Voting Station

Minako Honda

Please vote to return to collections.

Vocalist

The Resume

    (July 31, 1967-November 6, 2005)
    Born in Itabashi, Japan
    Born Minako Kudo; Romanized name is Honda Minako
    Japanese pop star (J-Pop) teen idol
    Released albums 'Lips,' 'The Virgin Concert,' 'Oversea,' 'Cancel,' 'MIdnight Swing,' 'Ave Maria,' and 'Amazing Grace'
    Sang the role of Kim in the Tokyo production of 'Miss Saigon' (1992-93)
    Also performed in productions of 'Fiddler on the Roof' (1994-2001), 'The King and I' (1996-2002), 'Les Misérables' (1997-2001), and 'Claudia' (2004)
    Collaborated with John Deacon, Gary Moore, Brian May ('Crazy Nights,' 'Golden Days'), LaToya Jackson, and Michael Jackson ('Oversea')
    Popular singles included 'Satsui No Bakansu,' 'Temptation,' '1986 Nen No Maririn' ('Marilyn in 1986'), 'Help,' 'Kanashimi Swing,' 'Sosette,' 'Shangri-La,' 'Blue Weekend,' 'Tell Me I Love You,' and 'One Way Generation'
    Died, at the age of 38, months after being diagnosed with leukemia on Jan. 5, 2005
    Trademark song is 'Tsubasa' (Wings) is famous for her thirty-second 'long note'

Why she might be annoying:

    Her first name sounds like 'Monacco.'
    She had a hit single called 'Bathroom Angel.'
    Joe Jackson produced several of her 'Oversea' Los Angeles-based recordings.
    She was marketed as a Japanese version of Madonna, only slightly more cutesy/innocent.
    She performed awkward promotional counterparts (in the original English, not Japanese) to 'My Heart Will Go On' and 'A Whole New World.'
    She tried to revive her popularity in the late 80s with a short-lived girl group called 'The Wildcats.'
    Toshiba execs got her to choose the stage name 'Honda' because it would make her internationally famous like the car of the same name.
    Although some theorized that the name was a pun indicating she was ready to do battle with Mazda (the Japanese pronunciation of which is the same as the family name of idol superstar Seiko Matsuda).

Why she might not be annoying:

    Brian May called her 'a little angel.'
    She was passed over in her audtion for 'Star Tanjo' (Japan's Star Search).
    Her rendition of 'When You Wish Upon a Star' in Japanese has never been bettered.
    She held her famous 'Virgin Concert' at the prestigious 10,000-seat Budokan venue, a mere eight months after her debut (usually performers have to wait years).
    She had aspirations to be an opera singer, but was marketed as a 'saucy idol' sex kitten.
    She received heavy criticism at her peak for wearing a 'hesodashi' costume (which showed her navel), deemed too risqué for general audiences.
    She realized that pop stars had a short shelf life and began to take the initiative of auditioning for stage musicals, winning the coveted role of 'Miss Saigon' over 1,200 applicants.
    Her penchant for reinvention has served as a model for virtually every J-Pop starlet who has come since, from Namie Amuro to Ayumi Hamasaki.
    She ranked #83 in a Japanese public survey of their favorite persons in history, broadcast by Nippon TV, just behind Joan of Arc (2006).
    She began a lifelong collaboration with legendary lyricist Tokiko Iwatani, with 'Marilyn in 1986.' When Iwatani was hospitalized with an illness in the early 2000s, she found herself in the same hospital where Minako was being treated for Leukemia.
    She performed through several treatments and relapses of her Leukemia, until the condition reached her lungs - pushing her into a fatal comatose state (at the time of her death she had been slated to play Fantine in a Japanese tour of Les Mis).
    She served as a 2004 celebrity spokesperson for the Live for Life Project, a Leukemia awareness and treatment campaign. Her music and likeness still figures into the organization's advertising.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 50 Votes: 52.00% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 73 Votes: 54.79% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 52 Votes: 61.54% Annoying