Yuko Nakazawa
Encyclopedia : Y : YU : YUK : Yuko Nakazawa
, born June 19, 1973, Kyoto Prefecture in Japan, is a Japanese pop singer and actress, best known as a founding member of the all-female supergroup Morning Musume. Currently, she is a solo artist as well as one of the hosts of the Japanese TV show Hello! Morning.
About Yuko Nakazawa
Yuko was one of five runner-ups in a 1997 talent contest for a new Japanese rock idol. After the contest, musician and producer Tsunku offered Yuuko and the 4 other runner-ups (Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Aya Ishiguro, and Asuka Fukuda) the chance to be taken under his wing on one condition: that they sell 50,000 CDs of their song "Ai no Tane" in 5 days. The quintet accomplished that task in 4 and, thus, the birth of Morning Musume in 1997 (and their first official single "Morning Coffee" released in 1998). The group has since been increasingly popular and is infamous for its fluctuation of memberships, with members "graduating" and joining frequently.Shortly after the formation of Morning Musume, Yuko began a solo career in 1998 — starting out with songs in enka-style (traditional japanese folk) but gradually moving to pop, though often more slow, mature, and ballady than most songs in Hello! Project (the umbrella company which includes Morning Musume and other groups).
Yuko is also a regular featured singer in Hello! Project's "Folk Songs" series, where Yuuko and other Hello! Project groups/soloists sing covers of various folk songs. She was also placed in Akagumi 4 in Hello! Project's 2000 summer shuffles. In Morning Musume, Yuko mostly sings harmonies with a few solo lines.
Being the oldest of the 1st generation of Morning Musume (she was 24 at the time of formation and nearly 28 upon her graduation), Yuko was made leader of the group until her graduation in Spring 2001, when Kaori Iida and Kei Yasuda took on the leadership role. In explaining her graduation, Yuko said she wanted to pursue other things by the time she was 30. At the time of graduation, she was 14 years older than the youngest member of the troupe (then 13-year-old Ai Kago).
Since graduating, Yuko has done some work in Japanese dramas (such as "Beauty 7" and "Home Maker") and has continued in her solo singing career at a steady pace with reasonable success. She still works closely with Morning Musume, and has been a regular host of their weekly show "Hello! Morning".
On April 11, 2005, she became a performer of "Tchunen", a TV program on Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc., on Mondays, and on April 11, 2006, she became a performer of "Chichin Pui Pui" (MBS) on Tuesdays.
Discography
Single
- — August 5, 1998
- (Duet with Takayama Gen) — December 2, 1998
- — June 9, 1999
- — July 12, 2000
- — February 15, 2001
- — August 1, 2001
- — August 28, 2002
- GET ALONG WITH YOU — May 21, 2003
- — February 11, 2004
- DO MY BEST (Theme for ) — May 26, 2004
Album
- — December 12, 1998
- — July 22, 2004
Video and DVD
- — February 28, 2002
- — November 27, 2002
- — January 22, 2003
- FS3 LIVE — February 26, 2003
Appearance
Television
- Hello! Morning
- Idol wo Sagase!
- M no Mokushiroku
- Helloland
- NHK Junior Special
- Osaka Hatsu Kenki DASH! DOYAH
- CCHU~NEN
Drama
- Aiken Rosinante no Sainan — January 3, 2001
- Beauty 7 — July 9, 2001
- Ginza no Koi — January 3, 2002
- Gokusen — April 6, 2002
- Homemaker
- Kochira Honikegamisho
Movie
- Minimoni. Jya Movie Okashi na Daibouken!
- Detsujin 28 Gou
Radio
- Nakazawa Yuko no allnightnippon SUPER
- Nakazawa Yuko no allnightnippon sundayspecial/Nakazawa Yuuko no allnightnippon Sunday SUPER!
- (Music Plaza's) Kimama ni Classic
- Young Town Douyoubi
- Maji Asa
Commercial
- ERUSEENU
- Nihon Chouou Keiba
- ORIKOGAADO
- Sukeodou SHITEI BUURU
Books
- Feather ~ Nakazawa Yuko Sashinshou — 2001
- Kaishin — 2002
- Watashi ga Omou, Konna Onna - Nakazawa Yuko Sashinshou — 2003
- Zutto Ushirokara Mitekita — 2003
External links
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