Rika Ishikawa

Rika Ishikawa (石川 梨華, Ishikawa Rika, born January 19, 1985 in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan), is a Japanese pop singer and TV and radio hostess, associated with the Hello! Project banner and best known as a former member of Hello! Project's mothership J-pop group, Morning Musume. She was the leader of the trio v-u-den until June, 2008. She is currently working as a soloist and a member of the group Ongaku Gatas and the duo Hangry & Angry.

Ishikawa joined Morning Musume as a fourth generation member along with Hitomi Yoshizawa, Nozomi Tsuji, and Ai Kago, and made her debut in 2000 along with the rest of the fourth generation on the band's tenth single, "Happy Summer Wedding".

In 2001, simultaneously with her Morning Musume obligations, Ishikawa became a featured member of the then-semi-dormant Hello! Project group Country Musume and a second-generation member of Morning Musume's first subgroup, Tanpopo. She also participated in her first shuffle group recording, 3-nin Matsuri, with fellow Morning Musume/Tanpopo member Ai Kago and solo singer Aya Matsuura (previously, she had been a replacement member in the 2000 shuffle group Aoiro 7).

One of Ishikawa's most referenced vocal parts during her Morning Musume days was a frantic spoken word piece in the middle eight of their 2003 single "Shabondama". She also said a spoken word piece at the end of the song "The Peace!" which she has said was one of her favorite Morning Musume moments.

In September 2004, her new trio, v-u-den, released their debut single. She graduated from Morning Musume on May 7, 2005, and after five singles, v-u-den finally released their debut album, Suiteroom Number 1, in November 2005.

Ishikawa has starred in a Hamtaro movie with her Ecomoni partner, Sayumi Michishige, and soloist Aya Matsuura. She was a Pocky Girl (for Morning Musume's Pocky commercial), and also plays for Gatas Brilhantes H.P..

Ishikawa starred in Sukeban Deka: Codename = Asamiya Saki, the fourth live-action adaptation film of Sukeban Deka opposite Aya Matsuura, released September 30, 2006.

In line with Mari Yaguchi's involvement in the Japanese 2007 adaptation of the popular 1955 Broadway play, "Damn Yankees", Rika will be double cast with fellow 4th Generation ex-Morning Musume member, Nozomi Tsuji, in "When Will You Return?" (『いつの日君帰る』, Istu no hi kimi kaeru), scheduled to open on May 4, 2007 at the Nissei Theatre in Tokyo, where it'll be performed up to the 22nd. The play will also have a limited three day run at the Osaka City Center from May 25 to May 28.

In mid-2007, Ishikawa joined the group Ongaku Gatas along with fellow members of Gatas Brilhantes H.P..

On October 12, 2008 it was announced that she is currently paired up with fellow ex-Morning Musume member Hitomi Yoshizawa in the new unit Hangry & Angry in collaboration with a Harajuku fashion store of the same name. Hangry & Angry will be making their first United States performance at Sakura-Con in Seattle, Washington in April 2009.

It was announced on October 19, 2008, on the official Hello!Project website, that Ishikawa will graduate from Hello! Project along with the rest of Elder Club on March 31, 2009.