Japanese vocalist Shizuka Kudo was not very happy with the show business path that her sassy looks set her on.
'People branded me an idol, but that was not what I wanted,' she says. 'I hope to be considered a 'calibre singer' not a teeny-bopper idol.' Shizuka, who celebrated her 26th birthday recently, refused to play that game and concentrated on displaying her real talent.
She polished her lyric-writing technique and let it shine in hit singles such as Moon Water, Ice Rain and Seven.
And since 1990 she has claimed further attention in Japan by staging several exhibitions of her paintings.
Shizuka has paid her dues. After trying her luck with several groups in 1986, she decided to go solo the following year.
In 1988, her career took off when the single Fu-ji-su - written by singer-songwriter Miyuki Nakajima - topped the Oricon charts.
From 1991 to 1993, she made it to No 1 on the Oricon singles charts eight times - hits included About Me and Vehement Sob - and won acclaim as an 'idol goddess', a label Japanese pop culture commentators are fond of.