As a teen, Ayaka commuted from Osaka to Fukuoka every weekend to learn singing and songwriting with former music producer Yoshihiko Nishio. ∙ In 2005, Warner Music Group chairman Lyor Cohen praised Ayaka, describing her as “world class to-be.” ∙ “I Believe,” her theme song for the Japanese TV drama Rondo, was her first million-selling single. ∙ In 2006, she won Best New Artist at the Japan Record Awards. ∙ In 2015, Ayaka was the first Japanese artist to record and release an iTunes Session. ∙ For her 2020 duet with Daichi Miura, “Negaiboshi,” Ayaka solicited fans’ thoughts, photos, and voices, incorporating them into the lyrics and accompanying music video.