Seiko Matsuda, Akina Nakamori, Kyoko Koizumi… Legends in abundance! The golden age of idols has arrived!

The year ’80 that produced Seiko Matsuda…an epoch in idol history

April 1, 1980. One of the most important figures in the history of Japanese idols makes her debut.

Everyone probably thinks of Seiko Matsuda.

She debuted with “Barefoot Season,” a commercial song for Shiseido’s face cleansing foam “Ekubo.” Her second single, “Blue Coral Reef,” released in July, became a hit, reaching No. 2 on the Oricon chart and No. 1 on “The Best Ten” and catapulted her into the top idol category.

From their third single, “Kaze ha Autumn Color/Eighteen” to “Tabidachi wa Freesia” in 1988, 24 consecutive songs reached No. 1 on the Oricon Chart. Seiko’s early hairstyle, which combined curls with a layered cut, was called the “Seiko-chan cut” and became popular among young women. Despite the explosion of her popularity, her gestures and character, as well as the fact that she cried and called out ” Mommy~san~an” when she won first place on “Top Ten,” were sometimes ridiculed as “burikko,” and were used as material by female comedians and antagonized by the general female public.

The year 1980, which produced Seiko Matsuda, is an epoch in the history of idols.

Female idols who debuted in the same year included Naoko Kawai, who passed an audition as Hideki Saishiro’s younger sister and sang “Smile for Me” and “Kenka wo Keshitate”; Yoshie Kashiwabara (“Hello Goodbye”), who had hit songs “Hello Goodbye” and “Haru ni Nanashi” and attracted attention when the present Emperor of Japan was a fan and visited her concerts. Yoshie Kashiwabara (now Yoshie Kashiwabara Yoshie), who had hit songs with “Hello Goodbye” and “Haru no Nitai,” and Yoshimi Iwasaki, the younger sister of Hiromi Iwasaki, who later became known for her hit “Touch.

On the other hand, Toshihiko Tahara, Yoshio Nomura, and Masahiko Kondo, who belonged to Johnny’s (now SMILE-UP.) and played students in the TV drama “3 years B class Kinpachi sensei” (TBS), became known as the “Tanokin trio” and exploded in popularity. Tahara and Seiko were especially popular as members of the group “Sundaes,” which was formed during the NHK music program “Let’s Go Young,” and their joint commercial for Glico chocolate was also a hit. Junko Mihara (now Junko Mihara), who attracted attention for her role as a delinquent female student in “Kinpachi,” also made her debut in the same year with “Sexy Night.

The explosive popularity of Seiko and Tanokin, female and male idols at the same time, brought the idol world, which had been in the doldrums for some time, back to full momentum, and they were featured on popular singing programs such as “The Best Ten,” “Night Hit Studio,” “The Top Ten,” “Let’s Go Young,” and “Yan Yan Sing Studio. The golden age of idols was dawning, with singing and ranking programs featuring many popular idols such as “The Best Ten,” “Night Hit Studio,” “The Top Ten,” “Let’s Go Young,” and “Yang Yang Singing Studio.