Rika Ishikawa is a Japanese pop singer. She was a member of Morning Musume and several of its spin-off groups, as well as the leader of v-u-den. Her singing is unbelievably crappy, but she more than compensates with her looks and her hilarious television personalities.

Ishikawa joined Morning Musume in 2000 as a member of the fourth generation, alongside Hitomi Yoshizawa, Nozomi Tsuji, and Ai Kago.

Initially, the producers had trouble figuring out what to do with her. Ishikawa's singing was notably bad, so they decided on grouping her in with Kaori Iida and Mari Yaguchi in Tanpopo. Ai Kago joined her as well. This new lineup ran from 2000 to 2002. The subgroups were shuffled around in 2002. Iida, Yaguchi, and Kago all left. Ishikawa stayed, and led the group for one more year before they went on a permanent hiatus.

During these obligations, Ishikawa was also loaned out to Country Musume (even though she isn't from the country.) She contributed to quite a few of their most popular singles, before returning to Morning Musume in 2002.

Despite her singing, Ishikawa was given the lead on the single "The Peace!" in 2001. Though it was originally feared that she would ruin the whole thing, Japan was charmed by her sweet voice and her spoken monologue in the middle - a monologue that would become a classic in years to come. Another famous monologue was given to her in the 2003 single "Shabondama", where she speaks frantically to the listener.

Morning Musume was split in half in 2003: Otomegumi and Sakuragumi. Ishikawa was part of Otomegumi, and released two singles with them before they became inactive in 2004.

A new trio was created just for Ishikawa in 2004, called v-u-den. Backed up by Erika Miyoshi and Yui Okada, v-u-den was considered by fans to be Rika's solo career. Rika graduated in 2005 to concentrate on v-u-den. Though she wasn't a solo artist, Rika was added to the roster of DEF.DIVA alongside H!P's most popular soloists, Natsumi Abe, Maki Goto, and Aya Matsuura. Such success was limited, however, as v-u-den announced that they were to disband in summer-fall of 2008.

Good news for Ishikawa, though. A few months prior to the announcement, Ishikawa joined her former Morning Musume and fourth-generation groupmate Hitomi Yoshizawa in Ongaku Gatas, which she also plays futsal for.

Ishikawa also occasionally works in film. Her biggest project to date is Sukeban Deka IV: Codename = Asamiya Saki, which even received a U.S. release.


Birth name: 石川 梨華 (Ishikawa Rika)
Born: January 19, 1985
Origin: Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan
Genre: Japanese pop
Occupations: Singer, actress
Years active: 2000–present
Labels: Zetima, Piccolo Town