| Yukiko Okada | |
|---|---|
Yukiko Okada in 1984 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kayo Satō (佐藤 佳代) |
| Also known as | Yukko |
| Born | August 22, 1967 |
| Origin | Nagoya, Japan |
| Died | April 8, 1986 (aged 18) |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupations | Singer, actress, model, spokesperson |
| Instruments | Vocals, Piano |
| Years active | 1984–1986 |
| Labels | Pony Canyon |
Yukiko Okada (岡田 有希子 Okada Yukiko, August 22, 1967 – April 8, 1986) was a singer and winner of the talent show, Star Tanjō! in Japan.
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Okada was born on August 22, 1967, the second daughter of the Satō family in the Ichinomiya Hospital and later moved to Nagoya. At elementary school, Okada loved to read books, especially comic books and she was a talented artist. In junior high school, Okada wanted to become a singer and applied for every possible audition – anything from major audition to the smallest talent recruitment, hoping to become a star. She was rejected every time until she was finally accepted to a TV talent program, Star Tanjō! on Nippon Television – similar to American Idol. In March 1983, she was the winner of "Star Tanjō!".
On April 21, 1984, Okada debuted with a single, "First Date". She was known as "Yukko" in the beginning of her career as a result of her mispronouncing her stage name, Yukiko, due to her nervousness on her first television appearance on The Best Ten, which aired on TBS.
That year, Okada won Rookie of the Year, and was awarded the 26th Japan Record Awards' Grand Prix Best New Artist Award for her third single, "-Dreaming Girl- Koi, Hajimemashite".
Okada played the leading role in her first television drama Kinjirareta Mariko (The Forbidden Mariko), in 1985. Her 1986 single "Kuchibiru Network", written by Seiko Matsuda and composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, reached number one on the Oricon weekly singles chart dated February 10, 1986.
Around 10 o'clock April 8, 1986, the manager of the Sun Music building found the 18-year old Okada with a slashed wrist in her gas-filled Tokyo apartment, crouching in a closet and sobbing. Two hours later, the singer jumped to her death from the seven-story Sun Music Agency building.[1] The reason for the suicide is still unknown. Her untimely death resulted in many copycat suicides soon christened with the neologism "Yukiko Syndrome" for copycat suicides in Japan.[2]
| Preceded by The Good-Bye |
Japan Record Award for Best New Artist 1984 |
Succeeded by Miho Nakayama |
| Preceded by The Good-Bye |
FNS Music Festival for Best New Artist 1984 |
Succeeded by Minako Honda |
| Preceded by The Good-Bye, Sayuri Iwai, Yasuko Kuwata |
Shinjuku Music Festival for Gold Prize 1984 (with : Koji Kikkawa) |
Succeeded by Shigeyuki Nakamura, Minako Honda |
| Preceded by The Good-Bye |
Ginza Music Festival for Grand Prix 1984 |
Succeeded by Noriko Matsumoto |