They completely dominated the charts and buried the competition the whole time I was there. A lot of their work consisted of covers of previous songs, in Japanese of course, but their covers were invariably better than the originals (in my opinion).
Wink was characterized by angelic vocals and subdued dance routines. Their image was that of high fashion and an almost otherworldly elegance. To enhance the mystique, they almost never smiled (not because they were snobs, mind you, but as part of the act). And to top it all off, in contrast to the current American fare, Wink was able to do all this without ever showing a single stray inch of skin.
I'm a huge fan to this day. My favorite album is a collection of their singles that I got at an import store in San Francisco back in 1994.
So, to introduce you all to the magic and wonder that is Wink, here are some YouTube videos of theirs (God bless the Internet!). In the following videos, Sachiko is almost always to our left, whereas Shoko is almost always to our right. In addition, Shoko almost always sings first, whereas Sachiko almost always sings after the first chorus.
- A.I. ga tomaranai (Love never stops) This is the video of their very first hit back in 1988. They may look young, but Sachiko was 19 and Shoko was 18 at the time.
- Samishii Nettaigyo (Sad bedtime story) This is the video of their first #1 hit. Watch the whole video and tell me you haven't become a fan.
- New Moon ni aimasho (Let's meet under the new moon) This is my favorite song of theirs. It isn't a promotional video but rather a tape of a live performance (I saw the actual video in Japan and it totally kicked arse). The melodic vocals combined with the heavy bass gives this one of the best choruses I've ever heard. They're not lip-synching, either!
- Kitto atsui kuchibiru (Warm lips, I know) This is a very close second as my favorite Wink song of all. It's a video which I selected once from a video juke box while I was still in Japan. I only got 1/3 of the way through it before my ZL dragged me away. Now, almost 16 years later, I've finally gotten to see the rest! Watch this and tell me you're not hypnotized by their vocals.
- ~Boys don't cry~ Although this isn't my favorite song of theirs, it's definitely my favorite video, by far. They break tradition in a HUGE way and smile almost all the way through. It's a really upbeat and cute video. If you watch no other video on this list, watch this one!
- One Night in Heaven Another video (i.e., an official promotional video, MTV-style, as opposed to a tape of a live performance).
- Sexy Music Another video.
- Haitoku no Scenario (???) Yet another official video. Breaking tradition, Sachiko sings first.
- Voyage Voyage (as in "Bon Voyage;" you hear the words "Au Revoir" throughout the chorus.) A video of a song I hadn't heard until just a couple of weeks ago. Once more, God bless the Internet!
- Twinkle Twinkle Another video of a song I hadn't heard until just a couple of weeks ago. This is one of their later singles, back from 1994. It has an "end of an era" feel, so it's rather heart-wrenching for me to listen to.
When you watch the videos, you'll notice lots of links to other Wink YouTube uploads. These consist mostly of live performances of the videos I've already linked above (along with two brief interviews). So if you want to see more of Wink (and who doesn't?), those are available too.
So, there you have it! Wink--The official J-Pop group of MormonDiscussions.com. Are you a fan yet? :-)