Shizuka Kudō

Shizuka Kudo 工藤 静香
Birth name	工藤 静香 (Kudō Shizuka)
Born	14 April 1970
Origin	Hamura, Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, Actress
Years active	1986–present
Labels	Pony Canyon
Associated acts	Onyanko Club, SMAP

Shizuka Kudo (工藤 静香 Kudō Shizuka, born 14 April 1970) is a Japanese singer pop idol and actress born in Hamura, Tokyo. She debuted as member no. 38 of the Onyanko Club in May 1986 and went on to a successful solo career with 11 no.1 hits.^[1]

Biography

Kudo began her career age just 14 in three-piece pop unit Seventeen Club, formed from a 1984 'Miss Seventeen Contest' organized by Japanese magazine Seventeen. They released two singles in 1985 on Sony Records and Kudo later said she joined "just to have fun."^[1]

Onyanko Club debuted on the first of April 1985 on their own Fuji TV variety show Yūyake Nyan Nyan^[2] with eleven high school girls selected from participants in the Fuji TV All Night High School Girl Special (オールナイトフジ女子高生スペシャル) aired in February that same year. Kudo auditioned for the group after completing high school in May 1986, becoming member no.38.

The group gave a new approach to the idol formula with 52 official members and three unofficial members, with several, including Shizuka Kudo, forming sub-groups, such as Ushirogami Hikaretai.^[2] Ushirogami Hikaretai, which teamed Kudo with Akiko Ikuina and Makiko Saito released five singles and two albums in a one-year period from May 1987 until March 1988 with a live album their final release in July 1988 (Hora ne, Haru ga Kita - First Concert).

Kudo has said of her time in Onyanko Club that "it was a great experience, with good, bad and really dirty things," and that she tried not to learn from the behavior of others around her.^[1]

Onyanko Club disbanded on 9 September 1987 with a final concert but Kudo had already launched her solo career with her first single, Kindan no Telepathy less than two weeks prior, on 31 August. It climbed to the top of the music chart and also became a favorite throughout Asia during the early '90s. She enjoyed a run of eight consecutive number 1 singles in Japan between 1988 and 1990, and eleven in total.^[1]

She continued to release new music every year until 2000 with sporadic releases since then. Her most recent release came in 2008 when she teamed up with Miyuki Nakajima, co-composer of five of Kudo's late-80s hits, for a double a-side, Night Wing/ Yuki Gasa. Kudo said of their long-term working relationship, "We are not that close. We have a nice distance. Sometimes when I hear her music, it scares me but I especially like her passionate lyrics."^[1]

Kudo also appears on television in jidaigeki roles and also creates her own jewelry that is sold in Japan.

Trivia

Shizuka Kudo is also known as the Japanese voice of Megara in the Japanese dub of the 1997 Disney film Hercules, opposite Tokio drummer Masahiro Matsuoka, playing the title role.

Kudo married Takuya Kimura of popular boy-band SMAP in 2000. They have two children named Kokomi and Mitsuki.

Kudo speaks English with a strong British accent stating in an English-language interview that "a British accent is much easier, because you don’t have the ‘r’ sound like the Americans."^[1]

