Yukiko Okada
Yukiko Okada (岡田有希子) was an 80's Japanese idol. She is perhaps most remembered as the idol that committed suicide at the height of her popularity when she was only 18 years old. This was the only thing I knew about her for years, before I actually started listening to her music.
After auditioning for shows without her parents' knowledge, she won the national talent show "Star Tanjo!" in 1983. She quickly got signed to Sun Music and Pony Canyon Records. Yukiko released four studio albums, eight singles, two compilation albums and two videos during her short three-year career, along with many, many photoshoots to satisfy an average male's perverted cravings.
Okada committed suicide by jumping off the Sun Music building on April 8th 1986. The reason for her death is still unknown. Her death inspired many copycat suicides that took place afterwards. Fans still gather around the Sun Music building today on her birthday and on her death date to pay tribute to "The Eternal Idol".
I found out about Yukko like many other international fans - as the one idol that committed suicide. This was when I was first getting into 80's Japanese music during 2017-2018. Up until 2020, I had only listened to one Yukko song - her first single "First Date". It wasn't until the end of 2020 that I started exploring more of her discography that I realized how good she is. Well, I guess you could argue she was just a cookie-cutter idol who just so happened to have famously died, but my record collection seems to disprove that.
"Cool" facts about Yukiko Okada
- She was bullied in school due to the appearance of her ears. They were even hidden during the early years of her career by her haircut.
- Her haircut was modelled after Seiko Matsuda, a highly successful idol that was also signed to Sun Music.
- She has a speech impediment - she does not pronounce the Japanese "r" sound properly.
- I keep forgetting this fact, but she starred in a TV show called "Kinjirareta Mariko" (The Forbidden Mariko) in 1985, playing the titular character. There are a lot, if not all, of the episodes on Dailymotion and Bilibili, however none have English subtitles.
- Yoko Oginome (another favourite idol of mine) was great friends with her, and advocated for the release of her single "Hana no Image", meant to be released only two days after her death. The single was finally released in 1999.
- Her death came after another idol, Yasuko Endō, committed suicide only ten days earlier. Endō's death may have been a factor in Yukiko's.
- According to the lyrics card of her first single "First Date":
- Her favourite foods are ice-cream, gratin, and "okonomiyaki" (I highly recommend the last one)
- Her favourite sports are badminton and gymnastics
- The places she most wants to go to are Switzerland and Disneyland in America (the former of which she did get to visit)
- Her favourite colours are white and lemon
- She wanted to be a manga artist before becoming an idol
- Her highest charting single was her final - "Kuchibiru Network", reaching the number 1 spot on the Oricon charts.
Opinions
- Favourite single: Probably "First Date". It's the only single where I really like both the A-side and the B-side. The other singles are great but the B-sides kind of bore me.
- Favourite song: Hard to choose! Maybe the aforementioned "First Date" or probably "Wonder Trip Lover" off her final album.
- Favourite album: Cinderella (1984)
- Worst song: Probably "Private Red", the B-side to "Futari Dake no Ceremony". I'm not a nihongo speaker so maybe the lyrics are deep (lmao), but I hate the music.
- Worst album: Venus Tanjou (1986). Only two good songs and the rest are forgettable.
- Is she over- or under-rated? I am an elitist and I want Yukiko all to myself so I don't think she's over-rated. That being said, I wish people would stop dismissing her existence by saying "oh yeah she died so sad" LISTEN TO HER SHIT!!!! She is so much more than that one idol who jumped off a building.
- While I have most of her discography on vinyl in my possession, I am not interested in buying her final album Venus Tanjou for the reasons stated above. I have debated it a lot though since Wonder Trip Lover is probably her objectively best song instrumentally (thanks, Ryuichi!). I wouldn't be opposed to being gifted it tho :eyes:
- Her two videos of her trip to Switzerland are boring. All she does is spin around and smile while her music plays. Be creative
- Not really an opinion but I kind of want to buy her CD box set of every single song she has made ever (incl. posthumous releases). It never goes for less than $200 though so that hope is ruined
- Why did they AI generate the cover for the 12" Summer Beach release. WHY. THE COVER IS AWFUL. HER HAND LOOKS WACK. At least I was never going to buy it in the first place.
Learn more
- KANASHII YOKAN: The Life and Legacy of Yukiko Okada - a three-part fanmade documentary
- Yukiko Okada - Kayo Kyoku Plus - Yukiko Okada tag on a blog that reviews Japanese music
- Jpop80ss - download her music (or use Soulseek/streaming services)