Ran Ito, appearing on NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen for the first time in 46 years, reveals the truth about Candies’ breakup upon her return to acting.

Ran Ito charmed the audience and Candies fans at the 74th Kohaku Uta Gassen on NHK last New Year’s Eve by singing “Candies 50th Anniversary SP Medley,” which included the hits “Younger Boys,” “Ace of Hearts Won’t Come Out,” and “Haruichi Ban. It was her first appearance in Kohaku in 46 years, and her first as a solo artist.

The Candies, Ran-chan (Ito Ran, 22 at the time), Sue-chan (Tanaka Yoshiko, 21), and Miki (Fujimura Miki, 21), had been taking the world by storm with their numerous hits, and on July 17, 1997, at the end of their concert at Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall, which was packed with 40,000 enthusiastic fans, they performed “Ace no Ace” and “Haru Ichiban. At the end of the concert

Candy’s has decided to disband.

and the three members broke down in tears.

The audience was in an uproar at the sudden announcement of the breakup, and at a press conference the next day, the three members said

I want to be a normal girl again.

The next day at a press conference, the three said, “We want to be normal girls again,” which became a popular phrase at the time.

At the end of that year, Candy’s made their final appearance on NHK’s Kohaku (red and white) TV program, and the following year, 1978, they held “sayonara concerts” in eight cities across Japan, the final one being held at Korakuen Stadium on April 4, 1978.

The final concert was held at Korakuen Stadium on April 4 of the same year. 55,000 people packed the stadium and sang for three hours in an unusually hot atmosphere. Tens of thousands of paper tapes were flying in the air.

We were so happy.

and the three left the stage, bringing the curtain down on the four-and-a-half-year career of the national idol group Candy’s. After graduating from the idol group, the three went on to become highly acclaimed actresses.