Akina Nakamori, the Showa-era diva, lost consciousness due to overwork and went to the hospital with a sprained right knee during rehearsals… “Kohaku” of Akina Nakamori, the Showa-era diva

It all started with a collaboration with Shingo Katori

Whether or not Akina Nakamori would perform at the “Kohaku Uta Gassen”?　was a big topic of conversation at the end of the year.

No, since her appearance in the “Kohaku” in ’14, 10 years ago now, live from a studio in the U.S., Akina Nakamori’s return has been desired every year. This became a reality with her collaboration with Shingo Katori in the latter half of this year. Akina sang “Tattoo” in a sequined bodycon mini as her 21st single, released in May 1988. Katori loved this song and had always wanted to cover it.

The album “Circus Funk” was released on November 27 this year, and Akina recorded the song together with Katori, who reported the recording on her official YouTube channel.

Akina said, ‘I want to see what it’s like, so I want to sing with you first,’ and we sang together, facing each other. I was nervous, but it was like a dream. When I told her, ‘I’m really happy,’ she put her hand on my cheek and said, ‘Of course. Good luck.’ ……”

In the year when many female idols appeared on the scene, the “1982 group of flowers” and “post-Makie” idols appeared on the scene one after the other.

In 1981, Akina Nakamori was a member of the “Star Birth” audition program on Nippon Television. She passed the audition by singing “Yume Sentakujin” by Momoe Yamaguchi, a senior member of the “Star Birth” group who had retired from show business the previous year due to marriage. The following year, at the age of 16, she took off in the singing world with “Slow Motion. It was an excellent ballad provided by Etsuko Raise and Takao Raise, sisters of Hiroko Yakushimaru’s “Sailor Suit and Machine Gun” and Junko Ohashi’s “Silhouette Romance,” which had just become big hits.

At the time, young female idols were appearing one after another as “post-Momoe” singers. The year Momoe retired, Seiko Matsuda made her debut with the same record company, successfully filling the gap.

The year of Akina’s debut also saw the emergence of a succession of next-generation idols, including Iyo Matsumoto, Yu Hayami, Kyoko Koizumi, Chiemi Hori, and Hidemi Ishikawa, who were dubbed the “1982 group of flowers” and were considered the next stars after Momoe and Seiko.

In the “Japan Song Awards,” the race for the Best New Artist Award, all male singers, including Shibukitai and Daisaku Ogata, and all female singers were selected, but the problem was the “Japan Record Awards. However, the problem was the “Japan Record Award.” There were only five nominees for the “Japan Record Award. Although Shibuki and Iyo Matsumoto were considered sure-fire winners due to their hit power, the other three nominees were in doubt.

As a result, Akina and Kyonkyung were omitted, and Ishikawa, Hayami, and Hori were chosen as the five nominees. Akina’s debut song “Slow Motion” had not been the hit she had hoped for, and she was dashing down the hit road with her second song, “Shojo A,” which was released at the end of July. In fact, however, the result was the same as Momoe’s.

Momoe, too, was selected as one of the top nominees for the “Song of the Year” award, but failed to reach the five groups for the “Record Award. Her debut song “Toshikoro” did not grow to the level of a hit, and her second hit, “Aoi no kajitsu (Blue Fruits),” followed it up, but did not make it.

A slightly naughty milky new girl

Both “Shojo A” and “Blue Fruits” were poems that were a bit extreme and erotic for girls their age. Akina’s catchphrase at the time was “a little naughty milky new girl.

In interviews, she was often asked, “Are you really naughty, Akina?” Akina was often asked in interviews, “Are you really naughty? In fact, “ecchi” was meant to express a slightly grown-up, mature atmosphere, and Momoe’s start also corresponded to this.

Masayu Sono, the lyricist of “Shojo A,” was a new lyricist who had just debuted that year. He said, “I wrote ‘Shojo A’ thinking that a throwaway line like Momoe’s ‘Playback Part 2’ would work for her. On the other hand, Seiko Matsuda was an overwhelming presence who sold “shoujo” (girlishness), so Akina brought her “badness” to the forefront.

When I presented this work to Akina, her response was “No, I don’t want to sing like this! But the people around her forced her to record the song. Akina was discouraged and sang it angrily. But it was good. Although she did not win the “Record Grand Prize” New Artist Award or the “Kohaku” award that year, she made her first appearance in the “Kohaku” the following year with “Forbidden Zone,” which was a “delinquent” song.

In fact, however, there is a document here that shows that the “Kohaku” appearance in the same year of her debut was highly anticipated.