, better known as , later changed to , was a Japanese idol and musical singer. In 1985, she made her debut with the single "Satsui no Vacane". She was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia on January 5, 2005. At 4:38 A.M. on November 6, 2005, Honda died at the Juntendo University Hospital in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Early life Kudo was born in Japan on July 31, 1967 at Narimasu Maternity Hospital in Narimasu, Itabashi. Kudo's family initially lived in Shibamata, Katsushika but would end up moving to Asaka, Saitama where at an early age she would enroll in Asaka's Shirayuri Kindergarten. Beginnings As a child Kudo was very involved with singing, largely influenced by her mother who dreamed of becoming a singer. In Kudo's graduation collection from Asaka's 6th Elementary School in Aska City, she wrote that, "It would be nice if I could become an actress or singer." While at Asaka Daiichi Junior High School at the age of 14, she would audition for Star Tanjō!, where in the TV qualifying round she would sing "Hello Goodbye" by Yoshie Kashiwabara which would win her that round and advance her to the battle tournament round, for that she would sing "Blue Angel" by her cousin, Seiko Matsuda, however none of the production companies expressed interest and Kudo would not win the competition. While Kudo was enrolled at Tokyo Seitoku University Junior & Senior High School in 1983, she would visit Harajuku because the record label Bondo Kikaku was recruiting a new member for the group called Shojotai. Bondo Kikaku had also participated in the show Star Tanjō!. While still working with Bondo Kikaku in 1984, she heard a demo of Meiko Nakahara's song "Kimitachi Kiwi Papaya Mango da ne", which had just become a hit, this lead Kudo to believe Bondo Kikaku's President, Keiji Takasugi was taking the company in the wrong direction, and would make her decide to become a solo artist. In 1984, Kudo performed at the Nagasaki Kayo Festival, which was a television contest to where teenagers and young adults competed to become new idols by winning what was called the grand prix. On the show, Honda was highly evaluated by judges who noted her powerful voice and overwhelming signing ability which made led her to win the grand prix part of the competition. Following her success in the Nagasaki Kayo Festival, Kudo would make her debut