About Reina



Reina Tanaka October 2007

Reina Tanaka is a sixth generation member of the Japanese pop band Morning Musume. She joined the band in 2003 along with Eri Kamei and Sayumi Michishige.

Reina was born in Kurume, Fukoka Prefecture, Japan on November 11, 1989. She had actually auditioned twice to join Morning Musume, once for the 5th Generation auditions and again for the 6th Generation. She made her recorded debut with the band on their 19th single “Shabondama” on which she was one of the featured lead vocalists.

To date, Reina has recorded three albums, one EP, and 17 singles with the band, as well as one-off singles with the side projects Aa! (in 2003, with then-future C-ute vocalist Airi Suzuki and then-future Berryz Koubou member Miyabi Natsuyaki) and the 2005 H!P Shuffle Group Elegies (with fellow Morning Musume Ai Takahashi, Melon Kinenbi’s Ayumi Shibata, and Country Musume’s Mai Satoda). She has also been the subject of five solo photobooks to date.

In addition to her role in Morning Musume, she also currently hosts a weekly half-hour radio show, FIVE STARS, every Wednesday evening on Japanese FM station InterFM.

Although Morning Musume are currently a cult phenomenon outside of Japan, with their recordings available only as imports or though file sharing (until the appearance of the ALL SINGLES COMPLETE anthology and the “Mikan” single on US iTunes), Reina Tanaka is one of the most popular members of the band amongst American fans. Countless OPV (fan videos incorporating footage of Reina with other artists songs as the soundtrack) videos proliferate on YouTube and similar video sites, and many Tanaka worship blogs, including 100% Wonkyfied, also exist online.

REINA TANAKA DISCOGRAPHY

With Morning Musume:
Albums:
Best! Morning Musume 2 (Zetima, 2004) – compilation; Reina appears only on “Shabondama”, “Go Girl! Koi No Victory” and “Ai Araba IT’S ALL RIGHT”.
Ai No Dai 6 Kan (Zetima, 2004)
Rainbow 7 (Zetima, 2006)
7.5 Fuyu Fuyu Morning Musume Mini (Zetima, 2006) [buy: iTunes
Sexy 8 Beat (Zetima, 2007)
All Singles Collection (Zetima, 2007 - 2 CD set; Reina appears on most of CD2 from "Shabondama" onward). [buy: iTunes]

With H!P shuffle units
H.P. All Stars: ALL FOR ONE & ONE FOR ALL! EP (Zetima, 2004) – title track of EP.
(track also appears on the compilation Pucchi Best 4 [Zetima, 2004]
Elegies: “Inshouha Renoir no You ni” (Zetima, 2005), on the 2005 Shuffle Unit split single with Sexy Otanajan and PuriPuri Pink.
(track also appears on the compilation Pucchi Best 5 [Zetima, 2005])

With Morning Musume Otomegumi
Singles:
Ai No Sono ~Touch My Heart!~ (Zetima, 2003)
(track also appears on the compilation Pucchi Best 4 [Zetima, 2003])
Yuujyou ~Kokoro No Busu Niwa Naranee~ (Zetima, 2004)

With Aa!
Singles:
First Kiss (Piccolo Town, 2003)
(track also appears on the compilation Pucchi Best 4 [Zetima, 2003])

With Megumi Murakami and Airi Suzuki
(note: some fans have informally dubbed this lineup Aa! version 2 due to the presence of both Reina and Airi.)
“Suki ni Naccha Ikenai Hito” on the H!P All Stars EP ALL FOR ONE & ONE FOR ALL [Zetima, 2004]

Photobooks
Tanaka Reina (11.19.2004) [buy: YesAsia]
Reina (10.17.2005) [buy: YesAsia]
Shoujo R (5.10.2006) [buy: YesAsia]
Alo Hello! Tanaka Reina (2.1.2007) [buy: YesAsia]
GIRL (9.27.2007) [buy: YesAsia]
Re:Return (2.27.2008) [buy: YesAsia]