Discography

Singles

Year	Title	Details	Peak chart position (Oricon)[3]
1987	"Kindan no Telepathy" (禁断のテレパシー)	Release date: 31 August 1987 B-side: "Ai ga Itai Yoru" (愛が痛い夜)	#1
	"Again"	Release date: 12 December 1987 B-side: "If"	#3
1988	"Daite Kuretara Ii no ni" (抱いてくれたらいいのに)	Release date: 2 March 1988 B-side: "Yoake ni Miokurarete" (夜明けに見送られて)	#3
	"FU-JI-TSU"	Release date: 1 June 1988 B-side: "Natsu ga Kureta Miracle" (夏がくれたミラクル)	#1
	"MUGO-n... Iroppoi" (MUGO・ん…色っぽい)	Release date: 24 August 1988 Campaign song for Kanebo Cosmetics B-side: "Gunshū" (群衆)	#1
	"Koi Hitoyo" (恋一夜)	Release date: 28 December 1988 Image song for the Hakone Open-Air Museum B-side: "Non-Stop"	#1
1989	"Arashi no Sugao" (嵐の素顔)	Release date: 3 March 1989 B-side: "Eien no Bōhatei" (永遠の防波堤)	#1
	"Kōsa ni Fukarete" (黄砂に吹かれて)	Release date: 9 September 1989 B-side: "Akiko" (秋子)	#1
1990	"Kuchibiru kara Biyaku" (くちびるから媚薬)	Release date: 10 January 1990 B-side: "Serenade" (セレナーデ)	#1
	"Senryū no Shizuku" (千流の雫)	Release date: 9 May 1990 Campaign song for Taiyo Yuden B-side: "Beautiful World"	#1
	"Watashi ni Tsuite" (私について)	Release date: 21 September 1990 B-side: "TEL..ME"	#1
1991	"Boyaboya Dekinai" (ぼやぼやできない)	Release date: 23 January 1991 B-side: "Ano Sakamichi" (あの坂道)	#2
	"Please"	Release date: 15 May 1991 B-side: "Manatsu no Shinkirō" (真夏の蜃気楼)	#1
	"Metamorphose" (メタモルフォーゼ)	Release date: 23 October 1991 B-side: "Ri-a-ru"	#2
1992	"Mechakucha ni Naite Shimaitai" (めちゃくちゃに泣いてしまいたい)	Release date: 29 January 1992 B-side: "Ryūsei" (流星)	#4
	"Urahara" (うらはら)	Release date: 21 May 1992 B-side: "Hatachi no Scenario" (20才のシナリオ)	#5
	"Koe wo Kikasete" (声を聴かせて)	Release date: 21 August 1992 B-side: "Minamikaze!! Fuku Mae ni..." (南風!!吹く前に…)	#5
1993	"Dōkoku" (慟哭)	Release date: 3 February 1993 B-side: "Call" (コール)	#1
	"Watashi wa Knife" (わたしはナイフ)	Release date: 2 June 1993 B-side: "Shūmaku" (終幕)	#6
	"Anata shika Inai desho" (あなたしかいないでしょ)	Release date: 6 October 1993 B-side: "Chotto Shita GUILTY" (ちょっとしたGUILTY)	#5
1994	"Blue Rose"	Release date: 18 March 1994 B-side: "Door"	#8
	"Jaguar Line"	Release date: 21 July 1994 B-side: "naked love"	#8
	"Ice Rain"	Release date: 18 November 1994 B-side: "Party"	#8
1995	"Moon Water"	Release date: 19 May 1995 B-side: "Still Water"	#14
	"7"	Release date: 21 July 1995 B-side: "Hachigatsu..." (8月…)	#15
1996	"Chō" (蝶)	Release date: 21 March 1996 B-side: "Melody" (メロディ)	#15
	"Yū" (優)	Release date: 5 June 1996 B-side: "Luna -Tsuki no Megami-" (ルナ-月の女神-)	#26
	"Gekijō" (激情)	Release date: 7 November 1996 B-side: "Nagai Kami" (長い髪)	#10
1997	"Blue Velvet"	Release date: 28 May 1997 Ending theme for the anime Dragon Ball GT B-side: "Break"	#8
	"Kama Sutra no Densetsu" (カーマスートラの伝説)	Release date: 19 November 1997 B-side: "Niji" (虹)	#29
1998	"Setsu-Getsu-Ka" (雪・月・花)	Release date: 18 February 1998 B-side: "Wish"	#23
	"Kirara" (きらら)	Release date: 17 July 1998 B-side: "in the sky"	#6
	"Isshun" (一瞬)	Release date: 6 November 1998 B-side: "piece of a star"	#29
1999	Blue Zone	Release date: 7 April 1999 Campaign song for Toyo Tires B-side: "ZIGUZAGU"	#28
2000	"Shinku no Hana" (深紅の花)	Release date: 8 November 2000 B-sides: "Ashimoto o Kazaru Taiyō" (足下を飾る太陽), "PRAY"	#33
2002	"maple"	Release date: 24 April 2002 B-side: "Hōsekibako" (宝石箱)	#35
2005	"Lotus ~Umareshi Hana~" (Lotus ～生まれし花～)	Release date: 16 February 2005 Campaign song for the Daihatsu Tanto B-side: "Simple"	#40
	"Kokoro no Chikara" (心のチカラ)	Release date: 27 April 2005 Ending theme for Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart: The Movie B-side: "Urunda Heart" (潤んだハート)	#60
2006	"Clāvis -Kagi-" (Clāvis -鍵-)	Release date: 6 September 2006 B-side: "Powder snow"	#67
2007	"Amayo no Tsuki ni" (雨夜の月に)	Release date: 23 May 2007 B-side: "Sonzai" (存在)	#44
2008	"NIGHT WING/Yukigasa" (NIGHT WING/雪傘)	Release date: 5 November 2008 Double A-side	#75
2012	"Kimi ga Kureta Mono" (キミがくれたもの)	Release date: 17 October 2012 Ending theme for the anime Fairy Tail B-sides: "Glass no Hana" (ガラスの花), "Baroque Pearl" (バロックパール)	#50

