Nana Okada


Nana Okada, also known as Naachan, is a Japanese singer. She is a member of the Japanese idol girl groups AKB48, STU48, and :ja:てんとうむChu!|Tentoumu Chu! She had the reputation of being a "serious" idol early in her career due to her perfectionism, which has evolved into a more "eccentric" image in recent years. She is a fixture in AKB48's major single lineups since 2016 and is considered one of the best singers in the group.

Career

2012

Okada joined AKB48 as part of the 14th generation trainees, after failing to pass the 13th generation audition the previous year.

2013

The sub-unit Tentoumu Chu! was formed, consisting of the most promising trainee members from AKB48, SKE48, NMB48 and HKT48. The selected members are Okada, Mako Kojima, Miki Nishino, Ryoha Kitagawa, Nagisa Shibuya, Meru Tashima and Mio Tomonaga. Okada, Kojima, and Nishino, the three AKB48 members of the unit, also became known as the Three Musketeers. She was later promoted to Team 4 in August 2013, during the third day of the group's Tokyo Dome concert.
In November, a three-episode series in the variety show AKBingo!, billed, was aired, exploring her serious persona. While many episodes before and since then have focused on a single member, this was the first time three consecutive episodes were dedicated for that purpose.

2014

Together with members Ryoka Oshima and Rina Kawaei, they formed Team Kanagawa to promote the new trains in the Yokohama Line. Later in May, she was selected to sing the group's 36th single title track "Labrador Retriever".
In the group's sixth general election to determine the lineup for their 37th single, Okada ranked for the first time, with a position of 51st place, becoming part of Future Girls.
In September, Okada was part of the cast for AKB48's musical, a stage adaptation of the manga , playing Haruko Mizuno. In the group's fifth Janken Tournament, she placed 14th, and was in the B-Side of the winner Miyuki Watanabe's solo song. For the group's 38th single "Kibouteki Refrain", Okada did not get selected to sing the title track, but was assigned as one of the centers for one of the B-Sides, "Ima, Happy".

2015

On February 20, Okada was one of 15 AKB48 members who represented the group in a joint concert with sister group JKT48 in Jakarta billed "Bergandengan Tangan dengan Kakak", and was pleasantly surprised to learn that she had many fans in that city.

2016

On May 28, Okada announced that she would be going on a temporary hiatus due to poor health and physical condition. She returned three weeks later and took part in AKB48's appearance on the June 17 broadcast of Music Station. In the 8th Senbatsu Election, which result announcement took place the next day in Niigata, she placed 14th, thus entering the Senbatsu through election for the first time. In her acceptance speech, she revealed that her hiatus was due to reactive hypoglycemia.
In August, it was announced during an AKB48 concert in Sendai that Okada would be the focus of the fourth episode of the AKB48 documentary series, AKB48 Inside Story, produced by TBS Television. The episode was aired on November 26, titled Nana Okada, 19 Years Old: The Price of a Dream, and revealed glimpses of her childhood, her family, and the struggles which led to her eating disorder and subsequent recovery. An extended version was released on January 31, 2017 with around thirty additional minutes of content, including scenes from her nineteenth birthday celebration.

2017

On January 25, AKB48 released its eighth album Thumbnail, which included Okada's solo song, "Coin Toss".
On February 22, Okada announced that she will be holding a concurrent position in the new sister group STU48 and serve as the group's captain.
She placed 9th in the 9th Senbatsu Election. In her acceptance speech, in light of many AKB48 Group members recently being involved in scandals to gain exposure, she pledged to keep doing her best to set a good example for the younger members and prove that one can succeed in the group through hard work, especially with her status as captain of STU48 and vice-captain of AKB48 Team 4, and unofficially appointed herself the AKB48 Group Chairman of Public Morals.

