I. Introduction
Washio Reina (鷲尾伶菜), also known by the stage name Rei (伶), is a Japanese singer, performer, fashion designer, pro gamer and model. She is a former member of E-girls and Flower and currently active as a solo artist.
Washio debuted as a soloist with the digital single "Call Me Sick / Konna Sekai ni Shita no wa Dare da" in October 2020 under the stage name Rei. As of July 2023, she is promoting under her birth name, Washio Reina.
II. Career
III. 2011: Predebut
In 2011, after attending EXPG Fukuoka for two years, Washio participated in the vocal selection of the EXILE Presents VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION 3 ~For Girls~. Looking back, she later recalled that she considered this audition one of her last chances to become a professional singer: "If it didn't work out, I was too old, and if I couldn't get results by the time I was 20, I thought about getting a job and finding a stable position. My parents were worried about me, and I felt that if I didn't do this, I would cause trouble for them. But I was lucky and got my debut when I was 17, so I was able to find a job that I liked."
On July 26, during an E-Girls SHOW event in SHIBUYA-AX, it was revealed that Washio was one of the winners of the VOCAL BATTLE AUDITION 3 and was added to FLOWER as a vocalist. On that same day, she was also added as a member of E-girls, having a concurrent position between the group and FLOWER.
On October 12, she made debut with FLOWER with the single "Still"
IIII. 2015 - Present: Solo Activities
In September, she made debut as a model being featured on the November issue of the magazine LARME.
On September 20th, 2019, with the announcement of Flower's disbandment, Washio revealed that she is set to a new goal of solo activities while being member of E-girls. On September 30th, she left Flower with the group's disbandment.
On December 22nd, with the announcement of E-girls' disbandment set for around the end of 2020, it was revealed that Washio would be making solo debut. On January 31st, 2020, it was revealed that Washio would be singing the theme song of the movie Shousetsu no Kamisama, titled "Call Me Sick", and an insert song of the soundtrack, titled "Konna Sekai ni Shita no wa Dare da". It was also revealed that she would be using the stage name Rei (伶) for her solo activities. She later revealed that she originally decided to promote under a different name because she wanted to try out various songs with a new self without being influenced or restricted by the person she was in the group(s).
On September 27, it was announced that she would sing the title song of an upcoming short film from the CINEMA FIGHTER franchise directed by Mori Yoshitaka and starring Nakatsuka Yuta.
On October 2, she made solo debut as Rei with the digital single "Call Me Sick / Konna Sekai ni Shita no wa Dare da".
On December 31st, 2020, she left E-girls with the group's disbandment, now being active as a solo artist under the stage name Rei.
On March 23rd, 2021, Flower's YouTube channel was renamed for Rei to use it as as the official channel for her solo career. At the same time, it was revealed that there were plans for her to release song covers selected by herself, live streaming, as well as videos about her hobbies and private life.
On July 29, it was announced that she will open her official digital fan club "freivor" (フレイバー) on August 2. The name of the fan club was coined by adding the word "rei" to the spelling of "flavour", meaning that the "rei" will only be completed when the "fragrance and flavor" of the fans are added. The digital fan club is planning to offer original contents such as movies and radios by Rei, advance tickets for live performances, and sales of members-only goods.
In the same month, she held her first Billboard Live events in Osaka and Yokohama on July 22 and July 29 titled rei "the first" Billboard Live 2021. Additionally, she held another Billboard Live event in Tokyo on October 23-24.
On November 17th, 2021, she released her third digital single "Houseki", featuring YOASOBI member Ikuta Lilas.
On April 13th, 2022, she released her first studio album Just Wanna Sing.
On July 21st and July 24th, 2023, she held her third live concert titled Reina Washio SPECIAL REQUEST LIVE, with its setlist being composed based on requests from fans for all the songs she has sung as "Washio Reina" and "Rei" so far. Starting from the date of the first concert, she went by her birth name, Washio Reina, again for her career as a soloist instead of her stage name, Rei. According to herself, what prompted her to change er name back to Washio Reina was the concert itself: "For that live performance, we asked for requests from fans, and we received a wide variety of songs, including songs from the group days, solo songs, and cover songs. When I thought about combining such a wide range of songs and presenting them as one live performance, I thought it would be better to change the name to Washio Reina instead of Rei. It would be nice to sing songs from my time in the group as Rei, but from my own perspective, I thought it would be more meaningful to sing the songs under the name that the fans have supported for so long." Looking back after working as "Rei", she felt that it was easier to challenge herself with things she was missing and new musical styles. "I was able to differentiate myself from the group I was in, and in a good way, I was able to venture into new genres."
On December 31st, 2023, it was announced that Washio would be leaving her agency LDH JAPAN and her record label Sony Music Labels at the end of the same day. At the same time, she would transfer labels to LDH Records.
In January of 2024, Washio Reina's official fan club "freivor" was re-opened in a new form and upgraded to the online community service "freivor", a hybrid service of "fan club x online salon". Due to this change, the existing fan club "freivor" service would end at the end of February 2024.
IIIII. 2016 - Present: Gaming Schedules
Washio can often be found playing cooperative video games such as Fortnite, Dead by Daylight and Call of Duty together with Sandaime, J SOUL BROTHERS' ELLY, THE RAMPAGE's Suzuki Takahide and BALLISTIK BOYZ's Kainuma Ryusei.
In June 2019 she traveled to California alongside ELLY to participate as a guest player in the Fortnite Summer Block Party, a Pro-Am gaming tournament. There, she teamed up with BELL of Japanese pro-gaming team CRAZY Raccoon.
She opened her personal gaming channel on OPENREC on July 23, 2021.
On December 18, 2022, she participated in the e-sports tournament "AGCT" for the game Apex Legends held at LaLaportSAKAI in Osaka. The exhibition match and the invitation slot for the finals were reserved for her; in the exhibition match, she formed a team with visitors, and in the finals, she participated as a player of "TEAM WHITE".
III. Discography
IIII. Studio Albums
[2022.04.13] Just Wanna Sing
[2023.10.11] For My Dear
IIIII. Digital Singles
[2020.10.02] Call Me Sick / Konna Sekai ni Shita no wa Dare da
[2021.06.09] Kimi to nara Ii yo.
[2021.11.17] Houseki
[2021.12.21] Encount
[2022.01.19] Chiru Chiru Michiru
[2023.01.18] Tsuyoku Hakanai Monotachi
[2023.02.15] So Addictive
[2025.03.03] Seikai
IIIIII. Other Singles
[2020.11.18] Shirayukihime - From THE FIRST TAKE
[2021.11.16] Call Me Sick - From THE FIRST TAKE
IIIIV. Collaborations/Others
[2013.08.14] DJ DECKSTREAM - DECKSTREAM.JP (#12 "Ano Hi no Sayonara feat. Washio Reina (Flower / E-girls)")
[2014.03.26] m-flo - FUTURE IS WOW (#12 "d.w.m / m-flo + Reina Washio (Flower / E-girls)")
[2018.06.20] MACO - BEST LOVE MACO (#3 "Dear My Friend feat. Washio Reina (E-girls / Flower)")
[2018.xx.xx] JAY'ED & Washio Reina - UTA MONOGATARI -CINEMA FIGHTERS project- (Bonus CD) ("How about your love?")
[2021.11.18] V.A. - Kinou Yori Akaku Ashita Yori Aoku -CINEMA FIGHTERS project- (#4 "Chiru Chiru Michiru")
[2021.11.24] The Burning Deadwoods - "Labyrinth" feat. Rei
