Japanese singer Shizuka Kudo has released nineteen studio albums, fourteen compilation albums, one EP, two cover albums, six video albums, twelve live video albums, two box sets, and forty-three singles (including one as a featured artist and one novelty single). Her career began in 1985 when she debuted as one of the three vocalists of the girl group Seventeen Club. The short-lived group disbanded after two unsuccessful singles. In 1986, she joined the idol girl group Onyanko Club as member number 38, which led to Kudo forming the subgroup Ushirogami Hikaretai the following year. She released her first solo single, "Kindan no Telepathy", on the same day as the last broadcast of the variety show Yūyake Nyan Nyan, from which the Onyanko Club members originated. It debuted at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and became the first of eleven total number-one singles released in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including "Koi Hitoyo", "Arashi no Sugao", "Kuchibiru Kara Biyaku", "Senryū no Shizuku" and "Please". Miyuki Nakajima penned the following singles released by Kudo during this era: "Fu-ji-tsu", "Mugon... Iroppoi", "Kōsa ni Fukarete", "Watashi ni Tsuite" and Dōkoku". All five singles debuted at number one and, with total sales exceeding a million, "Dōkoku" became the best-selling single of Kudo's career.
In 1994, Kudo parted ways with record producer Tsugutoshi Gotō, who had been responsible for writing and producing her songs since her solo debut, and began producing and co-writing her own material. That year, she released the album Expose, which produced the two top-ten singles "Blue Rose" and "Jaguar Line", and branched out into different musical genres and a more mature sound with the subsequent self-produced albums, Purple, Doing and Dress. She teamed up with Nakajima on the single, "Gekijō", the first of Kudo's songs to be written entirely by Nakajima, which became her best-selling single not produced by Gotō. In 1998, she released I'm Not, entirely written and produced by Sharam Q guitarist Hatake, which yielded the Dragon Ball GT ending theme "Blue Velvet". The same year she released "Kirara", which ranked at number six on the Oricon Singles Chart, becoming her last single to peak in the top-ten.
In 2000, Kudo signed with Extasy Japan, founded by Yoshiki, who produced her first single released under the label, "Shinku no Hana". Two years later, after the birth of her first child, she went on to release her only studio album for the label, Jewelry Box. Kudo rejoined Pony Canyon, her former label, in 2005, for which she released her first album in three years, Tsukikage. She released a slew of singles, compilation albums and a cover album in the following years. In 2017, in celebration of her 30th anniversary, Kudo released Rin, her first studio album in twelve years. It debuted at number 21 on the Oricon Albums Chart, becoming her highest-charting album in nineteen years. As of August 2013, Kudo has sold 15 million records as a solo artist in Japan alone, making her one of the best-selling Japanese music artists of all time.
Albums Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications JPNOricon JPNBillboard Rin: Meikyo Shisui: Mysterious Released: January 21, 1988 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: LP, cassette, CD 3 — 233,000 Shizuka Released: July 21, 1988 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: LP, cassette, CD 1 — 265,000 Joy Released: March 15, 1989 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: LP, cassette, CD 1 — 416,000 RIAJ: Platinum Karelia Released: October 4, 1989 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, CD 2 — 293,000 RIAJ: Gold Rosette Released: April 4, 1990 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, CD 1 — 265,000 RIAJ: Gold Mind Universe Released: March 6, 1991 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, CD 1 — 247,000 RIAJ: Gold Trinity Released: March 18, 1992 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, CD 3 — 200,000 RIAJ: Gold Rise Me Released: April 1, 1993 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, CD 3 — 183,000 RIAJ: Gold Expose Released: September 7, 1994 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, CD 5 — 124,000 RIAJ: Gold Purple Released: August 2, 1995 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 7 — 140,000 Doing Released: May 17, 1996 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 16 — 52,000 Dress Released: March 19, 1997 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 18 — 31,000 I'm Not Released: April 29, 1998 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 19 — 29,000 Full of Love Released: June 2, 1999 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 38 — 12,000 Jewelry Box Released: July 3, 2002 Label: Extasy Japan Formats: CD 60 — 4,000 Tsukikage Released: June 1, 2005 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download 86 — 3,000 Rin Released: August 30, 2017 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download 21 30 4,000 Meikyo Shisui Released: July 3, 2024 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download 17 15 3,000 Dynamic Released: June 24, 2026 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download 35 — 1,914 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Cover albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales JPNOricon JPNBillboardMy Precious: Shizuka Sings Songs of Miyuki: Shōwa no Kaidan Vol. 1 Released: October 30, 2002 Label: Extasy Japan Formats: CD 66 — 5,000 My Precious: Shizuka Sings Songs of Miyuki Released: August 20, 2008 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download 