Miyuki Nakajima

Overview

Miyuki Nakajima (中島みゆき, born February 23, 1952 in Sapporo, Hokkaidō) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and radio personality. She debuted in 1975 with the single "Azami Jō no Lullaby" and is the only solo artist to have topped the Oricon singles chart across four decades; songs she wrote for other artists have also topped it across five decades. She is managed by Yamaha Music Entertainment Holdings, and her official fan club is called "Namifuku."

Career

Early life

Born in Sapporo, she moved to Iwanai at age five and later grew up in Obihiro. Her father ran an obstetrics and gynecology clinic. In 1969, in her third year at Obihiro Hakuyou High School, she performed her own song "Tsugumi no Uta" at a cultural festival. At Fuji Women's University she was active in the broadcasting club and won so many contests that she was nicknamed a "contest raider." In 1972 she won a prize at the national folk festival with "Atashi Tokidoki Omouno."

1970s

In May 1975 her song "Kizutsuita Tsubasa" won a prize at the 9th Popular Song Contest, and in September she debuted on Canyon Records with "Azami Jō no Lullaby." In October, "Jidai" won the grand prix at the 10th contest and at the 6th World Popular Song Festival; it was released in December as her second single. Her first album, Watashi no Koe ga Kikoemasuka, followed in April 1976. That year, "LA-LA-LA" and "Abayo," written for Naoko Ken, became big hits. In 1977, "Wakareuta" sold more than 700,000 copies and established her as a singer. She also wrote "Kamome wa Kamome," Junko Sakurada's "Shiawase Shibai" and Keiko Masuda's "Suzume." "Sejou," from the 1978 album Aishiteiru to Ittekure, became one of her signature songs after being used in the 1981 drama Kinpachi Sensei. In 1979 she began hosting All Night Nippon on Nippon Broadcasting.

1980s

The 1981 single "Akujo" gave her a second Oricon number one and ranked sixth on the 1982 year-end chart. The 1982 album Kansuigyo, featuring the album version of the song, topped the year-end albums chart. In 1983 she won the composition prize at the 25th Japan Record Awards for "Haru na no ni," sung by Yoshie Kashiwabara. A period of stylistic searching followed; the 1985 single "Tsumetai Wakare" featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica. Meeting producer Kazumi Seo through the 1988 album Goodbye Girl settled this phase. From 1989 she staged the theatrical concert "Yakai" every December, ending the annual format in 1998 and continuing irregularly since.

1990s

She scored three million-selling singles, including "Asai Nemuri," and her 1994 single "Sora to Kimi no Aida ni" sold 1.47 million copies. The 1996 best-of album Daiginjo reached number one on the Oricon albums chart, setting what was then the age record for a female solo artist. In 1999 she served on the National Language Council, the only singer to do so.

2000s onward

In 2000 she moved from Pony Canyon to Yamaha Music Communications. Her first single there, "Chijō no Hoshi / Headlight Tail Light," was the theme of NHK's Project X and stayed in the Oricon top 100 for 174 consecutive weeks. She appeared on the 53rd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 2002 (52.8% viewership) and the single reached number one in January 2003, 130 weeks after release, a record. It also appears on the album Tanpenshū. In 2006 she received the 56th Minister of Education Award for Fine Arts, the first singer-songwriter to do so, and the lyrics award at the 48th Japan Record Awards for "Sorafune," written for TOKIO. She received the Medal with Purple Ribbon on November 3, 2009. Tours followed in 2010–2011 and 2012–2013 ("Enkai 2012–3"), along with the 2013 gala concerts "Yakai Kōjō." In 2014 she returned to the Kōhaku with "Mugi no Uta," the theme of the drama Massan. In 2023 she provided "Shin'on" for the film Alice and Therese's Illusion Factory, her first anime song.

Musical style

Spanning kayōkyoku, enka and J-pop, Nakajima writes her own lyrics and music. She began recording overseas in the early 1990s, and since the 2000s has worked yearly with studio musicians such as David Campbell.