is a Japanese female singer who debuted in 1975. Her younger sister

Yoshimi Iwasaki is a Japanese singer and actress. She is notable for singing most of the various theme songs for the anime television series ''Touch'' along with Yumekojo. In 2008, she joined the fantasy band Sound Horizon for the release of their 6th story C ...

is also a singer. In 1981 she was awarded the Silver Prize at the

Tokyo Music Festival The Tokyo Music Festival was an international music contest that ran from 1972 to 1992. It was organized by the Tokyo Music Festival Association. The first edition of the Tokyo Music Festival took place on 13 May 1972 with 12 participating countri ...

for her song "Koimachigusa". Her representative songs are "" — "Romance" (1975), "" — "Shishūki" (1977) and "" — "Madonna Tachi No Lullaby" (1982). However, her most immediately recognizable hit song, "" — "Cinderella Honeymoon" (1978) has been such a consistent feature of monomane talent Korokke's routines, Hiromi Iwasaki has commented that when the intro played in concerts, fans would laugh, so she has ceremonially "gifted" that song to Korokke, whose performance has elongated both their careers.

Biography

Iwasaki made her official debut in April 1975 with the single "" — "Dyuetto", after winning a record contract on the popular Japanese talent competition show Star Tanjō! in the summer of 1974. The single peaked at no. 19, according to the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike i ...

charts. Its follow up, "Romance", peaked at no. 1, maintained its place for three weeks, and sold over a million units. It was written by Yu Aku and Kyohei Tsutsumi, and got her nominated for ''The Best Newcomer of the Year'' at the 17th edition of the

Japan Record Awards is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST ...

, and made her first performance on the 26th edition of Kohaku Uta Gassen with this song. The disco inspired "Sentimental" was issued as a single in October of that same year, and with sales exceeding 700,000, became her second no. 1 hit, and maintained its place for two weeks. A string of hit singles was released throughout 1976 and 1977, most notably "Fantasy" (which peaked at no. 2), "Mirai" (no. 2), "Kiri No Meguri Ai" (no. 4), "Dream" (no. 4). and "Nettaigyo" (no. 4). The single "Shishūki" was released in late '77, and won her an award at the 19th edition of the

, as well as an award at the 8th edition of the Japan Music Awards. She continued to release big selling singles throughout the 1970s, and starred in her first

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

, in the summer of 1979, as

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama '' Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends u ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

. In late '79 her single "Mangekyō", won her gold at the

, as well as becoming the theme song for

Subaru Leone The Subaru Leone is a compact car produced by the Japanese car manufacturer Subaru from 1971 to 1994. The word ''leone'' is Italian for lion. It was released as a replacement for the Subaru 1000 and was the predecessor of the Subaru Impreza. Al ...

. The single "Sumire Iro No Namida" won her the "Best vocal performance" at the

of 1981. "Sumire Iro No Namida" had sold 500,000 copies by September 1982. In 1982 the song "Madonna Tachi No Lullaby" became her third no. 1; selling over a million units, and winning gold at the 21st edition of the

. In the 1980s Iwasaki began focusing on musicals, and in 1987 played

Fantine Fantine (French pronunciation: ) is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. She is a young '' grisette'' in Paris who becomes pregnant by a rich student. After he abandons her, she is forced to look after their chi ...

in the Japanese version of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...

''. To this day she continues acting, singing, performing and hosting.

Discography

Charted Singles

Charted albums

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iwasaki, Hiromi 1959 births Living people Japanese women singers Singers from Tokyo Singing talent show winners