20 24 13,000 Deep Breath Released: June 12, 2019 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download 36 — 1,300 Aoi Honō Released: March 10, 2021 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download 23 21 3,000 「感受」Shizuka Kudo 35th Anniversary self-cover album Released: July 20, 2022 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD, digital download 22 20 6,000 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Compilation albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications JPNOricon JPNBillboardPeak chart positions for albums on the Billboard Japan Top Albums Sales and Hot Albums charts: Shizuka Kudo Best: My Treasure Best: Miyuki Nakajima × Tsugutoshi Gotō Collection: My Heartful Best: Gorō Matsui Collection: Gradation Released: November 30, 1988 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: LP, cassette, CD 2 — 616,000 Harvest Released: December 6, 1989 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, CD 2 — 419,000 RIAJ: Platinum Unlimited Released: November 14, 1990 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, CD 2 — 454,000 RIAJ: Platinum Intimate Released: December 11, 1991 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, CD 4 — 321,000 RIAJ: Platinum Best of Ballade: Empathy Released: November 20, 1992 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, CD 6 — 180,000 RIAJ: Gold Super Best Released: November 19, 1993 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: Cassette, MiniDisc, CD 6 — 234,000 RIAJ: Gold She: Best of Best Released: December 16, 1996 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 8 — 142,000 RIAJ: Gold Best of Ballade: Current Released: November 18, 1998 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 9 — 65,000 Millennium Best Released: March 15, 2000 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 25 — 36,000 Shizuka Kudo Best Released: December 5, 2001 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD — 23 Shizuka Kudo 20th Anniversary the Best Released: August 29, 2007 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 32 — 19,000 20th Anniversary B-side collection Released: March 5, 2008 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 34 — 2,000 My Treasure Best: Miyuki Nakajima × Tsugutoshi Gotō Collection Released: February 18, 2015 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 22 18 13,000 My Heartful Best: Gorō Matsui Collection Released: March 9, 2016 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 28 32 3,000 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Extended plays + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title EP details Peak chart positions Sales JPN Euro Shizuka Kudo Released: September 20, 2000 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 72 3,000
Box sets + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Box set details Peak chart positions Sales JPN My Favorite Songs: Original Best Released: October 30, 2002 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD — Shizuka Kudo Original Album Collection Released: October 30, 2012 Label: Pony Canyon Formats: CD 226 400
Singles As lead artist Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Certifications Album Oricon Singles Chart Billboard Japan Top Singles SalesPeak chart positions for singles on the Billboard Japan Top Singles Sales chart: "Night Wing" and "Yukigasa": "Kimi ga Kureta Mono": "Kindan no Telepathy" 1987 1 — 146,000 Mysterious "Again" 3 — 159,000 "Daite Kuretara Ii no ni" 1988 3 — 182,000 "Fu-ji-tsu" 1 — 253,000 Shizuka "Mugon... Iroppoi" 1 — 541,000 "Koi Hitoyo" 1989 1 — 607,000 Joy "Arashi no Sugao" 1 — 524,000 RIAJ: Platinum rowspan="2" "Kōsa ni Fukarete" 1 — 586,000 RIAJ: Platinum "Kuchibiru Kara Biyaku" 1990 1 — 489,000 RIAJ: PlatinumRosette "Senryū no Shizuku" 1 — 295,000 RIAJ: Gold rowspan="2" "Watashi ni Tsuite" 1 — 265,000 RIAJ: Gold "Boya Boya Dekinai" 1991 2 — 324,000 RIAJ: GoldMind Universe "Please" 1 — 191,000 RIAJ: Gold rowspan="2" "Metamorphose" 2 — 440,000 RIAJ: Platinum "Mechakucha ni Naite Shimaitai" 1992 4 — 282,000 RIAJ: GoldTrinity "Urahara" 5 — 214,000 RIAJ: Gold rowspan="2" "Koe o Kikasete" 5 — 326,000 RIAJ: Gold "Dōkoku" 1993 1 — 939,000 RIAJ: 2× Platinum RIAJ: GoldRise Me "Watashi wa Knife" 6 — 187,000 RIAJ: Gold rowspan="2" "Anata Shika Inai Desho" 5 — 205,000 RIAJ: Gold "Blue Rose" 1994 8 — 305,000 RIAJ: Gold Expose "Jaguar Line" 8 — 244,000 RIAJ: Gold "Ice Rain" 8 — 414,000 RIAJ: Gold Purple "Moon Water" 1995 14 — 172,000 RIAJ: Gold "7" 15 — 83,000 Doing "Chō" 1996 15 — 73,000 "Yū" 26 — 73,000 "Gekijō" 10 — 424,000 RIAJ: PlatinumDress "Blue Velvet" 1997 8 — 267,000 RIAJ: GoldI'm Not "Kama Sutra no Densetsu" 29 — 37,000 "Setsu Getsu Ka" 1998 23 — 89,000 rowspan="3" "Kirara" 6 — 384,000 RIAJ: Platinum "Isshun" 29 — 27,000 "Blue Zone" 1999 28 — 20,000 Full of Love "Shinku no Hana" 2000 33 — 22,000 Jewelry Box "Maple" 2002 35 — 12,000 "Lotus (Umareshi Hana)" 2005 40 — 8,000 Tsukikage "Kokoro no Chikara" 60 — 4,000 "Clāvis (Kagi)" 2006 67 — 4,000 rowspan="5" "Amayo no Tsuki ni" 2007 44 — 8,000 "Night Wing"2008 75 88 2,000 "Yukigasa" "Kimi ga Kureta Mono" 2012 50 50 2,000 "Yusha no Hata" 2023 28 26 1,000 Meikyo Shinkou "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
As featured artist Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Oricon Singles Chart "Akashiya Sanma-san ni Kiite Minai to ne" 1999 30 30,000
Other appearances Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Certifications Oricon Singles Chart "A.S.A.P." 1997 3 498,000 RIAJ: Platinum
Footnotes
References
External links Official website Shizuka Kudo at AllMusic