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.
Early life
Okada was born on August 22, 1967, the second daughter of the Satō family in Ichinomiya-shi Hospital in 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!".
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 .
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