Akina Nakamori (中森 明菜, Nakamori Akina; born 13 July 1965) is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She is one of the most popular and best-selling music artists in Japan. Akina achieved national recognition after winning the 1981 season of the talent show Star Tanjō!. Her debut single "Slow Motion" was released to moderate success, peaking at number thirty on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. Nakamori's popularity increased with the release of her follow-up single, "Shōjo A", which peaked at number five on the Oricon charts and sold over 390,000 copies. Her second album Variation became her first number-one on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart, staying in that position for three weeks.
She made her acting debut in 1985 with an appearance in the Japanese romance movie Ai, Tabidachi . After an extended hiatus from 2010 to 2014, Akina released two compilation albums, All Time Best: Original and All Time Best: Utahime Cover, both of which were commercially successful.
Nakamori was born on 13 July 1965, in Ōta, Tokyo, the fifth child and third daughter of six brothers and sisters. Her father Akio Nakamori worked as a butcher and owned a meat shop. Nakamori and her siblings were all named after their father, Akio, bearing the kanji 明 (aki) in their names. Her mother named her "Akina", which means "a bright nanohana flower". Her younger sister Akiho Nakamori was also an actress who died in 2019 at the age of 52. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Kiyose, Tokyo, where she grew up.
Her mother, a fan of Hibari Misora, made her listen to Hibari's songs and taught her how to sing. Eventually, Nakamori began to dream of becoming a singer under the influence of her mother.
After Akina Nakamori won Star Tanjō! on her third attempt, she made her debut in 1982 with the single "Slow Motion." Recorded in Los Angeles, the single was released on 1 May 1982 and sold 174,000 copies, reaching No. 30 on the Oricon charts. The second single, "Shōjo A" was nearly banned for its risque lyrics. This single fared better and peaked at No. 5, selling 396,000 copies. Her next single, a ballad titled "Second Love" proved to be her best-selling single. It debuted at No. 2 but reached No. 1 the following week, staying at the top for nine weeks. It sold 766,000 copies then, and to date has sold almost one million. In addition to the single releases, Nakamori also released two albums titled Prologue and Variation that year, which sold 453,000 and 743,000 copies respectively.
The following year, Nakamori released three singles, two studio albums, and her first best-of album. The singles were "½ no Shinwa", which sold 573,000 copies and debuted at #1, making it her best-selling single of that year; "Twilight (Yūgure Dayori)", released in May, which sold 430,000 copies and debuted at #2; and "Kinku", her last single of that year, which debuted at #1 and sold 511,000 copies. All three albums, Fantasy, New Akina Etranger and Best Akina Memoires hit No. 1. Nakamori made the first of her seven official performances on the NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on 31 December 1983, the 34th edition of the show.
In 1984, Nakamori released "Kita Wing", which sold 614,000 copies and debuted at number 2 and remained at that position for 6 weeks. "Kita Wing" is also rumored to be Momoe Yamaguchi's favorite Nakamori Song. Yamaguchi is Nakamori's idol. Her next single "Southern Wind" brought her back to the number 1 spot, though it sold less than its predecessor at 544,000 copies. "Jukkai (1984)" proved to be another number 1 for her, selling 611,000 copies. The 9th single, "Kazari ja Nai no yo Namida wa" proved to be a turning point in Akina Nakamori's career as the song is considered difficult to sing with fast lyrics. It debuted at number 1 and sold 625,000 copies. Many in Japan cite this song and her 1986 single, "Desire (Jōnetsu)", as Nakamori's signature song. Her two album releases of that year, Anniversary and Possibility both fared well and hit No. 1.
