was a singer and winner of the talent show, Star Tanjō!

Star Tanjō!

The was a Japanese talent show from Nippon Television.- Most winners :*Masako Mori*Junko Sakurada*Momoe Yamaguchi*Hiromi Iwasaki*Pink Lady*Mako Ishino*Yoshie Kashiwabara*Kyōko Koizumi*Akina Nakamori*Yukiko Okada...

 in Japan.

Early life

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!

Star Tanjō!

The was a Japanese talent show from Nippon Television.- Most winners :*Masako Mori*Junko Sakurada*Momoe Yamaguchi*Hiromi Iwasaki*Pink Lady*Mako Ishino*Yoshie Kashiwabara*Kyōko Koizumi*Akina Nakamori*Yukiko Okada...

 on Nippon Television

Nippon Television

is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...

 – similar to American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

. In March 1983, she was the winner of "Star Tanjō!".

Career

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

Tokyo Broadcasting System

, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....

.

That year, Okada won Rookie of the Year, and was awarded the 26th Japan Record Awards

26th Japan Record Awards

The 26th Japan Record Awards were held on December 31, 1984, and were broadcast live on TBS.- Award winners :*Japan Record Award:**Hiroshi Itsuki for "Nagaragawa Enka"*Best Vocalist:**Takashi Hosokawa*Best New Artist:**Yukiko Okada*Best Album:...

' 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

Seiko Matsuda

is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter. Due to her popularity in the 1980s and her long career, she has been dubbed the "Eternal idol" by the Japanese media.- Biography :...

 and composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto

Ryuichi Sakamoto

After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...

, reached number one on the Oricon

Oricon

, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 weekly singles chart dated February 10, 1986.

Death

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. The reason for the suicide is still unknown. Her untimely death resulted in many copycat suicide

Copycat suicide

A copycat suicide is defined as an emulation of another suicide that the person attempting suicide knows about either from local knowledge or due to accounts or depictions of the original suicide on television and in other media....

s soon christened with the neologism "Yukko Syndrome" for copycat suicides in Japan.

Singles

1. First Date (1984) Glico's Cafe Jelly jingle
   Jingle
   A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
   
   
2. Little Princess (1984)
3. Dreaming Girl-Koi, hajimemashite (1984) Glico's "Special Chocolate" jingle
4. Futari Dake no Ceremony (1985) Toshiba's "Let's Chat" jingle
5. Summer Beach (1985) Glico's Cafe Jelly jingle
6. Kanashii Yokan (1985)
7. Love Fair (10/5/1985) Glico's Cecil Chocolate jingle
8. Kuchibiru Network (1986) Kanebo's lipstick commercial
9. Hana no Image (1986) [released posthumously]
10. Believe in You (strings version 2002) [released posthumously]

Albums

1. Cinderella
3. Fairy
7. (Heritage, released posthumously)
8. All Songs Request (posthumous singles collection)

External links

• Yukiko Okada at Find a Grave
  Find A Grave
  Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...