2018

On January 16, Okada held her first solo concert at Tokyo Dome City Hall, billed "Nana Okada Solo Concert ~My Precious Things~".
On January 20, it was announced that Okada will be the center of AKB48's newest single, which would be released on March 14. On February 22, the title of the single, "Jabaja", was announced. During the performance of the single on Music Station on March 23, she was given the "unprecedented" challenge of being featured in every single cut, requiring her to memorize the camera movements and changes for the entire performance.
On February 27, her first photobook, titled, was released.
In May, Okada portrayed Juliet in the Theatre Renacchi production of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi and organized by fellow AKB48 member Rena Kato, after passing the audition in February.
In June, Okada placed 5th in the 10th Senbatsu Election after ranking 4th in the preliminaries, thus becoming a 2=神７ for the first time. In her speech, she encouraged the idol otakus to take pride in their support of AKB48 Group and its members and invited them to visit STU48's shipboard theater, which at that time was planned to start operating in the summer.
In August, Okada underwent surgery for vocal cord nodules and was unable to speak for some time while recovering. It was also announced that she would star in the stage play of Majimuri Gakuen, based on the television drama of the same name but with a completely different plot, which would be performed at the Nippon Seinenkan Hall in October. Her character, Nero, is a new character made for the stage play and is the lead role along with fellow member :ja:小栗有以|Yui Oguri's Lily, who is the lead character in the television drama.
In December, Okada participated and earned the highest score in the AKB48 Group No. 1 Singing Competition qualification round. She placed third in the finals, held at Akasaka ACT Theater on January 11, 2019 with Kano Nojima of SKE48 as the winner.

2019

On January 22, the music video for "Shukkō", a coupling song in STU48's second single "Kaze wo Matsu" centered by Okada and performed by all 33 members and trainees, was released on YouTube.
On March 14, the training and publishing company Benesse released an original promotional anime which featured Okada in her first voice acting role and "Shukkō" as its ending song. On March 15, TC Candler announced that she ranked eighth on their list of 100 Most Beautiful Asia Faces of 2018; Okada later commented that she was "thankful" for the rank, but personally felt that she did not deserve it.
On July 27, Okada took part in AKB48's first ever live performance in Malaysia, which was part of the Japan Expo Malaysia 2019 in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.
In October, Okada participated in the 2nd AKB Group No. 1 Singing Competition. She placed first in the qualification round as in the previous year, but did not place within the top three in the finals.

2020

On January 11, STU48's second original stage play, titled "Bokutachi no Koi no Yokan" and produced by Okada in her first producer role, was performed for the first time at the STU48 Theater. On January 18, during STU48's concert at Tokyo Dome City Hall, Okada announced that she would step down as the group's captain and appointed Mitsuki Imamura as her successor and Akari Fukuda as deputy captain, but would retain her concurrent membership.
On January 21, Okada and fellow AKB48 members Yuiri Murayama, Shinobu Mogi, and Mion Mukaichi started their joint YouTube channel, the.
On January 22, Okada and Murayama, together known as "YuuNaa", performed in a duo concert billed, again at Tokyo Dome City Hall. Several AKB48 members participated as guest performers, including Mogi, Mukaichi, and former Team 4 captain Minami Minegishi. The rock band Gacharic Spin served as backup band.
In February, Okada became the main focus of the first collaboration between Family Gekijo's AKB48 Nemousu TV and STU48 Imousu TV variety shows, a two-part series billed the "'Whose Okada?' Show", in which members of both groups compete for the right to claim her for their group.

Personal life

Okada lives in Kanagawa Prefecture, but was born in Neyagawa in Osaka Prefecture and lived there until she was three years old. She has two older brothers and a younger sister. Her eldest brother is a medical professional and often gives her dietary advice. Her sister, Rina, occasionally accompanies her in live streaming sessions and public appearances, notably at the 2016 AKB48 Janken Tournament where they cosplayed as characters from the anime series . The family owns two Toy Poodles.
Okada is named after the number seven, the day of her birth, which is pronounced as 2=七 in Japanese. She knows of the actress and former idol with whom she shares her name and would like to meet her someday.
One of Okada's interests is collecting yuri manga. She has endorsed several titles and her fans often give those to her as a gift. She has hinted that she herself is bisexual and her close relationship with Team 4 captain Yuiri Murayama, to which fans affectionately refer by the portmanteau "YuuNaa", is often discussed.
Okada's personal hero is former AKB48 Group General Manager Minami Takahashi.

Discography

AKB48

Appearances

Stage units

;AKB48 Kenkyuusei Stage "Boku no Taiyo"
  1. "Idol Nante Yobanaide"
  2. "Boku to Juliet to Jet Coaster"
;AKB48 Kenkyuusei Stage "Pajama Drive"
  1. "Temodemo no Namida"
  2. "Kagami no Naka no Jean Da Arc"
;Team 4 2nd Stage "Te o Tsunaginagara"
  1. "Ame no Pianist"
;Team 4 3rd Stage "Idol no Yoake"
  1. "Kuchi Utsushi no Chocolate"
  2. "Itoshiki Natasha"
;Takahashi Team 4 Stage "Yume wo shinaseru wake ni ikanai"
  1. "Confession"
;Murayama Team 4 Stage "Te o Tsunaginagara"
  1. "Kono Mune no Barcode"

    TV variety