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

Following the popularity of Candy’s, another “Star Birth! In 1976, another duo that had a major impact and influence on the history of idols was born in the same year. Mie (now Mie Miui) and Kay (now Keiko Masuda), yes, the Pink Ladies, were born.

From their debut song “Inspector Pepper,” released in August, they went on to have a string of mega-hits, including million-sellers such as “S-O-S,” “Carmen ’77,” “Sinbad on the Beach,” and “Wanted,” and their sixth single, “UFO,” also became a million seller and won a Record The sixth single, “UFO,” also became a million-seller and won a major record award.

Pink Lady’s songs were not about the feelings of a life-size girl, which had been common in idol songs up to that point, but rather about the flamboyant costumes that showed a healthy amount of skin, and above all, the worldview of the songs, which were set in an out-of-this-world setting with aliens and baseball players by Yuu Aku, the melodies by Shunichi Tokura, the pop music of the trendy dance sound, and the music of the song “UFO” by Shunichi Tokura. Shunichi Tokura’s melodies, which are woven into pop music with trendy dance sounds, and the eccentric choreography by Fu Doi. The world of Pink Lady, which seemed to have evolved from the somewhat unusual world of Linda Yamamoto and Finger 5 that the duo of Yu Aku and Shunichi Tokura had created in the past, was an ideal form of idol entertainment on TV at the time, and little girls were all copying the choreography, The development of merchandise became a social phenomenon, surpassing even Mari Amachi in popularity.

The Best Ten

It should be noted that in the midst of the Pink Lady whirlwind, the ranking program “The Best Ten” began airing in January 1978. The song “UFO” by Pink Lady came in first place in the memorable first broadcast, and the song has since topped the list many times, boosting the popularity of the program and its boom.

In addition to the “sta-birth,” major entertainment agencies also began holding auditions to discover and nurture their own idols, and in 1976, Ikue Sakakibara won the grand prize at the “1st HORIPRO Talent Scout Caravan.

After Candy’s broke up and Pink Lady’s popularity reached its peak in the late 1970s, a new trend emerged in the Japanese music scene.

Artists classified in the “new music” genre, such as Twist, Alice, Godaigo, Off Course, Southern All Stars, and Machiko Watanabe, had a string of hits, and as they became popular among some idol singers, the momentum of pure idol singers, both male and female, began to weaken overall. As a result, the momentum of pure idol singers, both male and female, began to weaken overall. Female idol singers during this period, such asTomoko Kuwae andChika Takami, were different from the idols of the early 1970s, and more like singers.

At the beginning of the 1980s, one of the biggest idols of all time appeared on the scene.