<figure id="attachment_467144" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-467144" style="width: 2517px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5e031de8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/079d7145b1deae6f84a98d3b77d9fef6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-467144" class="wp-caption-text">Wink debuted in 1988. In the same year, they released a series of hit songs, including &#8220;Ai ga tomaranai ~Turn it into love~&#8221; (I can&#8217;t stop loving you).</figcaption></figure>
<p> In contrast to the 80&#8217;s, when national idols such as Seiko Matsuda (64) and Akina Nakamori (60) appeared on the scene like glittering stars, the 90&#8217;s were known as the &#8220;Idol Winter Era. Popular music programs such as &#8220;Night Hit Studio&#8221; (Fuji Television) and &#8220;The Best Ten&#8221; (TBS) were terminated one after another, depriving idols of their active roles. However, even in such times, superstars were born that charmed men and women of all ages. They have been selling million-seller albums in a row, surpassing those of the 1980s.</p>
<p> This time, FRIDAY invited idol critics Akio Nakamori and Fuminori Takakura, and freelance announcer Naoki Yoshida, who is well versed in idol songs, to a roundtable discussion on the theme of &#8220;Idol Songs of the &#8217;90s. After a heated discussion, they selected the top 10 best songs of the 90s.</p>
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<p><a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/467126">Let&#8217;s talk about &#8220;Idol Songs of the &#8217;90s</a>! <a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/467126">　Akio Nakamori, Naoki Yoshida, and Fuminori Takakura had a heated discussion.</a></p>
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<h2> The tag team of Fukakyon and aiko</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Yoshida</span>: We can&#8217;t leave out <span class="strongInContent">Yumiko Takahashi</span> (52), who is known as &#8220;the last legitimate idol of the 20th century. She has that lovely solo look and singing ability. She combined the same elements as the royal idols of the &#8217;80s, such as Seiko Matsuda.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Nakamori</span>: &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">Tomodachi de Jikai Kara</span> &#8221; released in 1994 is a great song. As the name suggests, the song was about unfulfilled love and sold over 370,000 copies. The hit TV drama &#8220;Minamikun no Koibito&#8221; (TV Asahi), of which this song is the theme song, also boosted sales.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent">Yoshida</span> Although their debut was in 1988, let&#8217;s <span class="strongInContent">talk about</span> &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">Wink,&#8221; which</span> became a breakout hit in the &#8217;90s.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Nakamori</span> The most famous song is &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">Loneliness Tropical Fish,</span> &#8221; which won the Japan Record Award and was released in 1989.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Takakura</span> &#8220;Sexy Music&#8221; released in 1990 was a cover of the same title song by the British artist &#8220;Nolan&#8217;s.&#8221; The Japanese lyrics were written by Oikawa Neko, who also wrote &#8220;Gonashii Tropical Fish. This song was the last song by &#8220;Wink&#8221; to reach No. 1 on the Oricon Weekly Chart.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent">Yoshida</span> As I mentioned earlier, it was also characteristic of the &#8217;90s that many idols released songs after first coming into the limelight as actresses. <span class="strongInContent">Fukada Kyoko</span> (43) is one of them.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Nakamori</span>: Fukakyung doesn&#8217;t have much of an image of singing, does she?</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Yoshida</span> Actually, she released her debut single titled &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">The Last Fruit</span> &#8221; in &#8217;99. This song is a remake of a song called &#8220;Ashita&#8221; by aiko (50), a singer-songwriter.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Actress? Artist?"></div>
