Yukiko Iwai (singer)


Yukiko Iwai, also known by the nickname Yūyu, is a Japanese singer and actress born May 26, 1968 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Iwai was a member of the all-girl pop group Onyanko Club, and she was the shortest of all the members at 150 centimetres. She was also half of the pop group Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi, a spin-off group of Onyanko Club. She graduated from Kaetsu Women's Junior High and High School, but left Kaetsu Women's Junior College before she finished. She is the younger in a set of identical twins.

Biography

She moved to Chiba Prefecture after her parents divorced when she was younger. She made her media debut in 1985 as a gravure model in Model Graphix, a magazine for which her older sister was on the editorial committee.
On June 21, 1985, she became the 19th member of Onyanko Club after auditioning on the TV program Yūyake Nyan Nyan, and she appeared on the cover of their first album, Kick Off. Shortly afterward, she and Mamiko Takai, also a member of Onyanko Club, formed the group Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi. About this time, she acquired the nickname "Yuuyu". Yukiko Iwai performed the lead vocals for Onyanko Club's fifth single, Osaki ni Shitsurei, released in July 1986. From that point, she became the main vocalist for the majority of their albums, and was considered central to the success of the group.
She made her solo debut with the single Angel Bodyguard on March 25, 1987. In April of that same year, Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi was disbanded because Takai graduated from Onyanko Club and moved on to other things. Onyanko Club itself disbanded in August later that year, and Iwai began working for Watanabe Productions along with fellow Onyanko Club member Sonoko Kawai. She also began working under her nickname "Yuuyu", turning it into a stage name.

Discography

;Singles
;Albums
;Compilations