Akina Nakamori
| Akina Nakamori 中森明菜 |
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| Background information | |
| Born | July 13, 1965 |
| Origin | Kiyose, Tokyo, Japan |
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| Years active | 1982–present |
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| Website | Official Website |
Akina Nakamori (中森明菜 Nakamori Akina?, born July 13, 1965) is a Japanese pop singer and actress. She was one of the most popular singers of the 1980s in Japan. She is known for her deep, power-house voice.
Within two years of her debut, she set herself apart from all the singers of her generation by singing provocative songs, with a chameleon-like image change with the release of each new single. Her mature and rebellious image was to be the direct opposite of the other pop rival, Seiko Matsuda, who projected a girl next door, sweet-natured charm. The media competed them against each other throughout the 1980s, scrutinizing every details of their lives and supposed rivalry. During that period, Nakamori always expressed admiration for Matsuda, even humming her songs when both happened to be on the same shows.
Her hair style and dress sense was widely copied by teens in the 80s. Music wise, her recording company molded her to be a successor to the mature and sophisticated Momoe Yamaguchi, a singer who retired at age 21 to get married. Her songs were always of heartbreaks, or rebellion, never straying far from the mold.
After Akina Nakamori passed the test of Star Tanjō!, she made her debut in 1982 with the single "Slow Motion." Her first single "Slow Motion", was recorded in Los Angeles. This was released on 1 May 1982 and sold 174,000 copies, reaching number 30 in the Oricon charts. The 2nd single, "Shōjo A" was nearly banned for its risque lyrics. This single fared better, most likely due to the controversy, and peaked at #5, selling 396,000 copies. Her next single, a ballad titled "Second Love" proved to be her best-selling single. This sentimental piece debuted at #2 but reached No. 1 the following week, staying at the number one spot for 9 weeks. It sold 766,000 copies back then (to date, almost one million). In addition to the single releases, Nakamori also released two albums titled Prologue and Variation that year, which sold 453,000 and 743,000 copies respectively.
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