Namie Amuro

Coordinates	41°43′56″N77°38′41″N
Name	Namie Amuro安室 奈美恵
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	安室 奈美恵 (Amuro Namie)
Born	September 20, 1977
Origin	Okinawa, Japan
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Japanese hip hop, R&B;, pop
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, producer, actress, dancer
Years active	1992–1995 (group)1995–present (solo)
Label	Toshiba-EMI (1992–1995)Avex Trax (1995–present)
Associated acts	Super Monkey'sSuite ChicMAX
Url	www.avexnet.or.jp/amuro
Spouse	SAM (m. 1997-2002)
Children	Haruto (b. 1998)
Notable instruments	}}

is a Japanese R&B; and pop singer, entertainer, and former actress, who, at the height of her popularity, was referred to as the "Teen Queen" and is referred to as the "Queen of Japanese pop music". Born in Naha, Okinawa, Amuro debuted at the age of 14 as an idol in the girl group Super Monkey's. Though mostly unsuccessful, the group gained popularity during their final year together with the single "Try Me (Watashi o Shinjite)" (1995). Amuro left Toshiba-EMI after releasing two more solo singles; she continued her music career as a solo singer with the then-small independent label Avex Trax. Under the guidance of producer Tetsuya Komuro, Amuro quickly became a commercial success, producing several million-selling records and starting several fashion trends. Her single "Can You Celebrate?" (1997) became Japan's best selling single by a solo female artist. However, in late 1997, Amuro put her career on hold to focus on her pregnancy and marriage.

She returned to music in 1998 with the number-one single, "I Have Never Seen", but faced slowly declining sales. After unofficially severing ties with Tetsuya Komuro in 2001, Amuro joined Suite Chic, which would transform her from a pop idol to a R&B; artist. Since reinventing herself, Amuro has achieved newfound interest. Her seventh studio album, Play (2007) debuted at the top of the charts and was followed by "60s 70s 80s" (2008), her first number-one single in 10 years.

Over a decade since her musical debut, Amuro has remained one of the longest surviving popular female acts in Japan. She is the only Japanese female artist to have achieved a Top 10 single each year for 14 consecutive years. She also continues to successfully combat social stigma as a divorced, working, single mother. On July 30, 2008, Amuro released her first greatest hits album, Best Fiction, since transitioning to R&B; music. It spent six consecutive weeks at the number-one position on Japan's Oricon weekly charts, and was elected as "the best album of the year" at the 50th Japan Record Awards. From 2008 to 2009, she toured Japan to promote the album. It was estimated that she played to an audience as large as 400,000 people, potentially the largest audience of her career.

Biography

Early life and career

Namie Amuro was born in Naha, Okinawa, raised solely by her mother, Emiko Taira, as she had divorced when Amuro was 4 years old. Taira worked as a nursery school employee and bar hostess to support her four children. Through her mother's side, Amuro is one quarter Italian. While she did not have ambitions to become a performer early in life—dreaming instead of becoming a flight attendant—she was discovered at age 12, while visiting a friend, by Masayuki Makino, the owner of Okinawa Actors School, a performing arts school. and Max Matsuura, was released on January 25, 1995, peaking at the number-eight position and charting for 25 weeks on the Oricon chart. The other four members of the Super Monkey's formed their own group, MAX, under the Avex Trax label. Amuro released two more solo singles under Toshiba-EMI before moving to Avex Trax herself.

1995-1997: Commercial success

Amuro's debut single under Avex, "Body Feels Exit", was released in October 1995 after she switched record labels. The single was the first produced from her working relationship with producer Tetsuya Komuro. A second Komuro-produced single, "Chase the Chance" was released two months later. It became her first number-one, million-selling single. She won the Golden Arrow Award 1995.

In the first half of 1996, Amuro accumulated million-selling singles - "Don't Wanna Cry" and "You're My Sunshine". Her studio album Sweet 19 Blues, released on July 22, 1996, was a commercial success, selling over three million units. Amuro's popularity increased as well: she became a fashion icon, starting a trend called Amuraa characterized by tanned skin, dyed hair, miniskirts and boots. On November 27, 1996, she released the single "A Walk in the Park", which also sold over a million copies. She made Okinawa more popular in Japan and many people from Okinawa such as Speed followed her. The members of Speed said that the Okinawa Actors School was changed by her influence.

Amuro's first single of 1997, "Can You Celebrate?", eventually sold 2.29 million copies, making it the best-selling single by a solo female artist in Japan. That year, after the release of another single, "How to Be a Girl", and a second album, Concentration 20, Amuro toured Japan's four domes in the summer. On August 3 of that year, the sales of Amuro's records reached 20 million. At the end of the year, she won the Grand Prix Award at the Japan Record Awards again for "Can You Celebrate?" and made her final appearance on Kouhaku Uta Gassen before beginning her one-year hiatus from the music industry.

1998–2001: Personal joy and professional struggles

In May 1998, Amuro gave birth to her son, Haruto. She returned to the music industry with the release of "I Have Never Seen" (December 1998). She made her first televised appearance on Kouhaku Uta Gassen days later, performing a tearful rendition of her hit "Can You Celebrate?". On the Oricon Weekly Chart, the new single debuted at the top position. However, at that time new singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada was revolutionizing the Japanese music industry, and Amuro began to re-focus her career. Amuro's following single, "Respect the Power of Love", was released on March 17, 1999; on the same day, news broke out that her mother had been murdered in Okinawa. Upon hearing the news, Amuro canceled her promotional schedule and flew back to Okinawa in order to identify her mother's body. A third comeback single, "Toi et Moi", was used for the Japanese animation movie .

The following single "Something 'bout the Kiss" featured production by American Hip-hop/R&B; producer Dallas Austin. Austin, along with longtime producer Tetsuya Komuro, produced her first album since her hiatus, