Ai Higuchi

Overview

Ai Higuchi (ヒグチアイ, born 28 November 1989) is a Japanese singer-songwriter born in Kagawa Prefecture and raised in Nagano. She is signed to Victor Music Arts, with Pony Canyon as her label. Built around piano-and-vocal performance, her work also includes the duo Tenten Takataka (天々高々), formed with Afro of MOROHA, in which she plays piano and sings under the name "Ai-chan."

Career

Her mother was a music teacher, and Higuchi began piano at two, later trying violin, choir, vocal training, drums and guitar. After graduating from Nagano Yoshida High School, she moved to Tokyo on the condition that she study jazz vocals at a music university. At 18 she began working as a keyboard singer-songwriter and won the top prize at an audition among about 4,000 entrants.

She held a self-organized event and release live at Shibuya O-WEST on 6 September 2012, and again on 5 September 2013, drawing over 200 people. Playing more than 150 shows a year and selling self-produced CDs, she passed 5,000 Twitter followers.

On 26 February 2014, with Hiromi Oshiba (head of the ZOOLOGICAL label) as producer, she released her first album, "Sanjuumannin" (三十万人), nationwide on ZOOLOGICAL, followed by a 50-date tour in about three months. Her self-produced second album "Zenin Yusho" (全員優勝) came out on Victor Music Arts on 18 March 2015, with a tour of about 40 venues.

In November 2016 she made her major debut with the album "Hyakurokujudo" (百六十度) on TAKUMI NOTE, a label within Teichiku Entertainment. In 2017 she toured nationwide, released the mini-album "Moshо desu e.p" (猛暑ですe.p) on 5 July, and made her first FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL appearance. Her first best-of album "Higuchi Ai" (樋口愛), titled with her real name, was released on 2 September 2020, and in October she became a Shibuya Tourism Association tourism fellow.

In 2021 she moved to Pony Canyon and released "Yukari" (縁), the ending theme of the TV Tokyo drama "Ikiru toka Shinu toka Chichioya toka." She made her stage debut as a genius pianist in the symphonic musical play "Mitsubachi to Enrai," released the working-women trilogy "Kanashii Uta ga Aru Riyuu," "Kyori" and "Yameru nara Ima," and held 5th-anniversary one-man shows in Osaka and Tokyo in November.

In January 2022 she released "Akuma no Ko" (悪魔の子), written as the ending theme of the TV anime Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2. It reached No. 1 on Apple Music's J-Pop ranking in more than 100 countries and on iTunes Store's J-Pop ranking in 40 countries, topped Spotify's Viral 50 in Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, and placed 3rd in Japan and 5th globally. Her fourth original album, "Saiaku Saiai" (最悪最愛), followed on 2 March 2022, with a band one-man tour and a solo tour. Her lyrics for the theme and insert songs of the anime Bocchi the Rock! earned her the nickname "Literary master of Shimokitazawa." She appeared on THE FIRST TAKE (episode 271) on 2 December 2022 performing "Akuma no Ko" on piano, and episode 274 on 14 December.

She sang the theme for the film released 1 October 2023 and began a BL column in January 2024. On 14 December 2024 she held her indie-debut 10th anniversary live at Tokyo International Forum Hall C.

On 14 February 2025 Tenten Takataka's first single "Romance" was released digitally; Higuchi's involvement was initially undisclosed and confirmed in July. From 9 July she released the three-part "Hitorigoto" series: "Aging" (9 July), "Watashi no Kawari" (6 August) and "Balance" (17 September). She appeared on dingo music's TEXTED on 15 October and released her sixth album "Shihou Shugi" (私宝主義) on 29 October, then began the tour "HIGUCHIAI solo / band tour 2025-2026" on 23 November. On 3 April 2026 she released "Hitosaji" (ひと匙), the theme for the NHK BS drama "Taiketsu."

Musical style

Higuchi centers her live shows on piano accompaniment while also performing with a band. In high school she played in a Tokyo Jihen cover band before seriously writing original songs. Her first composition, written in fourth grade around the Nagano Olympics, was titled "Sayonara Olympic." Her live formats include a solo set, a "strongest trio," an "avant-garde trio" and a five-piece band.