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“Survival of the fittest...”
Nickname:
Yuu-chan, Big Sis, Misoji
Hometown:
Fukuchiyama, Kyoto, Japan
Assets:
Badass yankii style, voice, legs
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Vices:
Kansai dialect, misoji
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Chicks She's Worked With
Aya Ishiguro, Kaori Iida, Natsumi Abe, Asuka Fukuda, Kei Yasuda, Mari Yaguchi, Sayaka Ichii, Maki Goto, Rika Ishikawa, Hitomi Yoshizawa, Nozomi Tsuji, Ai Kago, Danielle Delaunay, Miho Shinoda, Yuki Maeda, Atsuko Inaba, Michiyo Heike, Aya Matsuura, Miki Fujimoto, Ayaka Kimura, Mai Satoda, Asami Kimura, Miuna Saitou
Yuko Nakazawa (born June 19, 1973 in Kyoto, Japan) is a Japanese pop-enka singer and former leader of the Hello! Project mothership group Morning Musume. She's tough as nails and will shout in Kansai dialect when she's pissed. Tread carefully when making "old age" jokes - this thirty-year-old idol doesn't take too kindly to them.
Nakazawa was one of the five original members of the group, and the first leader. She graduated in 2001 because she felt physically limited in keeping up with the rest of the group.
Career
Nakazawa was one of the five runner-ups in a 1997 contest to find a new female vocalist for the rock band Sharan Q. Tsunku, the producer, gave the five a challenge: sell 50,000 copies of their demo single in five days, and he would produce them as their own act. Nakazawa and the other four met the challenge in four days. They were dubbed Morning Musume.
In 1999, due in part to Morning Musume's success, Nakazawa began a solo career. This continued even after her graduation, though it has slowed down somewhat due to lack of interest in enka music.
In addition to her solo career, Nakazawa often appeared on the "Folk Songs" series. She has been featured on all five albums in the series.
Because she graduated soon after Morning Musume reached peak success, Nakazawa has not been featured in any subgroups, and participated in only one shuffle unit during her time in the group. She made a surprising reappearance in the shuffles in 2005, as a member of Puripuri Pink.
Nakazawa's age is often joked about - she was the oldest member of Morning Musume at 24 when she first joined, and is the oldest member of the Hello! Project.
Since her graduation, Nakazawa has appeared in several plays and dramas, as well as hosting Hello! Morning until its end in 2007.
Releases
Albums
| # | Title | Release date
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| 1 | Dai 1 Shou | 1998-12-12
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| 2 | Dai 2 Shou ~Tsugari~ | 2004-07-22
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Singles
| # | Title | Release date
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| 1 | Karasu no Nyoubou | 1998-10-05
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| 2 | Odaiba Moonlight Serenade | 1998-12-02
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| 3 | Junjou Koushinkyoku | 1999-06-09
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| 4 | Shanghai no Kaze | 2000-07-12
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| 5 | Kuyashi Namida Porori | 2001-02-15
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| 6 | Futari Gurashi | 2001-08-01
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| 7 | Tokyo Bijin | 2002-08-28
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| 8 | GET ALONG WITH YOU | 2003-05-21
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| 9 | Genki no nai Hi Komoriuta / Nagaragawa no Hare | 2004-02-11
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| 10 | Do My Best | 2004-05-26
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| 11 | Urara | 2006-09-27
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| 12 | Danna-sama | 2007-10-10
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Photobooks
| # | Title | Release date |
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| 1 | Feather | 2001-08-?? |
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| 2 | Watashi ga Omou, Konna Onna | 2002-11-?? |
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Stuff she’s done, ie: movies, tv, albums:
Morning Musume, Akagumi 4, H.P. All Stars, Puripuri Pink, First Time, Second Morning, 3rd-LOVE PARADISE, Dai 1 Shou, Dai 2 Shou ~Tsuyogari~, Hello! Morning, Morning Cop, Pinch Runner, Beauty 7, Homemaker, Gokusen
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