From “Shin Sanjin Musume” to “Sta-birth” and “The Best Ten”… Saori Minami, the sparkle of a gem that established the origin of “idols” in Japan

The history of modern idols began with the debut of “Saori Minami…

Candy’s 50th Anniversary Kohaku SP Medley” performed by Ran Ito at the “NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen” broadcast on New Year’s Eve ’23. The sight of her former groupmates cheering her on as passionately as they had back then was a big hit. In the same Kohaku, YOASOBI sang “Idols,” and idol category Kohaku contestants appeared one after another, transcending gender and nationality, and performed brilliant dances that made the most of their individual personalities. These two performances made us strongly think about the very existence of “idols.

According to idol critic Akio Nakamori, Saori Minami, who debuted in 1971, two years before Candy’s debut, was the first female idol of the modern era.

Saori Minami. Her debut song “17 Sai” was later covered by Chisato Moritaka in 1989 and became a hit. The singer Saori Minami’s impressive long hair, mini-skirt costume, and distinctive singing voice, as well as her bright tropical atmosphere, give the song an original quality. In addition to Nakamori, Saori Minami is often regarded as one of the “original idols.

Teenage girls sing and dance pop songs with cute choreography, costumes, and smiles. She is still in her infancy and has yet to become a professional, but she has grown during the course of her activities and occasionally shows a matured atmosphere.

Following Nakamori’s lead, we would like to trace the history of idols over the past 50 years.

Four months after Saori Minami’s debut, Mari Amachi made her debut as a singer with “Suiro no Koi” (Light Blue Love), and her role as “Neighbor Mari-chan” in the drama series “It’s Time” (TBS), which was broadcast that year and received high ratings, attracted much attention, From 1972 to 1973, Mari Amachi, whose catchphrase “Snow White” suggests a pure image, had a series of hit songs such as “Hitoridemo Dareka (I’m Not Alone),” broadcast her own TV program, and even released a hit bicycle for girls named “Do Remi Mari-chan” bearing her name and photograph. From 1972 to 1973, Mari-chan created a “Mari-chan boom” in which even small children became enamored with her singing style and her seventh album, “Doremi Mari-chan”. Her singing style, the tennis-look outfit she wore for her seventh single “Koisuru Natsu no Hi” (1973), and the cheers of her fans shouting “Mari-chan! (Mari-chan!)” as the song unfolded, became an established part of her image as an “idol” that would continue to grow.

In the same year, Rumiko Koyanagi debuted with “Watashi no Shirokamachi” and won the Best New Artist Award at the Japan Record Awards. Saori Minami, Mari Amachi, and Rumiko Koyanagi were dubbed the “New Three Daughters,” and they became popular among the tea ceremony crowd.

Female singers in their teens and twenties who had been popular among the Japanese public had often performed Japanese covers of Western music, giving them a somewhat “professional” feel, but the idols who became popular in the 1970s and later had a sense of youthfulness that was considered a major attraction. The fact that the mainstay of entertainment had shifted from movies to TV, and that TV was now creating stars rather than movie stars appearing on TV, was also a major turning point before and after Saori Minami and the “New Three Musume”.