Yoshie Hayasaka, a very popular “balladol” of the ’90s, reveals why she is still in the spotlight!

I wanted to be a singer from an early age. In elementary school, most of my classmates were fans of “Hikari Genji” and Kyoko Koizumi, but I listened to the songs of Takashi Hosokawa and Mariko Takahashi. I was more attracted to their singing ability than to the glamour of idols.”

Yoshie Hayasaka, 47, who celebrated her 33rd anniversary in show business this year, recalls, “I was attracted by their singing ability rather than the glamour of idols. She debuted at the age of 15 with the catchphrase “Bakudan Komusume. She became popular as one of the most popular “balladolls” of the 1990s. Hayasaka, who is from Okinawa Prefecture, says she was familiar with the performing arts from her childhood due to the influence of her parents’ family, which has a long history.

My father was the head of Ryukyu Buyo, a classical Okinawan performing art. The first floor of our house was a dojo where many apprentices came and went, and I started practicing when I can remember.

When I was in the fourth grade of elementary school, I performed in a children’s musical. In her fourth year of elementary school, she performed in a children’s musical, which led to her being scouted by the Okinawa Actors School, which later produced Namie Amuro and SPEED.

At that time, the school was more like an entertainment agency than a talent training school, and I was getting commercials and TV work. What made me happy was that I was able to sing hit songs at festivals and supermarket events. I was singing songs by Yui Asaka and Risa Tachibana.”

Hayasaka moved to Tokyo by herself in 1989 when she was 14 years old. She caught the eye of producer Yasushi Akimoto, who happened to be in Okinawa, and asked her to come to Tokyo. The following year, he made his debut as a singer with “Absolutely! Part2”, she made her long-sought debut as a singer. However, …….

At the time, singing programs were decreasing rapidly, and I didn’t have many opportunities to sing on TV. The places where I sang were on the rooftops of department stores and parking lots where I sold CDs. Usually I had to go to high school, so I think I traveled to 36 places around the country during the 40 days of summer vacation.”

Most of her TV appearances are on variety shows. Her cheerful and unassuming personality made her popular as an idol, and she was inundated with requests to appear on TV, which kept her extremely busy.

She was extremely busy. “There were still lingering effects of the bubble economy,” she said, “and after the program aired, we would have a party every night. It was not unusual for us to stay up until dawn. In those days, there was little sense that minors should be sent home early (laughs). (Laughs.) I was the youngest, so I couldn’t even say, “Good-bye. Sometimes I had to stay up all night to go to high school, so I didn’t even have time to sleep, let alone rest.”

Amon Miyamoto’s big selection

Hayasaka was living a busy and hectic life. Work was exciting and fun, but one feeling grew stronger day by day. I want to sing!” He was so busy with his work that it was exciting and fun, but one thought grew stronger by the day. At that time, he received an offer that would be a turning point in his career. It was an offer to appear as a regular on “THE Yoru mo Hippare” (Nippon Television Network), which started in April 1995.

Hippare” is a variety show, but it is a program in which hit songs are arranged and women sing men’s songs. I can’t introduce my own songs, but I was really happy to be given the opportunity to sing on TV.”

Hayasaka also sang in high keys, such as “Gelende ga Torokuhodoki Koiitai (I Want to Love You So Much That You Melt the Slope)” by Kamie Hirose, and she sang it beautifully. Her spontaneous singing caught the attention of director Amon Miyamoto, who decided to cast her in his first full-fledged musical, “Tropical Festival Theatre Maui.

The musical will be performed almost every day over the span of one to two months. If I sang only by feel as I had done before, my throat would collapse. It was a great learning experience for me to undergo full-fledged voice training for the first time.

Another factor that changed Hayasaka’s life was her love of professional wrestling. Influenced by his two older brothers, Hayasaka became hooked on live pro wrestling broadcasts at an early age and became a big fan of Jumbo Tsuruta, Antonio Inoki, Atsushi Onita, and others. He was also connected to his married partner through professional wrestling.

I met him (masked wrestler Spell Delphine) in the fall of 2003 through a mutual acquaintance. When he wasn’t masked, he was very active in his love life. He seemed to be a fan of mine and asked me a hundred times to ‘marry him,’ so three months after we met, on Christmas Eve, we entered into marriage.”

At her husband’s request, they temporarily moved to Okinawa, where Hayasaka was born. However, when their daughter started kindergarten, they moved back to Osaka, where they had lived when they were first married.

At the recommendation of the president of an ice cream company she met in Okinawa, she became the owner and manager of a store at Kansai International Airport in April 2011. But I had never even had a part-time job before because of all my entertainment activities, so it was too much for me. I was busy from early morning stocking up and managing staff shifts. Since I was also performing, I didn’t even have time to see my daughter. It was a valuable experience, but I felt I had reached my limits and had to quit after about five years.

After her experience at the ice cream store, Hayasaka decided to save her work and spend more time with her family. Now that she has settled down, her dream is to travel abroad with her daughter.

From the June 2, 2023 issue of FRIDAY