YUIKO TSUBOKURA: THE PEAK OF 80S JAPAN POP MEETS THE DMV AFTER 40 YEARS.

A force in the 80’s, the wonderfully ranged Yuiko Tsubokura is a Japanese pop singer probably most well known for the songs she contributed to the Bubblegum Crisis OAV and other anime.
In 1981, she participated in the 21st Yamaha Popular Song Contest Tsumagoi Finals with the song “Matoitsuku Omoi,” and won the Grand Prix at the 22nd Yamaha Popular Song Contest Kansai-Shikoku Regional Competition with “Easygoing,” also placing in the Tsumagoi Finals (the Grand Prix at the Tsumagoi Finals went to Aladdin’s “Kanzen Muketsu no Rock ‘n’ Roller”). She had a dispute with Yamaha staff because the Grand Prix-winning song was a joke song, leading to her distancing herself from Yamaha. In the fall of 1981, she joined Haruko Kuwana with Baker’s Shop.

In 1985, she debuted as a solo singer with “Cry For The Moon” from Apollon Music Industry. Simultaneously, she worked as a backing vocalist for artists such as Miyuki Nakajima, Meiko Nakahara, and Misato Watanabe [1]. In 1989, she joined Nagisa All Stars.

In 1990, she transferred to BMG Victor. She formed B.B. Queens with Fusanobu Kondo and others. Their song “Odoru Ponpokorin,” the first ending theme song for the anime “Chibi Maruko-chan,” became a million-seller. During this period, she sometimes appeared on ranking shows via live broadcast from near Miyuki Nakajima’s concert venue, where she was working as a backing vocalist. She also provided backing vocals for B’z. She also provided most of the demo vocals and backing vocals for Shizuka Kudo.

In 1992, she became a DJ for KBS Kyoto Radio’s Hyper Night on Thursdays. She participated in the chorus of “Yami no Kokuhaku” from Yutaka Ozaki’s posthumous work “Hounetsu e no Akashi,” along with Keiko Wada. In the same year, she and Wada also worked on T-BOLAN’s “Bye For Now.”

In 1993, her song “Je t’aime,” the theme song for the NTV drama “Jealousy,” became a hit.

In 1998, she appeared in the musical “RENT.”

In 2006, she participated as a vocalist in INOUE AKIRA & M.I.H.BAND, along with Masaharu Fukuyama and others, on “wish,” a tribute single released in memory of Minako Honda. On September 23, 2006, she participated as a backing vocalist in the “Takuro Yoshida & Kaguyahime Concert in Tsumagoi 2006.”

In 2008, she participated as a backing vocalist in Masaharu Fukuyama’s countdown live concert “Fukuyama☆Winter Grand Thanksgiving Festival Part Nine: Fukuyama Festival! Wasshoi! Wasshoi!” (Yokohama Arena).

On April 20, 2009, she held a solo live performance at Blues Alley with Yasuo Tomikura, Satoshi Nakamura, Nobuo Eguchi, Mataro Misawa, Yuta Saito, and Misa Nakayama. She also participated as a backing vocalist in Masaharu Fukuyama’s 20th anniversary live concert “Fukuyama☆Sudden Grand Thanksgiving Festival ~Eh! You hadn’t done it before? Was this your first time?~ Aifukuyama Expo in Budokan!!” and the arena tour “FUKUYAMA MASAHARU 20th ANNIVERSARY WE’RE BROS. TOUR 2009 ~Michishirube~”. On October 20, she held a solo live performance at Blues Alley with Tsuyoshi Ima, Tsugutoshi Goto, Hideo Yamaki, Toru Shigemitsu, Mataro Misawa, and Reina Ushiyama.

On February 4, 2010, she held a solo live performance at Blues Alley with Yasuo Tomikura, Eiji Shimamura, Nozomu Furukawa, Akio Suzuki, Taro Kiyooka, Yuta Saito, and Mataro Misawa. On March 4, she held a Birthday LIVE at Blues Alley with Yasuo Tomikura, Eiji Shimamura, Nozomu Furukawa, Taro Kiyooka, Satoshi Nakamura, Mataro Misawa, Yoshihiro Tomonari, (Vo) Takayoshi Hiyama, Yasuhiro Kido, Junko Hirotani, Misa Nakayama, and Kazuyo Sugimoto. In April, she was appointed as a faculty member of the “Rock & Pops Vocal” department at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music for the 2010 academic year. On September 11, she held a solo live performance at Blues Alley with Yasuo Tomikura, Eiji Shimamura, Nozomu Furukawa, Satoshi Nakamura, Akio Suzuki, Taro Kiyooka, Yuta Saito, and Mataro Misawa. She also participated as a backing vocalist in Miyuki Nakajima’s TOUR 2010.

In 2011, she restarted her activities with Fusanosuke Kondo, Takashi Masuzaki, and Keiko Utoku as B.B. Queens. She participated as a backing vocalist in Masaharu Fukuyama’s arena tour “FUKUYAMA MASAHARU WE’RE BROS. TOUR 2011 THE LIVE BANG!”.

On January 28, 2016, she appeared on Fuji TV NEXT’s Sakazaki Kounosuke’s Momoiro Folk Village NEXT #16 (live broadcast). She performed with Momoiro Clover Z, Kounosuke Sakazaki (Village Head), Fusanosuke Kondo, Paul Gilbert, Satoshi Takebe, Taigo Sato, and Izumi Kato. She performed songs such as “Odoru Ponpokorin” (B.B. Queens), “Shogenai de yo Baby,” “Rose,” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll wa Nariyamanai!” (Shinsei Kamattechan).

What does DMV TV have to do with any of this?

In 2025, a song we fell in love with suddenly became a passion project. Tsukanoma Yotogi Bito. The team at DMV TV had a unique opportunity to collab with the Salisbury Center in Manassas Virginia, to use their vicinities and test out their limitations and strength to be a video production facility. The Salisbury Center in respect to the past, use to be a movie theater known as Manassas 4 Cinema. Now you can go there to watch micro wrestling, Muay Thai, CageZilla MMA, comedy stand up, concerts and more. We had a chance to shoot some special footage in their comedy room, using their projector and a vision. No AI, no special effects, no backup dancers or choreography, no budget. Just a lady dancing in the middle of night. A brave solo experience that does its best to bring back the Japanese spirit animal and soul giving music empress, that is Yuiko Tsubokura.

Watch Tsukanoma Yotogi Bito free on DMV TV!