Yū Hayami

Yū Hayami (早見 優, Hayami Yū) is a J-pop singer and TV actress in Japan. In 2011, the Japanese music television program Music Station listed her as the 50th all-time best-selling idol in Japan, with 2,850,000 records sold.^[1]

Childhood and education

Hayami was born in Atami, Shizuoka, on 2 September 1966. Her real name was Kazumi Fukuda (福田 一美, Fukuda Kazumi); However, after her parents divorced, her family name was changed to Inoue (井上). She was raised in Guam and Hawaii from the age of 3 to 14 years old. After graduating from Horikoshi High School in 1986, she entered Sophia University, majoring in comparative culture research. Hayami's stepfather, Ryo Inoue, was a jazz singer, of whom she used to hold annual recital with every January, until he passed away in 2009.

Musical career

In 1982, Hayami gained her J-pop singer's debut with the single "Isoide Hatsukoi" (ASAP, my first love!) after being scouted by a talent agent in a shopping mall’s elevator in Hawaii in 1980 when she was only 14 years old. Named “Bilingual girl back from Hawaii” due to her ability to speak very fluent English because of her background, Hayami was instantly recognised and touted as one of the best newcomers to watch out for. She proceeded to win most of the major newcomers’ awards by end of 1982.

In 1983, her fifth single, "Natsu Iro no Nancy" (Summer Coloured Nancy), was selected as a campaign song for a Coca-Cola commercial, and she became a cover girl of that. The single became Hayami’s first Big Hit, making it to the top 10 of the Oricon Chart, winning countless awards. As a result of the success of the song, Hayami made her 1st appearance at the 34th edition of the year end NHK Kouhaku Red and White Song Festival. Hayami participated consecutively 3 years in the prestigious show. (1983 - 1985)

In 1985, in order to shed off her ‘teen idol’ image, Hayami began releasing euro beat dance music, and was well received.

In the early 90’s, when her pop music career began to decline, Hayami shifted her focus to become an actress and TV & Radio presenter. Being able to speak fluent English, Hayami’s host programmes were all catered to English speaking education materials and were all very popular. Hayami continued her successful presenter’s work till current, and can still be regularly seen on entertainment varieties programme singing her signature songs from the early stage of her idol career.

Film career

She gained the first role in the 1982 film Santō Kōkōsei. Up till 2008, Hayami has appeared in 13 movies, including one produced and filmed entirely in Hong Kong in 1987.

Recent activities

In 1996, Hayami got married and has two daughters (born in 2001 and 2003).

From 1997 till 1999 She played Cosette in Les Miserables.

In 2005, Hayami teamed up with fellow former teen idol Chiemi Hori and Iyo Matsumoto to form the trio, "Cutie Mummy". The short-lived band released 2 singles and disbanded after Hori decided to call it off.

In 2008, she starred as the Captain General in the Tokusatsu series Tomica Hero: Rescue Force.

On 13 Jan 2016, while filming a travel programme with Iyo Matsumoto, both of them allegedly trespassed onto the track of the Sanin Main Line near Saga-Arashiyama Station in Kyoto without authorization in order to capture some selfies and was almost prosecuted. Both Matsumoto and Hayami were heavily criticized by the media for their ignorances. They held press conferences separately and apologized publicly after the incident were made public. After assessing the situation, and acknowledging that both of them were unaware of the regulations, the charge was eventually dropped.

As of 2018, Hayami can be seen on NHK World, which is broadcast worldwide, as the hostess of Itadakimasu! Dining With the Chef, where she assists and chats with a master chef who instructs the viewer on how to cook a traditional Japanese meal. She often does most of the talking and explaining as the chef's English isn't as fluent.

Discography

References

External links

• Yū Hayami official website