Judy and Mary
Early in her career, Kawakami was part of the Hokkaido branch of Actors Studio as an actress. In 2005, Kawakami auditioned for A-Motion '05, an audition held by Avex Group, but did not pass the second round. She auditioned again in the following year at A-Motion '06, performing the song "Soba Kasu" by Judy and Mary and winning the Grand Prix out of 10,000 contestants.