Aiba Masaki
| Masaki Aiba | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 相葉 雅紀 |
| Born |
Masaki Aiba December 24, 1982 Chiba, Chiba, Japan |
| Other names | Aiba-chan |
| Occupation | |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Pop |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | Arashi |
Masaki Aiba (相葉 雅紀 Aiba Masaki) (born December 24, 1982) is a Japanese idol, singer, actor, television personality, and radio host. He is a member of Japanese boy band Arashi.
Aiba began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1996 at the age of 13. Prior to his debut as a singer with Arashi in 1999, Aiba started an acting career when he was cast as the lead role of Gordie for the stage play Stand by Me, which was based on the film of the same name. About five years after his debut as a singer with Arashi in 1999, he became one of the co-hosts of the variety show Tensai Shimura Dōbutsuen (天才！志村どうぶつ園 Genius! Shimura Zoo) in 2004, making him the first member of Arashi to regularly participate in a variety show not primarily hosted by Arashi.
Aiba was born in Hanamigawa, Chiba as the first child of his family. He has a younger brother who is four years younger. Aiba was raised by his grandparents until he was four years old because his parents were busy running their newly opened Chinese cuisine restaurant then.
Prior to joining Johnny & Associates, Aiba watched a program called Love Love SMAP (愛ラブSMAP Ai Rabu SMAP) and saw SMAP playing basketball on television. Wanting to play basketball with them, he sent in the application to join the talent agency himself, without exactly knowing what the agency specialized in until the day of auditions. Aiba became a Johnny's Jr. in August 1996 at the age of 13.
In collaboration with the other members, he has written the lyrics to "Fight Song" and "5x10". For his solo song "Hello Goodbye", Aiba played the harmonica portion of the song throughout Arashi's Arashi Marks 2008 Dream-A-Live and Arashi Marks Arashi Around Asia 2008 concert tours. Aiba also used to play the saxophone; however, due to the collapse of one of his lungs in 2002, he was forced to stop playing due to the operation he had to undergo.
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