALSO: Who Is Sayumi Michishige?
Interesting facts about Erina Ikuta
- Erina Ikuta says that she wants to be the #1 idol.
- She is now learning English.
- Prior to joining Morning Musume, she had her own blog.
- Along with Reina Tanaka, she is only the second member of Morning Musume to be from Fukuoka. Tanaka graduated from the group in order to work on her other band Lovendor.
- She performs karaoke as a way to reduce stress.
- Although she is not a good cook, she says that she likes it and that she can make gratin.
- She does not use any eye shadow.
- She was ranked at #244 for the 9th generation audition.
- She was the first Morning Musume member to change her group color in 2012. The second member to do this was Haruna Iikubo.
- Ikuta along with Ayumi Ishida are the only Morning Musume members to be a part of the groups HI-FIN and Harvest.
- She is the only 9th generation member along with Mizuki Fukumura to dye her hair.
- After hearing the song called Mr. Moonlight Ai no Big Band, Ikuta became a Morning Musume fan.
- Her interest in Hello! Project started after she heard the group called MiniMoni.
- She credits Yuuka Maeda with being her favorite member in Hello! Project.
- She really admires Risa Niigaki.
- She has been friends with HKT48 member Aoi Motomura well before they both became idols.
- Erina says that she would like to try flamenco dancing.
- She would like to try dyeing her hair in the blonde color.
- Erina Ikuta and Ayumi Ishida are the only Morning Musume members to be born in 1997 which is also the same year that the group was formed. The group celebrated their 16th anniversary in September 2013.