<h2>Rise of the Komuro Family</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Takakura</span><span class="strongInContent">Arisa Mizuki</span> (49) also debuted as an actress before her CD debut.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Nakamori</span> She made her debut as a singer with &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">Densetsu no Shojo</span> &#8221; in &#8217;91. It became a topic of conversation when it was used in a commercial for a carbonated beverage in which she appeared, but her image as an actress is probably stronger among the public.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Takakura</span>: &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">TOO SHY SHY BOY!</span> &#8221; in &#8217;92, which was also used for a commercial song, was also Mizuki&#8217;s biggest hit, selling over 360,000 copies. Written and produced by Tetsuya Komuro. Its catchy, groovy sound and lyrics attracted the hearts of many young people.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent">Nakamori</span>: From the mid to late 1990s, <span class="strongInContent">Tomomi Kahara</span> (51) and Namie Amuro, who were known as &#8220;Komuro-kei&#8221; or &#8220;Komuro Family,&#8221; appeared on the scene and had a string of mega hits that sold over 1 or 2 million copies. However, these girls are a little different from the &#8220;idols&#8221; of the high street, aren&#8217;t they?</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Yoshida</span> That&#8217;s right. It would be more accurate to say that they are artists, but they are popular in an idol-like way. I think the 1990s was a time when people with idol-like qualities made their debut without being labeled idols.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Nakamori</span>: <span class="strongInContent">Fumie Hosokawa</span> (54), who took the world by storm as a gravure idol, also released several songs.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Takakura</span>: Her debut song &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">Sukisuki Sue</span>,&#8221; released in 1992, is a good song with the phrase &#8220;Sukisu&#8221; repeated over an electronic soundtrack. It was subtle in terms of sales, but it had a strange addictive quality.</p>
<figure id="attachment_467146" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-467146" style="width: 1856px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8c82022e"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/24e2964713f7086a15389c6fc9afede2.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-467146" class="wp-caption-text"> Arisa Mizuki Arisa Mizuki around 1994. In her first year of debut, she won the Best New Artist Award at the 33rd Japan Record Awards.</figcaption></figure>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Ranking Decision!"></div>
<h2>The supreme idol song is &#8230;&#8230;</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Nakamori</span>: We haven&#8217;t talked about it enough, but it&#8217;s time to rank them.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Takakura</span> I would like to recommend Ami Suzuki&#8217;s &#8220;love the island&#8221; as No. 1. In the late 1990s, when there were few legitimate solo idols, Ami~go was a star who suddenly appeared on the scene. I think her memorable debut song is an important song for the idol scene as a whole.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Nakamori</span>: I have no objection to that. But on the other hand, the &#8217;90s was also the time when the style of &#8220;large female idol groups&#8221; that continues to this day was established. Therefore, I think that the songs by &#8220;SPEED&#8221; and &#8220;Morning Musume。 songs in the second and third places.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Yoshida</span> If it were those two groups, I would say &#8220;White Love&#8221; and &#8220;LOVE Machine&#8221;. They are the biggest hits of their respective groups.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent">Nakamori</span> I would like to put Hirosue at the top of the list as well.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent">Takakura</span>: Then, let&#8217;s put them in around the fourth place. As for the music, I would recommend &#8220;Kaze no Prism&#8221; which matches her image better than her representative song &#8220;Maji de Koi suru 5 sakushimae (5 seconds before Koi in Maji).</p>
<p> The table below shows the top 10 &#8220;Idol Song Ranking of the &#8217;90s&#8221; created by the editorial staff based on a roundtable discussion among three wise idols.</p>
<p> All are classic songs that are still sung at karaoke. After the &#8220;winter,&#8221; idol songs have entered a prosperous spring.</p>
<figure id="attachment_467153" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-467153" style="width: 2479px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="26f6d436"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/05/195c8ee6ae69cdacf48ddf2b65fdfb01.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-467153" class="wp-caption-text"> The Top 10 Idol Songs of the 1990s</figcaption></figure>
<p> From the May 15 and 22, 2026 issue of &#8220;FRIDAY</p>
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 Kyodo News Agency (Kanzuki)

 The '90s were called the "Idol Winter Era," but the style of "large female idol groups" was established and superstars were born, a style that continues to this day. The ranking is announced!

No. 1 is that idol who convinced us!　The best 10 idol songs of the ’90s, as selected by experts

Access Ranking

No. 1 is that idol who convinced us! The best 10 idol songs of the ’90s, as selected by experts

Access Ranking

No. 1 is that idol who convinced us!　The best 10 idol songs of the ’90s, as selected by experts