Junko Yagami has been a popular face in the Japanese music industry for several decades now. She is a singer and songwriter who became popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Junko has managed to stay relevant in the music industry both within and outside of the country as she has continued to drop songs that keep her relevant. So far she has 25 albums to her name and has successfully held 6 live concert albums.
Some of her best-known works include Mizuiro No Ame and Omoide ha Utsukushisugite. Junko is married to J.J Stanley and currently resides in Moorpark, California, with her husband and two children.
Biography of Junko Yagami
It was as Junko Yagami that the songstress was born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Chūbu, Japan on the 5th of January 1958, as the eldest daughter of her father- Ryozo Yagami who was the founder and 4th chairman of Yagami Mfg. Co. Ltd. Junko grew up with a very keen interest in music. At the age of three, she began her piano lessons and began learning Japanese dancing from the first grade.
For her education, Junko attended Aichi Shukuto Senior High School. Upon her graduation from high school, she began to do music earnestly. Her musical career started in 1976 but her professional debut began in 1980. After her very successful debut, she appeared on a program named “Dede and Junko’s Music Trip” which set her singing career on the right path.
How she met her husband, J.J Stanley
Junko Yagami met J.J Stanley (a British music producer) in the early 80s, it was said to be love at first sight for the duo and they began to see each other exclusively. In 1986, they finally got married and moved to Los Angeles in 1987.
Junko took up her married name after their wedding and has done some works under the name June Stanley. The couple has two children (son) Noah, and (daughter) Emma.
Junko Yagami’s amazing career
Junko started out her career quite early. When she turned 16, she participated in the 1974 Yamaha Popular Song Contest with the song Alone on a Rainy Day. The song became a hit and was later released as a single by Canyon Records.
Junko’s other song entry into the contest titled ‘The Time of Happiness’ was also released as a single in 1975. Her first major hit came in 1978 with the single Mizuiro no ame. She then went ahead to take part in the Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 1980. Throughout the 80s Junko continued to release several popular albums such as COMMUNICATION (1985).
Junko released her 19th album “There you are” in 2016 and held a concert tour titled ‘Here We Go’ across Japan in 2019. The very talented Junko has been consistently releasing albums/ singles over the years. So far she has released 25 albums and held 6 live concert albums.
Facts you didn’t know about her
1. Junko never got the chance to really perform as an amateur as she found unprecedented success in her first attempt at a competition
Junko has shared that she regrets not spending the major part of her active career in Japan. She has been active in Japan for just nine years since she made her debut. The reason for this is that she didn’t do what she ought to have done as an amateur.
The first song she ever wrote won a prize and she automatically became a professional. Now she does all she can to make up for the lost years. It is even easier now that she produces her songs by herself, she can travel to a small town in Japan and just have fun doing her music. While she does most of her songwriting in the United States, she travels to Japan to perform them in different tours and concerts.
2. Junko does her best to support her country when it was hit by several natural disasters.
Around the time that the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in March 2011, Junko was planning to go to Japan the next morning, she was packing her bags when the news hit and was advised not to go.
She insisted on traveling to render help. Even though her flight was canceled, she went through Hawaii. She planned the “Trans-Pacific Campaign” herself and started different support activities in the disaster area.
3. Award and Recognitions
Junko is one of those artists that ventured into music due to her love for the craft. It has never been about the money, fame, or recognition for her. Despite all this, she won some contests and awards very early in her career.
In 1974, Junko contested at the 8th Popular Song Contest, her song “Everyone on a Rainy Day” and “Happiness Time” both won the Outstanding Song Award. In the following year at the same contest her song “To the Country of Happiness” won an excellent song award.
4. Junko, with the combination of her powerhouse voice and incredible talent, has been able to create songs transcending her time, language, and culture
With artists like this, it is easier to understand that music is indeed universal. Junko has been credited as one of the pacesetters in a genre popularly referred to as “City pop”.
City Pop has been described as having a unique style that smacks of the music of big cities, it is very cool, sophisticated, and modern. It is definitely unlike a lot of the other J-pop stuff. Junko has been categorized as belonging to the more funky side of City Pop.
Moreover, she has come to be known in some non-Japanese circles, especially for her song “Tasogare no Bay City”, which is a favorite among the vaporwave and future funk subculture.
See Also: Daisuke Hasegawa – 9 Things You Don’t Know About The Japanese Musician
5. With the help and support of her husband, Junko now produces her music by herself.
According to Junko, she does all the work by herself and even though it can be really stressful and involves a lot of risks, it has been really rewarding. She shared that most of her career, major decisions were made for her and on her behalf and it is simply rewarding and refreshing to be able to make all her decisions by herself.
She gives an example of being invited to a concert in a small town in Japan. If it was before, she might not be permitted to go because it isn’t profitable but now she can decide to leave the band behind and just go with a pianist to perform. In the end, everyone is satisfied
