is a Japanese pop and enka singer, and actress, best known as one of the original members of the all-female J-pop group Morning Musume. She is also a member of Japanese pop group Dream Morning Musume.

Biography Yuko Nakazawa was born in Kyoto Prefecture. She was one of five runners-up in a 1997 talent contest for a new Japanese pop idol. After the contest, musician and producer Tsunku offered Nakazawa and the four other runners-up (Natsumi Abe, Kaori Iida, Aya Ishiguro, and Asuka Fukuda) the chance to be taken under his wing under one condition: they must sell 50,000 CDs of their debut song "Ai no Tane" with five days of live promotion. The quintet accomplished that task in four and thus Morning Musume was born. The group has since grown increasingly popular, it maintains a "school-like" system for their continuous line-up changes, with older members "graduating" and new, usually younger, members selected from nationwide auditions admitted to the group almost annually.

In 1998, shortly after Morning Musume's formation, Nakazawa began a solo career, beginning with enka styled songs. She gradually moved to a more pop sound, but has recently gone back to enka with her eleventh single, "Urara." Her solo work has allowed her voice to shine in a way it rarely did in Morning Musume, as she mostly sung harmonies with only a few solo lines.

Nakazawa has been a regular featured singer on Hello! Project's "Folk Songs" series. She was also placed in Akagumi 4 in Hello! Project's 2000 summer shuffles and Puripuri Pink in Hello!Project's 2005 summer shuffles, as well as participating in H.P. All Stars along with most of the rest of Hello!Project in 2004.

Being the oldest of the 1st generation of Morning Musume—she was 24 at the time of formation and nearly 28 upon leaving the group—Nakazawa held the role of the group's leader until her graduation on April 15, 2001. She has cited her reasons for leaving as being her age (she was 14 years older than the youngest member of the troupe, then 13-year-old Ai Kago, at the time of her departure) and her desire to pursue other things by the time she was 30.

Since then, Nakazawa has done some work in Japanese dramas such as Beauty 7 and Home Maker, performed in various plays, and continued in her solo singing career at a steady pace with reasonable success. She worked closely with Morning Musume and hosted their weekly show Hello! Morning (first regularly, then occasionally), until its end in early 2007.

It was announced on October 19, 2008, by Hello! Project that Nakazawa, along with the rest of Elder Club will graduate from Hello! Project on March 31, 2009. On February 1, 2009, during the "Hello Pro Award '09 ~Elder Club Sotsugyō Kinen Special~" concert held at Yokohama Arena, Nakazawa passed on her leadership position in Hello! Project to Ai Takahashi of Morning Musume.

In 2010, it was announced Yuko Nakazawa will be joining the new group, "Dream Morning Musume" alongside other former-Morning Musume members.

Personal life In March 2012, it was announced that Nakazawa had married an information technology company president one year her senior in a private ceremony."Nakazawa Yuko gets married on April 1st". Tokyo Hive. They have two sons.

Discography

Albums #TitleRelease datePeak rankShort description Studio albums1December 12, 1998#59Included singles: Karasu no Nyōbō, Odaiba Moonlight Serenade2July 22, 2004#31Included singles: Junjō Kōshinkyoku, Shanghai no Kaze, Kuyashi Namida Porori, Futarigurashi, Tokyo Bijin, Get Along with You, Genki no Nai Hi no Komoriuta, Do My Best Folk Songs Series1Folk SongsNovember 29, 2001#9Along with Sayaka Ichii2Folk Songs 2May 22, 2002#20Along with Melon Kinenbi, Rika Ishii, and Aya Matsuura3FS3 Folk Songs 3October 23, 2002#17Along with Maki Goto and Miki Fujimoto4FS4 Folk Songs 4May 21, 2003#25Along with Kei Yasuda, Mari Yaguchi, and Melon Kinenbi5February 25, 2004#36Along with Natsumi Abe, Kei Yasuda, Maki Goto, Country Musume, and Aya Matsuura Other albums–Guilty Pleasures 3(Scott Murphy)December 3, 2008#20Scott Murphy's third cover album, featuring a cover of LOVE Machine with Yuko Nakazawa, Natsumi Abe and Kei Yasuda–LegendDecember 10, 2008#182Compilation album

Singles #TitleRelease datePeak rank1October 5, 1998#192 December 2, 1998#293June 9, 1999#244July 12, 2000#185February 15, 2001#136August 1, 2001#137August 28, 2002#148"Get Along with You"May 21, 2003#309February 11, 2004#4210"Do My Best"May 26, 2004#5211September 27, 2006#3212October 10, 2007#57

Videos / DVDs #TitleRelease date1February 28, 20022November 27, 20023January 22, 20034FS3 LiveFebruary 26, 2003

Acts

Dramas TitleStart dateEnd dateTV station2001–072001–09Nippon Television2001-012001–03Nippon Television2002-012002–03Nippon Television2002–042002–06Nippon Television2003Nippon Television2004-012004-03TBS2004–102004–122005–062005–092004-042004–06TBS2007-04-23TBS

Variety shows TitleStart dateEnd dateTV station2000–032007–03TV Tokyo1999-01-051999-12-28TV Tokyo2001–042002-03-262001-10-072004-09-28TV Asahi—Fuji Television—NHK20012005-02-12NHK2005-042006-03Mainichi Broadcasting System2006-04-112006-09-26Mainichi Broadcasting System2001–102003-03Fuji Television2005-01-182006-07-03

Movies TitleReleaseCharacterCompanyFairy QueenToei CompanyShochiku

Radio shows Nakazawa Yuko no All Night Nippon Super! Nakazawa Yuko no All Night Nippon Sunday Special → Nakazawa Yuko no All Night Nippon Sunday Super! Young Town Douyoubi Music Plaza's Kimama ni Classic Maji Asa!

Commercials Elleseine Nihon Chouou Keiba Oriko card Shiseidou City Veil

Publications

Photobooks TitleRelease dateProduced byISBNFeather2001–08Wani Books2001–11Wani Books

Essay books 2002 – 2003 – 2013 –

References

External links Official blog Up-Front Works discography page – Up-Front Works