Akina Nakamori

Who is Akina Nakamori?

Akina Nakamori is a Japanese pop singer and actress. She was one of the most popular singers of the 1980s in Japan. She is known for her deep, power-house voice.

Within two years of her debut, she set herself apart from all the singers of her generation by singing provocative songs, with a chameleon-like image change with the release of each new single. Her mature and rebellious image was to be the direct opposite of the other pop rival, Seiko Matsuda, who projected a girl next door, sweet-natured charm. The media competed them against each other throughout the 1980s, scrutinising every details of their lives and supposed rivalry. During that period, Nakamori has always expressed an admiration and respect for Matsuda, even humming to Matsuda's songs when both happen to be on the same live shows.

Her hair style and dress sense was very much copied by teenagers in the 1980s. Music wise, her recording company moulded her to be a successor after the mature and sophisticated Momoe Yamaguchi, a singer who retired at age 21 for marriage. Her songs were always of heartbreaks, or rebellion, never to stray far from the 'mold'.