In 1987, Sachiko Suzuki and Shoko Aida both entered a beauty contest given by the magazine
Up to Boy. Suzuki won 7th place and Aida won 9th place. The following year, Suzuki and Aida were chosen to form the duo. On April 27, 1988, they debuted with the single "
Sugar Baby Love", a cover of an English song by
The Rubettes. The single topped at #20 on the
Oricon Chart, and was chosen as the theme song of the
Fuji TV drama
Netsuppoi no! (熱っぽいの!, ''I'm Feverish!''), which starred
Yoko Minamino and
Shizuka Kudo. Their next single, "
Amaryllis" (アマリリス, released September 7, 1988) charted at only #30 on the Oricon chart. However, the release of their third single "
Ai ga Tomaranai (Turn It into Love)" (愛が止まらない〜Turn it Into Love~; ''Love Won't Stop~...'', released November 16, 1988) was their first breakout hit, their first single to reach #1 on the Oricon, as well as their first single to make #1 on both of the major television music programs, namely
TBS's
The Best Ten and
NTV's
Uta no Top Ten. The single was also used at the theme song of the
Fuji TV drama series
Oikaketai no! (
I Want to Chase!), also starring Minamino and
Rie Miyazawa. The single was a cover of
Kylie Minogue's "
Turn It into Love", with Japanese lyrics written by lyricist
Neko Oikawa. Selling over 645,000 copies, it was the duo's biggest-selling single. It sold over 564,000 copies and was certified Platinum by the
RIAJ. Wink had a different style and image than many other J-pop
idols of the era who focused on a "cute" style with sugar coated lyrics. The duo were instructed to be as emotionless as possible while performing. They also dressed in extravagant
lolita fashions, and almost looked doll-like. This uniqueness in style distinguished them from their contemporaries and attributed to their success. Following "Samishii Nettaigyo", the duo released a string of #1 and #2 hits, and the duo continued to appear as mainstays on
The Best Ten and
Uta no Top Ten. Decline and disbandment By the early 1990s, however, Wink's sales started to decline. Many of their later songs were original works written by Japanese composers, with a toned-down, less-European style. Many other idols were also beginning to cover European pop songs in the wave of Wink's success, thus their sound became less original. Their singles rarely hit the No. 1 spot after early 1990, although they sold respectably until 1994. In the 1990s, many people were looking for fresher-sounding music, and
Eurodance music became popular thanks to
Tetsuya Komuro and the many artists he produced, many of them under the
avex trax label. In 1995, Wink tried to generate more sales by reversing course and putting out a Euro-style single, "Jive Into The Night ~Yaban na Yoru ni~", but it was a
flop, only reaching No. 92 on the Oricon charts. Their next single, "Angel Love Story ~Aki-iro no Tenshi~", did somewhat better, but sales were still poor. In February 1996, the duo were notified by their management that their activities were to be suspended on March 31. Suzuki and Aida had stated several times on TV that Wink had not officially disbanded, but was considered "inactive"; eventually, they admitted that Wink was in a
de facto disbanded state. Suzuki and Aida have reunited as Wink on every eighth year of each decade to celebrate the duo's anniversary. Their first reunion was on the
40th Japan Record Awards in 1998, followed by an appearance on
TBS' New Year's Eve countdown special
Koeru! Terebi on December 31, 1999. The duo celebrated their 20th anniversary on the
50th Japan Record Awards in 2008. In 2018, they celebrated their 30th anniversary by making appearances on
NHK's
Dai 50-kai Omoide no Melody special and the
60th Japan Record Awards.
Solo careers After Wink, Suzuki and Aida became
TV personalities, although not often appearing together. They also continued recording music as solo singers; they released their first solo albums in 1992, and after the break-up, they released their first solo singles. Their solo music is quite different from the music they did as Wink; for example, Aida's music features a more
Mediterranean style. In 2004, Aida released a DVD and
photobook called with then-
Morning Musume member
Kaori Iida. Aida married in 2008 and subsequently gave birth to a daughter in 2012. == Discography ==