Gwinko Kanagushiku ( ryu, 金城吟子, Kanagushiku Gwinko) born on June 4, 1973, in

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

, Japan, is a Japanese singer who is currently a member of the duo Kina & Gwinko Worldchamploo.

Biography

Gwinko was one of the first batch of students from the

Okinawa Actors School is a school in Ginowan, Okinawa which has another branch in Osaka. It was founded in 1983 by Masayuki Makino who became the first principal of the school. Notable alumni * Namie Amuro * Hitoe Arakaki * Rina Chinen * D&D * Da Pump * Folder 5 ...

. In 1986, she passed an audition hosted by

CBS Sony , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

and moved to Tokyo, becoming Okinawa Actors School's first graduate. Gwinko released her debut album ''Yesterday Today Forever'' and single "Star Ship (I'm Going High)" in 1987. She became known for her style of singing R&B with digital sound in the foreground with slightly husky and relaxed vocals, as well as her dance choreography reminiscent of that of

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

. In 1988, Gwinko participated at CBS Sony's 20th anniversary event "New Blood 88–89". Later that year, she performed at Epic/Sony's 10th anniversary concert "Dance to Christmas". In the summer of 1989, Gwinko participated in the live tour "New Bloods Presents Funk a Hips Live Show" as a member of New Bloods. In October of that year, she became the co-host of the music program ''Hit Studio R&N'' alongside

Ichiro Furutachi is a Japanese announcer, ''tarento'', television presenter, and newscaster represented by Furutachi-Project. He was an announcer for TV Asahi. He graduated from Kita Kuritsu Takinogawa Daini (No. 2) Elementary School, Chiyoda Kuritsu Kanda Hitots ...

. On the October 13 episode, Gwinko and Furutachi were witnesses to an incident when rock band The Timers played an unscheduled performance of a song protesting FM Tokyo censorship policies. In 1991, Gwinko released the single "Downtown Game", which was used as the opening theme of the anime series '' City Hunter '91''. Shortly after the release of her album ''Tokyo Ukiuki Girl'', she moved back to Okinawa. In 1994, Gwinko signed with Media Remoras and released her sixth album ''Princess Moon''. In 2020, Gwinko re-emerged from retirement and joined

Shoukichi Kina , is a Japanese rock musician and politician. He, along with his band Champloose, played a large role in the Okinawan home-grown "folk rock" scene in the 1970s and 1980s. His first big hit was " Haisai Ojisan" ("Hey, old man") in 1972, which he wr ...

to form Kina & Gwinko Worldchamploo.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Other recordings

Filmography

TV

* ''Hit Studio R&N'' (1989–1990)

Film

* ''Tanpenshū Step Out'' (1990) * ''Heartbreaker: Dangan yori Ai wo Komete'' (1992)

Footnotes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gwinko 1973 births Japanese women pop singers Living people Singers from Okinawa Prefecture 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers