Karen Iwata

Karen Iwata
Native name	岩田 華怜
Born	May 13, 1998[1] Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Origin	Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan
Genres	J-pop
Occupation(s)	Japanese idol singer voice actress
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2011–present
Associated acts	AKB48

Karen Iwata (岩田 華怜 Iwata Karen, born May 13, 1998 in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture) is a Japanese singer. She was a member of the Japanese female idol group AKB48. She is also a former member in Team A.^[2]

Biography

Iwata grew up in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. She auditioned for AKB48 and was selected to join as a kenkyusei (trainee) in April 2011.^[3] In December 2011, Iwata auditioned for a role in the TV animated series AKB0048 and was selected to play the main character, Nagisa Motomiya.^[4] As part of the anime project, she sang with eight other AKB48 members in the subunit No Name on the show's theme songs.^[5][6]

In March 2012, during the Saitama Super Arena concert, Iwata was one of the trainee members who were promoted to full AKB48 members in the new Team 4. She also participated on her first A-side, on the AKB48 single Manatsu no Sounds Good!.^[7] In July 2012, Iwata was selected to host a TV program on NHK as part of a series to support the areas affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which included Sendai. She mentioned that she had lived in a shelter for a while before auditioning for AKB48.^[3] On August 24, 2012, AKB48 had a major restructuring, in which Team 4 was dissolved, and Iwata was moved to Team A.^[8][9] On January 5, 2016, Iwata announced her graduation.^[10] On March 15, 2016, Iwata graduated from the group and her final activity from the group is on March 21, 2016.^[11]

Discography

Singles

With AKB48

A sides

• "Manatsu no Sounds Good!"^[7][12]

B sides

• "Kaze wa Fuiteiru"
  • "Tsubomitachi" - Team 4+Kenkyūsei
• "Give Me Five!"
  • "New Ship" - Special Girls A
• "Gingham Check"
  • "Ano Hi no Fūrin" - Waiting Girls
• "Uza"
  • "Tsugi no Season" - Under Girls
  • "Kodoku na Hoshizora" - Team A
• "So Long!"
  • "Ruby" - Team A
• "Sayonara Crawl"
  • "Bara no Kajitsu" - Under Girls
  • "Ikiru Koto" - Team A
• "Heart Electric"
  • "Kaisoku to Doutai Shiryoku" - Under Girls
  • "Kiss made Countdown" - Team A
• "Mae shika Mukanee"
  • "Konjo" - Talking Chimpanzees
• "Labrador Retriever"
  • "Kimi wa Kimagure" - Team A
• "Kokoro no Placard"
  • "Sailor Zombie" - Milk Planet
• "Kibōteki Refrain"
  • "Juujun na Slave" - Team A
  • "Utaitai" - Katareagumi (Cattleya Group)
• "Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby"
  • "Yasashii Place" - Team A
• "Kimi wa Melody"
  • "M.T. ni Sasagu" - Team A

With Hana wa Saku Project

Title	Release date	Chart position	Notes
		Oricon Weekly Singles Chart
"Hana wa Saku" (花は咲く)	May 23, 2012	17	Single by Hana wa Saku Project Participated in the main single and "Hana wa Saku Iwata Karen ver."

With No Name

• "Kibō ni Tsuite" (August 1, 2012)
• "Kono Namida o Kimi ni Sasagu" (April 10, 2013)

Appearances

TV dramas

• Majisuka Gakuen 2 (Final episode, July 1, 2011, TV Tokyo), as Rena
• Majisuka Gakuen 3 (Episode 8, September 7, 2012, TV Tokyo)
• Sailor Zombie (2014, TV Tokyo), as Milk Planet, Karen
• Majisuka Gakuen 4 (First episode, January 19, 2015, Nippon TV), as Masamune
• Majisuka Gakuen 5 (Episode Nine, October 6, 2015, Hulu), as Anison

Films

• Solomon's Perjury (2015), as Saori Kawara^[13]
• Tono, Risoku de Gozaru! (2016), as Kayo^[14]

Anime

• AKB0048 (April 29, 2012 — July 22, 2012), as Nagisa Motomiya
• AKB0048 Next Stage (January 5, 2013 - March 30, 2013), as Nagisa Motomiya/Atsuko Maeda the 14th

TV variety shows

• Tosugeki! Namaiki TV (突撃!ナマイキTV) (2003–2010, Higashinippon Broadcasting)
• Ariyoshi AKB Kyōwakoku (有吉AKB共和国) (July 1, 2011 — present, TBS)
• Shūkan AKB (週刊AKB) (March 16, 2012 — present, TV Tokyo)
• AKBingo! (July 18, 2012 — present, TV Tokyo)
• Ashita e 1 min "Karen no Fukkō Calendar" (August 28, 2012 — present, NHK General TV) — host^[3]
• Zenryoku Ōen! NHK-hai Fugure 2012: Ginban Athlete-tachi (November 11–15, 2012, NHK General TV, NHK BS1) — host

Stages

• Broadway Musical Footloose (September 15, 2014 — October 12, 2014), as Wendy Joe^[15]
• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (June 16, 2016 —), as Aoi Asahina^[16]

References

1. "AKB48公式プロフィール". AKB48. AKS. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
2. "AKB48公式サイト｜メンバー情報" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-11-29.
3. "AKB岩田華怜、中2でNHK冠番組　被災地支援番組ナビゲーターに決定" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2012-07-17. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
4. "アニメ「AKB0048」公開オーディションで声優選抜9名決定" (in Japanese). Natalie. 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
5. "AKBまゆゆら"声優選抜"が新ユニット「NO NAME」結成！　アニメ主題歌デビュー" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
6. "TVアニメ『AKB0048』、主題歌は声優選抜メンバーのユニット"NO NAME"が担当" (in Japanese). My Navi. 2012-04-27. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
7. "AKB48、新曲選抜メンバーは過去最多36人　まゆゆ筆頭に次世代エース候補が台頭" (in Japanese). Oricon. March 25, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
8. "Reformation of AKB48 in Tokyo Dome Concert" (in Japanese). 2012-08-24.
9. Green, Scott (August 24, 2012). "AKB48 Announces Tectonic Line-Up Shift". Crunchyroll.
10. "岩田華怜がAKB卒業を発表。泣き崩れるメンバーも" (in Japanese). Oricon Style. 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
11. "AKB岩田華怜が卒業「女優に向け」ホリプロ所属" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
12. "AKB48、過去最多36人で新曲初披露　HKT兒玉ら15人が初選抜". Oricon Style (in Japanese). 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
13. AKB48岩田華怜、元bump.y宮武祭が『ソロモンの偽証』に集結！ (in Japanese). Cinematoday Inc. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
14. AKB48岩田華怜、映画「殿、利息でござる！」で時代劇初挑戦 (in Japanese). Natasha,Inc. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
15. "Broadway Musical Footloose Official website" (in Japanese). Suisei Musical. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
16. "Danganronpa the stage 2016 official website" (in Japanese). Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. Retrieved 2016-03-07.

External links

• Profile on AKB48 website
• Karen Iwata on Google+
• Karen Iwata at the Internet Movie Database