Shizuka Kudo -- Shouko wo Misete (証拠をみせて)

“Shouko wo Misete” is my all time favorite song by Shizuka Kudo (工藤静香). Although not a single, it was the lead song from her second album “Shizuka” (静香) (more like a mini-album or an EP with just five songs), which was released in July 1988. Based on that, it actually acted like a single as it was performed on Yoru no Hit Studio more than once and in a number of Shizuka’s concert tours, even in the late 90s. The performance introducing this article is from her first ever released concert, titled "Kudo Shizuka Hajime no Ippo" [工藤静香 静香はじめの一歩], which means her vocals were not that great and her looks a little awkward (she needed to gain a little more weight at the time).

As for the song, it’s typical early Shizuka material. With a blast of synths and a strong bass line, “Shouko wo Misete” also has a powerful chorus. This fact alone always makes me remember that although Shizuka was an aidoru singer, her songs were more mature in style and in vocal demand than the hits released by some of her contemporaries. Even her more cutesy stuff, like “FU-JI-TSU” or “MUGO n’ Iroppoi” (MUGO・ん…色っぽい), were charming but not overly saccharine.

As a fun fact, my friends always thought she kind of had a pity face because of her eyebrows. Although I had to agree with them, at the same time I always found Shizuka an attractive girl (not so much in this video for “Shouko wo Misete”, though). Somehow she got sexier in the 90s. Kudos (hey, a pun) to her and future husband Takuya Kimura (木村拓哉) for marrying her.

The “Shizuka” album reached #1 on the Oricon charts, selling around 253,000 copies. It was also the #35 best sold album in 1988. As for “Shouko wo Misete”, it was written by long-time collaborator Miyuki Nakajima (中島 みゆき). Music and arrangement were done by Tsugutoshi Goto (後藤次利).