Hanako Asada -- Doubt!

As much as I talk about the iceberg for kayo kyoku in general, I also have to say that there is a smaller iceberg out there representing all those 1980s aidoru with the 10% above water being the superstars or the pretty successful teenybopper singers. My impression has been that there were hundreds of young teenage girls representing the underwater 90% who were groomed for the big stage but only had a brush with that spotlight for a few years.

Perhaps one of them was Hanako Asada（麻田華子）, nee Hanako Manabe（真鍋華子）, from Tokyo's Fuchu City. Winning the grand prize at the 2nd Annual Touhato All Raisin Princess Contest back in 1987, aidoru Asada debuted with the single "Suki♡Kirai"（好き♡嫌い...Love/Hate）in February 1988 at the age of 13.

A few months later, Asada came out with her 2nd single "Doubt!", a high-tempo and super-cheerful tune that should have been pulled over for speeding. Written by Masumi Kawamura（川村真澄）, who knows something about writing for high-energy singers, and composed by Takashi Tsushimi（都志見隆）, "Doubt!" is doubtlessly a catchy tune thanks to the rollicking beat and Asada's chirpy vocals, especially that "WoooOOOooo!" that she adorably uses to good effect. In the song, Asada sings gleefully about how much girls can really be trusted.

Asada's short career as an aidoru lasted until the summer of 1989 with a total of 5 singles and 2 original albums. However, about a decade and a few name changes later, she became part of a singing and dancing trio called Trinity with 7 singles and 1 album under their belt. Currently, Asada is retired after getting married.