Albums

#	Title	Release date	Note
1	ミステリアス (Mysterious)	1988.01.21
2	静香 (Shizuka)	1988.07.21
3	gradation	1988.11.30	Best of
4	Joy	1989.03.15
5	カレリア (Karelia)	1989.10.04
6	Harvest	1989.12.06	Best of
7	Rosette	1990.04.04
8	Unlimited	1990.11.14	Best of
9	Mind Universe	1991.03.06
10	Intimate	1991.12.11	Best of
11	Trinity	1992.03.18
12	Best of Ballade "Empathy"	1992.11.20	Best of
13	Rise Me	1993.04.01
14	Super Best	1993.11.19	Best of
15	Expose	1994.09.07
16	Purple	1995.08.02
17	Doing	1997.05.17
18	She - Best of Best	1996.12.16	Best of
19	Dress	1997.03.19
20	I'm not	1998.04.29
21	Best of Ballade カレント (Best of Ballade Current)	1998.11.18	Best of
22	Full of Love	1999.06.02
23	Millennium Best	2000.03.15	Best of
24	The Best of Shizuka Kudo	2001.12.05
25	Jewelry Box	2002.07.03
26	昭和の階段 Vol.1 (Showa no Kaidan Vol.1)	2002.10.30	Cover Album
27	月影 (Tsukikage)	2005.06.01
28	Kudo Shizuka Best ~20TH ANNIVERSARY~	2007.08.29	Best of
29	Shizuka Kudo 20th Anniversary B-side Collection	2008.03.05	Best of
30	MY PRECIOUS -Shizuka sings songs of Miyuki-	2008.08.20	Cover Album. Peaked at #20 on the weekly charts.
31	My Treasure Best -Miyuki Nakajima x Tsugutoshi Goto Collection-	2015.02.18	Best of. Sold 10,334 copies. Peaked at #22 on the weekly charts and charting for 7 weeks.
32	My Heartful Best -Matsui Goro Collection-	2016.03.09	Best of. Sold, 2,616 copies. Peaked at #38 on the weekly charts and charting for 4 weeks.

References

1. Robert Michael Poole (2008-11-07). "Shizuka Kudo -The storied J-pop superstar reflects on life at the top". Metropolis (free magazine). Retrieved 2011-05-04.
2. "Onyanko Club". Encyclopedia Idollica. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
3. http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/206047/rank/single/

Sources

• "Chimpman News with Shizuka Kudo". Japan Sugoi. 3 November 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-03-20. Retrieved 2007-04-29.