Akina Nakamori (中森 明菜) is a Japanese singer and actress.
She is one of the most popular and best-selling artists in Japan.
1965
Nakamori was born on 13 July 1965, in Ōta, Tokyo, the fifth child and third daughter of six brothers and sisters.
Her father Akio Nakamori owned a meat shop.
Nakamori and her siblings were all named after their father, Akio, bearing the kanji 明 (aki) in their names.
Her mother named her "Akina", which means "a bright nanohana flower".
1981
Akina achieved national recognition after winning the 1981 season of the talent show Star Tanjō!.
Her debut single "Slow Motion" was released to moderate success, peaking at number thirty on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.
Nakamori's popularity increased with the release of her follow-up single, "Shōjo A", which peaked at number five on the Oricon charts and sold over 390,000 copies.
Her second album Variation became her first number-one on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart, staying in that position for three weeks.
1982
After Akina Nakamori won Star Tanjō! on her third attempt, she made her debut in 1982 with the single "Slow Motion."
Recorded in Los Angeles, the single was released on 1 May 1982 and sold 174,000 copies, reaching No. 30 on the Oricon charts.
The second single, "Shōjo A" was nearly banned for its risque lyrics.
This single fared better and peaked at No. 5, selling 396,000 copies.
Her next single, a ballad titled "Second Love" proved to be her best-selling single.
It debuted at No. 2 but reached No. 1 the following week, staying at the top for nine weeks.
It sold 766,000 copies then, and to date has sold almost one million.
In addition to the single releases, Nakamori also released two albums titled Prologue and Variation that year, which sold 453,000 and 743,000 copies respectively.
The following year, Nakamori released three singles, two studio albums, and her first best-of album.
The singles were "½ no Shinwa", which sold 573,000 copies and debuted at #1, making it her best-selling single of that year; "Twilight (Yūgure Dayori)", released in May, which sold 430,000 copies and debuted at #2; and "Kinku", her last single of that year, which debuted at #1 and sold 511,000 copies.
1983
All three albums, Fantasy, New Akina Etranger and Best Akina Memoires hit No. 1. Nakamori made the first of her seven official performances on the NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on 31 December 1983, the 34th edition of the show.
1984
In 1984, Nakamori released "Kita Wing", which sold 614,000 copies and debuted at number 2 and remained at that position for 6 weeks.
"Kita Wing" is also rumored to be Momoe Yamaguchi's favorite Nakamori Song.
Yamaguchi is Nakamori's idol.
Her next single "Southern Wind" brought her back to the number 1 spot, though it sold less than its predecessor at 544,000 copies.
"Jukkai (1984)" proved to be another number 1 for her, selling 611,000 copies.
The 9th single, "Kazari ja Nai no yo Namida wa" proved to be a turning point in Akina Nakamori's career as the song is considered difficult to sing with fast lyrics.
It debuted at number 1 and sold 625,000 copies.
1985
She made her acting debut in 1985 with an appearance in the Japanese romance movie Ai, Tabidachi.
Nakamori kicked off 1985 with "Meu amor é...," which debuted #1 with 631,000 copies sold ultimately and also winning Nakamori the Grand Prix award at the 27th Japan Record Awards.
She became the youngest person at the time (20) to be given the award.
Originally, the single was to be titled "Akaitori Nigeta" (The red bird flies away), but the producers felt that the lyrics were not Samba-ish enough.
"Meu amor é..."
1986
Many in Japan cite this song and her 1986 single, "Desire (Jōnetsu)", as Nakamori's signature song.
Her two album releases of that year, Anniversary and Possibility both fared well and hit No. 1.
2010
After an extended hiatus from 2010 to 2014, Akina released two compilation albums, All Time Best: Original and All Time Best: Utahime Cover, both of which were commercially successful.
2019
Her younger sister Akiho Nakamori was also an actress who died in 2019 at the age of 52.
Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Kiyose, Tokyo, where she grew up.
Her mother, a fan of Hibari Misora, made her listen to Hibari's songs and taught her how to sing.
Eventually, Nakamori began to dream of becoming a singer under the influence of her mother.