Nakamori kicked off 1985 with "Meu amor é...," which debuted #1 with 631,000 copies sold ultimately and also winning Nakamori the Grand Prix award at the 27th Japan Record Awards. She became the youngest person at the time (20) to be given the award. Originally, the single was to be titled "Akaitori Nigeta" (The red bird flies away), but the producers felt that the lyrics were not Samba-ish enough. "Meu amor é..." was the result of the newly penned lyrics. "Akaitori Nigeta" was released as a 12-inch single instead, making the No.1 spot as well. It also contained the remixed b-side Babylon and sold 354,000 overall. She then released "Sand Beige (Sabaku e)" which sold 461,000 copies and debuted at number 1. Her next single, "Solitude" also debuted at number 1 and sold 336,000 copies.
She also released two albums in 1985. Firstly, Bitter and Sweet, which contained the album version of the earlier hit of "Kazari ja Nai no yo Namida wa" and "BABYLON." It sold 556,000 copies and debuted at number 1 again. Her next album, D404ME, only had a remix version of the hit single "Meu amor é..." among other new songs and sold 651,000 copies, debuting at number 1.
In 1986, Nakamori's first single of that year, "Desire (Jōnetsu)" marked a more mature style of singing and song choice. It was the theme song of the Pioneer Private commercial and was awarded the Grand Prix at the 28th Japan Record Awards in 1986. She became the youngest winner of two consecutive years. It sold 516,000 copies and debuted at number 1. Her next single "Gypsy Queen" was a calmer song than "Desire (Jōnetsu)" and sold 358,000 copies, debuting at number 1. The single "Fin" followed, and sold 318,000 copies, debuting at number 1.
To commemorate her first four years in the business, Nakamori released her first "BEST" album. It sold 766,000 copies and debuted at number 1. Nakamori then released Fushigi, a concept album with echoing singing and obscure musical arrangement. It was a shock for the mainly conservative Japanese public, and thus sold 464,000 copies, nearly 200,000 less than Crimson, an album composed in entirety by only women, which sold 601,000 copies. Both debuted at number 1, but Fushigi stayed at number 1 for only three weeks while Crimson topped the charts for four.
In 1987, she released "Tango Noir," which sold 348,000 copies and debuted at number 1. Even though sales of singles were declining, "Tango Noir" still became the second best-selling single in 1987. Her next single was "Blonde", a Japanese-language version of "The Look That Kills" from her English-language album Cross My Palm. It sold 301,000 copies and added to her No.1 singles. Her most critically acclaimed single of that year was a heartfelt ballad called "Nanpasen," an emotionally draining song that many people attributed to her rocky relationship with her then-boyfriend, Masahiko Kondō and the death of Kondō's mother. It sold 431,000 copies and debuted at number 1.
She released only one album in 1987, an unsuccessful English debut album titled Cross My Palm. Reasons for its lack of success include Nakamori's heavily accented English and lack of promotion in the U.S. Nonetheless, it was a hit in Japan, selling 343,000 copies and debuting at number 1.
On March 3, 1988, Nakamori released album Stock. Three singles were released in 1988, "Al-Mauj", "Tattoo" and "I Missed the Shock." The first two debuted at No. 1.
In 1989, Nakamori only released one single due to her mental health at the time. "Liar" became her 20th No. 1 single. The single was rumored to reflect her feelings about Kondō. It came as a shock to the public when news of her attempted suicide in Kondō's apartment broke in July 1989, after he called off their engagement. She was found and hospitalized. After her physical recovery, she retreated from the public eye for a while.
Her return to the music scene in 1990 was met with skepticism and curiosity, propelling the single "Dear Friend" to No. 1. Nakamori once claimed that Dear Friend is perhaps her only happy song. Nevertheless, she reverted to melancholic, jilted love songs that ultimately did not go well with the public's taste. Her next single "Mizu ni Sashita Hana" became her 21st Oricon #1 single, but she could not reach the top position again after that. In the autumn of 1990, she was slated to release a new studio album Gaze, which would include singles "Mizu ni Sashita Hana" and ten more songs written by writer Eikyo Kyo. Due to issues with the record label, soon after her two-day live concert Yume, Nakamori left Warner Pioneer until she returned in 2024 following with a new agency and the album remained unreleased.