Jurina Matsui

At 27 years old, Jurina Matsui has this physical status:

Jurina Matsui (松井 珠理奈, Matsui Jurina, born March 8, 1997) is a Japanese idol, actress and singer of the girl group SKE48 and a former concurrent member of AKB48.

She is recognized as the group's absolute ace, having placed in the top 10 in many of AKB48's annual general elections and winning the 2018 election.

Matsui debuted with SKE48's first generation group Team S when was 11 years old, and was soon appointed the center position on AKB48's single "Ogoe Diamond", making her the first sister group member to participate and to center perform in AKB48's main single lineup.

She continues to appear regularly on both SKE48 and AKB48's title track singles. Matsui's first solo album, Privacy, which all lyrics were written by herself, was released on October 5, 2019.

Early life

Jurina Matsui was born on March 8, 1997, in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture as the only child to Yumiko Matsui, a cosmetologist. Matsui was interested in singing since nursery school, then came to like dancing when she started to attend hip-hop dance school around the third grade of primary school. Thinking singing and dancing are what idols do, Matsui started aiming to become an idol.

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Music career

Matsui auditioned for SKE48 in 2008 and made her debut appearance at SKE48 Theater in Sakae, Nagoya, on October 5. Matsui was chosen as the choreography center and the cover girl for AKB48's single "goe Diamond" three months later, at the age of 11. It was the first time an AKB48 single would feature a member of a sister group.

Matsui was selected again in 2009 as one of the main points for AKB48's 11th major single "10nen Sakura" with Atsuko Maeda. Matsui has been playing in AKB48's main lineup until 2018, except singles, whose lineup was determined by the rock-paper scissors tournaments. Matsui's debut single "Tsuyoki Mono yo" in August served as the choreography center for SKE48's debut single "Tsuyoki Mono yo" in August and then continued to hold the position until "Mae Nomeri" in 2015.

Matsui appeared in "Sakura no Ki Nar" on AKB48's 20th single "Sakura no Ki Na" in 2011.

Matsui was recruited to AKB48 as a temporary concurrent member to fill one of the open positions in early 2012 following controversies in which Natsumi Hirajima and Rumi Yonezawa resigned from AKB48. On June 1, she made her debut appearance at AKB48 Theater on June 1. Matsui was confirmed as one of the center performers for AKB48's 28th single "Uza" with Yuko Oshima on September 18, and she performed the song for the first time at the group's rock-paper-scissors tournament.

Matsui came out the champion of the group's 34th single, "Kimi no Hohoemi wo Yume ni Miru," at the next rock-paper scissors tournament in 2013. Matsui's first solo song "Akai Pinhiiru to Professor" was released in 2015 as one of AKB48's new songs "Koko ga Rhodes da, Koko de Tobe."

Matsui declared on October 21, 2015, that she will resign from AKB48 Team K after three years in order to dedicate herself to SKE48. On December 24, she appeared at the AKB48 Theater for the final time.

"Hana Uranai," Matsui's first self-written song, was released and included in SKE48's second studio album Kakumei no Oka in 2017. Matsui said that the song was inspired by her feelings towards her fellow first-generation members. Matsui performed in May with Sakura Miyawaki for AKB48's commemorative single "Negaigoto no Mochigusare," which was used as the theme song for the NHK All-Japan School Choir Competition's junior high school division.

Matsui was one of two SKE48 members to compete in the South Korean competition show, Produce 48. Matsui collapsed on stage during the 10th AKB48 general election on June 16, and he had to be carried away to rest before returning. Matsui was crowned the champion of AKB48's 53rd single at 194,453 votes at the end of the night, and he would serve as the center performer for the AKB48's 53rd single. Yuasa Hiroshi, the director of SKE48, released a statement on July 7 that Matsui will suspend all activities until recovery. Matsui was also pulling out of Produce 48, where she placed 13th in the polls for the fifth episode with 329,455 votes. According to Yahoo, her triumph and sickness made her one of the three most sought-for-death idols in the first half of 2018. Japan is a republic in Japan.

Matsui resumed her activities on September 6, 2018, and she made a surprise appearance at the SKE48 Theater on September 6, 2018 to announce her return. Matsui was unable to participate in the recording of her winning song "Sentimental Train" due to her lengthy absence. In the unfinished version of the music video, Matsui was briefly replaced by storyboard and CG images. The complete version of both song and music video was released on September 25 and could be downloaded by CD owners with serial numbers included in the book.

Matsui's debut solo album Privacy on October 5, 2019, also the 11th anniversary of her debut, was released under the name Showroom Records. On August 28, a pre-release single "KMT Dance" was released, as well as a Line Music campaign. Matsui wrote and produced Yoshimasa Inoue's album on the album. After seeing how Matsui's sensitive lyrics and singing voice grabbed followers, she's advocate Yasushi Akimoto of AKB48 Group's producer Yasushi Akimoto captivated viewers through her live streams on Showroom, AKB48 Group's producer Yasushi Akimoto suggested the album.

