| Yoshie Kashiwabara 柏原芳恵 |
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|---|---|
| Birth name | かしわばら よしえ (Yoshie Kashiwabara) |
| Born | October 1, 1965 |
| Origin | Osaka, Japan |
| Genres | Japanese pop |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, actress |
| Years active | 1980–present |
Yoshie Kashiwabara (柏原芳恵 Kashiwabara Yoshie, born on October 1, 1965) is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter, model, movie, television and stage actress.
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Born in Osaka, she rose to fame in 1980 as a teen idol, making her debut with the song "No.1". Other hits include: "Karin" (lit. "Pseudocydonia") and "Haru nanoni" (lit. "Despite spring"). However, at only 14 years old then, Yoshie was outshined by Seiko Matsuda and Naoko Kawai, who began their singing careers almost at the same time with her. With determination and strong will, plus a good voice, Yoshie finally made it with a top 10 song "Hello Goodbye" in autumn 1982. During then, both Seiko and Naoko were already A-list pop idols. Her late charge at 1982 made her a strong contender for the year-end NHK Red and White Song festival, but she was surprisingly being dropped while Junko Mihara, also debuted in 1980 along with Yoshie, was selected, making it the head line news for that year's annual show. Yoshie continued to work hard the next year (1983) not only by singing; she acted in a few dramas as well, and as expected, she was finally rewarded to be selected for that years Red and White Song Festival. However, at the beginning of 1984, her popularity began to drop as a new batch of new comers, including Akina Nakamori, Yu Hayami, Hidemi Ishikawa, Iyo Matsumoto, Chiemi Hori and also Kyoko Koizumi (all debuted in 1982) began to gain popularity. Yoshie tried to savage her singing career by gradually turning towards a more mature image, though she was only 19 then. Her change got her some attention for awhile and she was nominated as the best singing female of 1984 (but she did not win). With the strong competitions from not only Seiko and Naoko, and also Akina, Kyoko and the rest, Yoshie was, as expected, knocked out of that years' Red and White. In 1995 Yoshie managed to turn the situation around by getting sexier image, and was well recognised. Her posters for her hit song "Shinobi-ai" (lit. "quietly in love") which were hung on buildings and advertisement venues were all stolen within days, and in this year it was found out that the Prince of Japan was a big fan of Yoshie, and instantly she was popular again, pushing her to return to the stage of Kohaku (Red and White) for a second (and final) appearance. From 1986 onwards, Yoshie began writing lyrics for her own songs, but unfortunately her popularity took a steep downhill. She then began to focus on acting, which earned her some awards. As of now Yoshie still sings occassionally, but she is now considered a successful actress.