idol
Idol or Idols may refer to:
Religion and philosophy
* Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents
* Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...
and singer.She debuted as member number 29 of the idol group
Onyanko Club
was a large all-girl Japanese pop idol group in the 1980s. Some members of the group participated in spin-off groups, such as Nyangilas, Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi and Ushirogami Hikaretai. Many of the latter two groups' songs were used as theme ...
. As she was one of the most popular members, in 1986 she started releasing solo songs. Her solo career continued after the group disbanded in 1987.
Biography
She has an elder brother, an elder sister, and a younger sister. She was born in
Gifu Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...
, but moved to Nishikasugai District in Aichi Prefecture when she was two years old. Her father owned a construction company. Once she enrolled at , she became obsessed with
table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
.
In April 1985, she enrolled at in the local area and also attended a celebrity training school in
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...
. This led to her being scouted by CBS Sony Records. She also joined , a leading entertainment agency, thus she quit high school and moved to
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
. Note that since Burning Production had limited the number of celebrities belonging to the agency, , who was waiting for her debut as a singer, was released to its affiliate agency after Watanabe, who was highly favored by , the president of Burning Production, joined the agency. In November 1985, she auditioned for the variety show on
Fuji TV
JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...
and was accepted along with , , and . Unlike usually, the audition at this time was a joint project with the popular radio program , featuring comedian as DJ, and they were also looking for a poster girl for the radio program. In December 1985, she and Yokota became regular performers on a radio program called , featuring
Sonoko Kawai may refer to:
People
* Sonoko Chiba (千葉 園子, born 1993), Japanese football player
*, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
* Sonoko Kato (加藤 園子, born 1976), Japanese professional wrestler
* Sonoko Kawai (河合 その子, born 1965 ...
and
Sayuri Kokushō
is a Japanese actress, singer, and tarento. She was an original member of Onyanko Club. She works for the talent management firm Sony Music Artists. Her debut single, " Valentine Kiss", is the most popular Valentine's Day song in Japan.
Brie ...
as DJs.
In February 1986, when Kokushō made her solo debut with the song Valentine Kiss, she and Mako Shiraishi served as backing vocalists. In March 1986, Kawai and Kokushō left the radio program, and Shiraishi was joined as a new DJ. Shortly thereafter, Watanabe caused controversy by saying on the program that "the old ladies were no longer here". In response, Kawai retorted, "When Minayo-chan turns 20, will you be able to maintain your youthfulness like I have?" In April 1986, she enrolled at
Horikoshi High School
is a private high school in Nakano, Tokyo
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Nakano City. In July 1986, a large-scale was held at the
Nippon Budokan
The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts co ...
, and she shook hands with 12,000 fans who gathered there. Shortly thereafter, she made her solo debut with the song , which ranked No. 1 on 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 in N ...
in its first appearance. As a result, she had five consecutive No. 1 songs since her debut as a solo singer. In November 1986, she released her debut album called .
In January 1987, she suddenly started crying while singing her new song on Yūyake Nyan Nyan. The reason was that she was emotionally unstable due to a poor rehearsal for a popular singing show called . In April 1987, she started a radio program called . She remained with the group until September 1987, when Onyanko Club disbanded. She was positioned as a new leader of Onyanko Club. She was considered a legitimate beauty among the Onyanko Club members, many of whom were said to be not very good looking. In addition,
Yasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, ...
, who was deeply involved with Onyanko Club, described her as "like she was born to be an idol." Since her debut as a solo singer in July 1986, she remained one of the most popular members of the group. She and another popular member,
Marina Watanabe
is a Japanese actress, singer, and TV-personality. She was born in Ota, Tokyo, Japan, and is currently married to Jun Nagura of the comedy trio Neptune. She is a former Japanese idol singer who is now known as a television commentator and author ...
, were referred to as , and the two were frequently compared.
After the disbandment of Onyanko Club, she often appeared not only as a singer but also on variety shows such as . In the mid-1990s, she released several semi-nude photo books. In 1996, she married , a member of the rockabilly band Hot Sox, and had two children. When she gave birth to her first son in 1997, she released a video of the birth. In 2002, she participated in the reunion of Onyanko Club. She has since continued her entertainment career while also being involved in a nail salon and an interior design store. In addition, her two sons also made their debut in the entertainment industry.