Takahashi Minami (高橋みなみ), nickname "Takamina" (たかみな), born April 8, 1991 in Tokyo, Japan is a Japanese idol singer, model, and actress, as well as captain of idol group AKB48's Team A, and General Manager of the entire group. She is also a member of the sub-unit no3b and debuted as a solo artist April 3, 2013 with the single "Jane Doe". In October 2005, Takahashi participated in the first AKB48 audition and beat 7,924 other applicants to be chosen as one of the 24 founding members of the group. According to the manager of the AKB48 Theater, two factors gave her an advantage over other applicants - her birthday and her height include the number "48". She later made her stage debut on December 8, 2005. In 2008, no3b members, including Minami Takahashi, appeared in the TV Tokyo drama Men Dol. She starred as Nami/Kai in this television series. On August 23, 2009, Minami Takahashi was officially announced as the captain of AKB48's Team A. On August 24, 2012, she was assigned as the general manager of the 48 Group, and on the next day, her contract as a solo singer under Universal Music's label, Nayutawave Records, was announced. Minami Takahashi appears in almost all of the AKB48 singles as one of their key singers. In addition, Minami frequently represents AKB48 on TV programs such as Music Station, and in other of the group's publicity events. She was also scheduled to take part in the AKB48's 3-day live concert event entitled "Takamina ni tsuite ikimasu" (たかみなについて行きます lit. "We will follow Takamina"), which was to be held on March 25–27, 2011 at the Yokohama Arena but was cancelled due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.