Matsui announced her graduation from SKE48 on February 7, 2020. Her graduation concert was supposed to be held at the Nippon Gaishi Hall on September 26-27, but her farewell appearance at the SKE48 theater in Japan was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

SKE48 and Chukyo TV opened "Jurina's Share Room" as a result of her forthcoming graduation. The exhibition features more than 100 pieces of content from her 12 years of work. The special website was launched for a limited period of three months, and it was divided into three seasons starting January 9, 2021.

"Koiochi Flag," Matsui's last single as a member of SKE48, was published on February 3, 2021. The song and the music video were recorded by all 68 members of SKE48. In addition to that, Matsui created Black Pearl, a unit that members of the Matsui family who "felt they would be the future of SKE48." She worked on a variety of aspects, including songwriting, choreography, and styling. Matsui also wrote the lyrics for her graduation solo album "Memories (Itsu no Hi Ka Aeru Made)" (Memories ). On the Oricon Singles Weekly Chart, the single took first place. It was the fifth female artist to have the most number one positions in history behind AKB48, Ayumi Hamasaki, Seiko Matsuda, and Nogizaka46.

Matsui's graduation concert, held at the Nippon Gaishi Hall on April 11th, 2021, featured two performers - day and night - with two different setlists and a smaller audience that was smaller than half of the venue's capacity. Matsui was involved in the preparations of the concert. Naomichi Marufuji, Kaito Kiyomiya, Yo-Hey, and Yoshiki Inamura were among Pro Wrestling Noah's heroes on the daytime show, as well as a performance of several songs that had been originally performed by Matsui's AKB48 senior members. SKE48's first-generation members appeared on the nighttime program. Former AKB48 and SKE48 members, several AKB48 Group members outside of Japan, and Kenny Omega all sent congratulations, including Matsui. Matsui and all members of SKE48 performed "Orange Bus" (), an unreleased and unrecorded self-written song by Matsui. On May 19, the solo and instrumental versions of the song were subsequently released as a digital single.

On April 29, Matsui's last performance as a member of SKE48 came to an end, putting an end to her 13-year tenure as an idol. Nonetheless, Matsui appeared only 48 minutes into the program after a string of solo performances of her junior members, to which she said she wanted them to gain knowledge. Matsui expressed her desire to remain a film actress and television presenter at the end of the program.

Acting career

Matsui appeared in a Nagoya-based film Waya for the first time in her first film and non-AKB48 Group roles. In 2011, Uchuu Ichi no Osekkai Daisakusen. After director Kohatsu Yo held an audition for all 57 members of SKE48 at their theater, Matsui and another SKE48 member Kumi Yagami were given roles in the film. Matsui was just 13 years old at the time, even though her role in the film was 18 years old.

In 2012, Matsui appeared in the third episode of Blackboard's television miniseries Blackboard: Jidai to Tatakatta Kyshitachi. She portrayed Minami Hirokawa, an honor student inspired by Ry's rebellious Masaki's appearance.

In a special broadcast of the mysterious television drama Kagi no Kakatta Heya in January 2014, Matsui played as a new secretary to Koichi Sato's character. In September, Matsui appeared in a supporting role as a part-time maiko in Japan Academy Film Prize-winning documentary comedy film Lady Maiko directed by Masayuki Suo.

Matsui appeared in the film Furiko, a live-action remake of a flip book-like short animation film starring comedian Tekken in 2015. The film was shown at the 6th Okinawa International Film Festival. Matsui portrayed her life from middle school to her 20s in the role of Koharu Hasegawa, the daughter of the main characters.

Matsui played Miki Nakatani in It's Not That I Can't Marry, but I Don't Want To. Matsui performed in her first non-AKB48 Group lead role in the TBS' midnight horror movie Death Cash. Yuka Manami, a college student who was looking for the truth behind a tumultuous case involving cursed 10,000 yen cash, was playing her role. "Kin no Ai, Gin no Ai" was SKE48's 20th single and served as the country's theme song. Matsui revealed on October 2 that she would move from AKS to Irving to expand her acting career in the entertainment industry.

Matsui made her acting debut in 2019 by appearing alongside Yoko Amami in TV Asahi's crime drama Emergency Interrogation Room. Hinako Tachibana, a young shogi champion who had been accused of murder, was convicted of murder. Matsui made her debut in a stage play by playing Hamlet in the SKE48 version of Hamlet on April 18. The stage performance, written and directed by Maruo Maruichir, marks the culmination of SKE48 members' experiences on their variety TV program SKEBINGO! Matsui reprised her role in Kagi no Kakatta Heya Special Edition 3 in 2020 for a special re-broadcast with additional scenes.

Matsui has appeared in many AKB48 Group-related television series since her debut as an SKE48 member in 2021, including lead roles in Majisuka Gakuen 2 (2011), Tfu Pro Wrestling (2017), and Cabasuka Gakuen (2016).

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Awards

• Tokyo Sports Pro-Wrestling Awards: Special Award (2017)
• Yahoo! Japan: "Yahoo! Search Awards" Idol Category (mid-year 2018)