, known publicly as , (born May 8, 1959), is a Japanese former singer and composer. Active from 1982 to 1992, she was known for her music in the city pop genre. She also created the opening and closing songs for the Dirty Pair and Kimagure Orange Road anime television series.
Early life and career Meiko Obara was born on May 8, 1959, in Chiba Prefecture. She began composing music while in Junior High School.
She debuted in 1982 with the single and the album . Her 1984 single was the 50th best-selling single of the year in Japan, with 237,000 copies sold. She became instantly popular.
Her song was the opening theme and was the ending theme for the 1985 anime television series Dirty Pair. Ru-Ru-Ru-Russian Roulette won the award for Best Song at the 8th Anime Grand Prix in 1986. For the 1987–1988 anime television series Kimagure Orange Road, was the third opening theme song and was the third ending song.
The 1992 live tour was the last public performance from her and her singing career is considered to have ended around this time.
Later career and Legacy After ceasing her singing career, Nakahara worked as a composer for groups and singers like Checkicco and Vivian Hsu. She has mostly faded out of public eye since 1992. A tribute band to her called Lotos was formed in 2010 and was still active as of 2019. In an article for Sankei Shimbun, Nakahara was recognized as a significant artist in the city pop genre.坂本つとむやシティーポップ、「ふてほど」のヒットから再生のキーワードは1980年代？！/芸能ショナイ業務話. Sankei Sports. 4 April 2024.
Discography
Albums Release dateTitleRef.July 1, 1982December 21, 19822時までのシンデレラ-FRIDAY MAGIC-September 1, 1983July 21, 1984May 22, 1985CHAKI CHAKI CLUBMarch 20, 1986MOODSMarch 4, 1987PUZZLEFebruary 25, 1988March 5, 1988March 21, 1990303 EAST 60TH STREETMarch 27, 1991HIGH ENERGY-Remixed in N.Y.-October 30, 1991ON THE PLANET-地球でのできごと-
Greatest hits albums Release dateTitleRef.September 3, 1986MOGA-BEST COLLECTION-August 26, 1987中原めいこ ニュー・ベストナウMay 25, 1988Meiko's BEST SELECTION 10+1June 5, 1988セレクション20/中原めいこバラッドIApril 26, 1989Happy birthday, Love for youMay 13, 1998中原めいこ/ツイン・ベストJune 21, 20002000 BEST 中原めいこ・ベストNovember 17, 2004August 24, 2005NEW BEST 1500
Singles Release dateTitleRef.April 21, 1982September 21, 1982"Go Away"March 21, 1983"Friday Magic"July 21, 1983"Tsukiyo ni Ki wo Tsukete!" (月夜に気をつけて!)November 21, 1983April 5, 1984 September 21, 1984"Emoushon" (エモーション)May 1, 1985July 21, 1985February 1, 1986"Kowareta Piano" / "DESTINATION" (こわれたピアノ / DESTINATION)February 4, 1987"UNBALANCE ZONE"February 2, 1988February 25, 1988February 21, 1990September 27, 1991"Fortune -gin no tsukiyo no HANEMUUN-" (Fortune -銀の月夜のハネムーン-)
References Issei Tomizawa. 「昭和ニューミュージック」の1980年代. 言視舎. 2023. ISBN 9784865652581.
External links
-https://www.instagram.com/meik_onakahara/