Saturday, October 25

Kawai Naoko

Kawai Naoko was born on July 24, 1963 in Osaka, Japan. Idol Okada Yukiko was a big fan of hers. Naoko participated in the renown Star Tanjou program in 1979, and finally debuted in 1980 with her single "Ookina mori no chiisana ouchi" amongst many other idols in that same year such as Tahara Toshihiko, Matsuda Seiko, and Kashiwabara Yoshie. Her singles were shaky at first, then led her to a nice career within the top ten range. Her vocal ability was much above par of the other idols during her time so it comes as a surprise that she managed to hit only one number one single in 1985 with "Debut ~Fly me to love~." She also recorded songs for the anime Lupin 3rd, the most famous being her song "Manhattan Joke." In the late 80s she sang songs with Jackie Chan (did you know he could sing, I sure didn't, and opera at that!), they made "Ai no Serenade" and the cantonese version of that "Ng ye man bit chin." She has done many commercials and photo books, her signature back then was her snaggle tooth on the right side of her mouth, not many idols could match that, it was really cute; however, in her later career she had orthodontal surgery to correct it. Naoko is rather talented and along with singing, can play piano extremely well, as well as the guitar and mandolin, she has written quite a few songs of her own. She has released a "Do-it-yourself" guide to learning the piano as well. She retired in 1994 to settle down and raise a family. Her more famous singles are "SMILE FOR ME", "Love Letter", "Kenka wo yamete", and "Escalation."

Personal Favorite Naoko Song: There's too many really, Lavender Lips, Halfmoon Serenade, Izayoi monogatari
Number ones: 1
Top ten percentage: 21 out of 39 songs = 54%


2007110211402448f99.jpg naoko hairflip image by ViergeForest go8001bc.jpg naoko magazine image by ViergeForest 218364-6749175-47-27098257-pc.jpg naoko beach image by ViergeForest naoko_kawai001s.jpg naoko singing image by ViergeForest

Singles
#Song TitleRelease
Date
Highest
Position
My
Rating
Picture
1.Ookina mori no chiisana ouchi6/1/1980368/10 image6971.jpg ookina mori no chiisana ouchi image by ViergeForest
2.Young Boy8/25/1980137/10 image65412.jpg young boy image by ViergeForest
3.Aishitemasu12/10/1980147/10 image655111.jpg aishitemasu image by ViergeForest
4.17sai3/10/1981117/10 image65911.jpg 17sai image by ViergeForest
5.SMILE FOR ME6/1/198148/10 image661111.jpg smile for me image by ViergeForest
6.Moonlight Kiss9/1/1981118/10 image66211.jpg moonlight kiss image by ViergeForest
7.Love Letter12/5/1981119/10 image6631.jpg love letter image by ViergeForest
8.Ai wo kudasai3/10/198278/10 image6641.jpg ai wo kudasai image by ViergeForest
9.Natsu no Heroine6/10/198278/10 image66511.jpg natsu no heroine image by ViergeForest
10.Kenka wo yamete9/1/198258/10 image6661.jpg kenka wo yamete image by ViergeForest
11.Invitation12/1/198288/10 image6671.jpg invitation image by ViergeForest
12.Straw Touch no koi3/1/198397/10 image6681.jpg straw touch no koi image by ViergeForest
13.Escalation6/1/198338/10 image66911.jpg escalation image by ViergeForest
14.UNBalance9/14/198349/10 image6701.jpg unbalance image by ViergeForest
15.Gimonfu12/1/198448/10 image67311.jpg gimonfu image by ViergeForest
16.Soyokaze no Melody3/1/198477/10 image67211.jpg soyokaze no melody image by ViergeForest
17.Control6/1/198477/10 image6991.jpg control image by ViergeForest
18.Kuchibiru no Privacy8/28/198449/10 image68012.jpg kuchibiru no privacy image by ViergeForest
19.Kita eki no Solitude12/1/198468/10image68111.jpg kita eki no solitude image by ViergeForest
20.Jealous Train3/5/198568/10 image67411.jpg jealous train image by ViergeForest
21.Debut ~Fly me to love~6/12/1985110/10 image7021.jpg debut ~fly me to love~ image by ViergeForest




22.




Kimi wa kirei na mama de




8/7/1985




24




8/10
image7031.jpg kirei na mama de image by ViergeForest
23.Lavender Lips10/3/198559/10 image67512.jpg lavender lips image by ViergeForest
24.THROUGH THE WINDOW12/12/198577/10 image6761.jpg through the window image by ViergeForest
25.Namida no Hollywood4/1/198678/10 image67711.jpg namida no hollywood image by ViergeForest
26.Setsuna no Natsu7/24/1986107/10 image67812.jpg setsuna no natsu image by ViergeForest
27.Halfmoon Serenade11/28/1986610/10 image67911.jpg halfmoon serenade image by ViergeForest
28.Omoide no Coney's Island3/1/1987-- naokokawai39.jpg omoide no coney's island image by ViergeForest
29.Izayoi monogatari7/24/19871010/10 image7041.jpg izayoi monogatari image by ViergeForest
30.Kanashii hito3/1/1988218/10 image7051.jpg kanashii hito image by ViergeForest
31.Harbour Light Memories7/21/1988187/10 image7062.jpg harbour light memories image by ViergeForest




32.




Ai no Serenade (w/Jackie Chan)




8/25/1988




24




6/10
image7072.jpg ai no serenade image by ViergeForest
33.Kanashimi no Anniversary11/10/1989749/10 naokokawai3101.jpg kanashimi no anniversary image by ViergeForest
34.Mirai4/10/1990748/10 naokokawai3201.jpg mirai image by ViergeForest
35.Nemuru, nemuru, nemuru9/1/199097- naokokawai3301.jpg nemuru, nemuru, nemuru image by ViergeForest
36.Golden sunshine day6/21/1992-- naokokawai3701.jpg golden sunshine day image by ViergeForest




37.




Chotto dake himitsu




12/12/1992




97




7/10
naokokawai3401.jpg chotto dake himitsu image by ViergeForest
38.Engage10/21/1993-- naokokawai3601.jpg engage image by ViergeForest




39.




Yume no ato kara




3/21/1994




60




-
naokokawai3501.jpg yume no ato kara image by ViergeForest

2 comments:

David said...

I am surprised to hear she only had one number one single. She was one of the finest musical talents of the day. I have had the extreme pleasure of seeing her three times in concert and meeting in person twice.

AE-1 Smith said...

I was stationed in Yokosuka from 1980 to 1984 and watched her career begin. The USS Midway was always at sea so I never got the chance to see her live. She is in my top five along with Yoshie, Seiko, Akina and Hitomi Ishikawa.

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