, real name , is a former pop idol, actress and

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talen ...

, who gained popularity in the mid-1980s. Her fans often call her Oginome-chan. She is represented by the talent management firm

Rising Production , operating as Rising Production, is a Japanese talent agency. It largely works with musical talent, but has branched out in recent years to include actors and comedians. The company came into prominence after the widespread successes of musical ...

Career

Oginome spent most of her

elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...

and junior high years living in the town of Ranzan in

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefectur ...

, though she attended school in the city of

Sakura A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

. She graduated from Horikoshi High School in

Nakano, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Nakano City.CBS/Sony label. She took the nickname and partnered with and . The group only released two singles and broke up a little over a year after forming. During junior high, Oginome auditioned for a part in Kitty Film's live action movie ''Shonben Rider'', and was subsequently voice cast in their new

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

series ''

Miyuki Miyuki is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings Miyuki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *, "beautiful fortune" or "beautiful happiness" *, "deep snow" *, "beautiful snow" *, "beautiful reason for history" ...

'' in the role of the heroine, Miyuki Wakamatsu. This led to roles in the anime film '' Baribari Densetsu'' and the children's TV series ''Ugo Ugo Lhuga''. Oginome made her solo singing debut in 1984 with "" Mirai Kōkai (Sailing)" " after finishing up work on ''Miyuki'', though she did not become well known for another year or so after that. During this slow period, her single ''Beloved Caribbean'' received wide play as a rooting song at

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

and soccer games for teams such the

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, ...

, Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, and Cerezo Osaka. The song that catapulted Oginome into the ranks of

superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

s was her 1985 release " Dancing Hero (Eat You Up)", a cover of Angie Gold's hi-NRG song " Eat You Up". After that song, almost every song she released was instantly popular, and she began to appear in commercials and on

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a com ...

s where her

Eurobeat Eurobeat refers to two styles of dance music that originated in Europe: one is a British variant of Italian Eurodisco-influencedAng, Ien & Morley, David (2005). "Cultural Studies: Volume 3, Issue 2". ''Routledge''. pgs. 171, 173, 170. . "Eurore ...

style gained even more exposure. "Dancing Hero" received a boost in popularity in 2017 after an Osaka Prefecture high school's dance club, Tomioka Dance Club (TDC) used it as part of their dance routine that is known as the "Bubble Dance" (named after the dance routine symbolizes the Japan economic bubble era) that went viral after performing it in a competition dressed in eighties attire. She was also host of the ''Young Studio 101'' variety show, a show hosted at various times by other popular idol stars such as

Yoko Minamino , also known as Nanno (ナンノ), is a Japanese actress and singer. She graduated from Horikoshi High School. She played Saki Asamiya in the second season of the live action '' Sukeban Deka'' TV series replacing fellow idol star Yuki Saitō. Sh ...

and Miyoko Yoshimoto. Her acting career really started in 1986 with starring roles in programs such as the TBS drama , the 1987 TBS series , and the 1989

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

drama . Oginome also sang the theme songs for these programs. She also appeared in several NHK drama series, including (1990), (1993), and (1995). Oginome has crossed wits with comedian and actor

Beat Takeshi is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

on the NTV network variety show ''Super Jockey'', a show known for its

crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk sub ...

humor and topics of discussion. She also appeared as a guest performer on the TBS network variety show , starring Takeshi and

George Tokoro , better known by the stage name , is a Japanese comedian, TV personality, singer-songwriter, and essayist. Born in Tokorozawa, Saitama, he attended Takushoku University's Commercial Science class. Works Film *''Madadayo'' (1993) - Amaki *''Po ...

Personal life

Oginome's elder sister is actress Keiko Oginome. On April 30, 1990, film director Yoshitaka Kawai was found dead in Keiko's apartment, having hanged himself after Keiko wanted to end their relationship after five years. Because Keiko was too shocked by the incident, Yōko had to speak to the press on her behalf. In 2001, Oginome was four months pregnant when she had a

shotgun wedding A shotgun wedding is a wedding which is arranged in order to avoid embarrassment due to premarital sex which can possibly lead to an unintended pregnancy. The phrase is a primarily American colloquialism, termed as such based on a stereotypi ...

with Ryuso Tsujino, a professional tennis player with whom she had graduated from Horikoshi High School. Oginome had a second child in 2004, and took a year off work to spend time with her children and family. She announced the pending birth of her third child in her blog on March 16, 2006, and the safe delivery on August 10, 2006.

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

Teens Romance is the debut studio album by Japanese singer Yōko Oginome. Released through Victor Entertainment on September 5, 1984, the album features the singles "Mirai Kōkai (Sailing)" and " Sayonara kara Hajimaru Monogatari", as well as "Sapphire-iro no P ...

'' (1984) * ''

Freesia no Ame is the second studio album by Japanese singer Yōko Oginome. Released through Victor Entertainment on March 5, 1985, the album features the single " Mukokuseki Romance". The song "My Catherine" incorporates musical elements of the ABBA songs " ...

'' (1985) * ''

Kaigara Terrace is the third studio album by Japanese singer Yōko Oginome. Released through Victor Entertainment on September 5, 1985, the album features the singles "Koishite Caribbean" and "Kokoro no Mama ni (I'm Just a Lady)". Yasushi Akimoto handled majority ...

'' (1985) * ''

Raspberry Wind is the fourth studio album by Japanese singer Yōko Oginome. Released through Victor Entertainment on April 21, 1986, the album marked Oginome's transition from idol-based kayōkyoku to dance-pop and city pop, following the success of her 1985 sin ...

'' (1986) * '' Non-Stopper: Yōko Oginome "The Beat" Special'' (1986) * ''

Route 246 Connexion is the sixth studio album by Japanese singer Yōko Oginome. Produced by Masao Urino and released through JVCKenwood Victor Entertainment, Victor Entertainment on July 16, 1987, the album features the hit singles "Wangan Taiyōzoku" and "Sayonara n ...

'' (1987) * ''

CD-Rider is the seventh studio album by Japanese singer Yōko Oginome. Released through Victor Entertainment on August 24, 1988, the album features the hit singles " Stranger Tonight", "Stardust Dream" and " Dear (Cobalt no Kanata e)", the first two having ...

'' (1988) * ''

Verge of Love is the eighth studio album by Japanese singer Yōko Oginome. Released through Victor Entertainment on December 17, 1988, it was Oginome's first English-language album. The album was produced by Narada Michael Walden, who co-wrote the songs with W ...

'' (1988) * ''Verge of Love'' (Japanese version) (1989) * ''

Fair Tension is the tenth studio album by Japanese singer Yōko Oginome. Produced by Panta and released through Victor Entertainment on November 21, 1989, the album features the hit single "You're My Life", as well as a Japanese-language cover of The Drifters' ...

'' (1989) * '' Knock on My Door'' (1990) * '' Trust Me'' (1991) * '' Ryūkō Kashu'' (1992) * '' Nudist'' (1992) * ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

'' (1994) * ''

Chains A chain is a wikt:series#Noun, serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression (physics), compression but line (g ...

'' (1997) ;Compilation albums * '' Yōko Oginome: The Best'' (1985) * ''CD File Vol. 1'' (1987) * ''CD File Vol. 2'' (1987) * '' Pop Groover: The Best'' (1987) * ''CD File Vol. 3'' (1989) * ''

'91 Oginome Collection ''91 Oginome Collection'' is a compilation album by Japanese singer Yōko Oginome. Released through Victor Entertainment on December 16, 1990, the album compiles Oginome's singles from 1985 to 1990, plus the new songs "Rock My Love", "This Girl", a ...

'' (1990) * ''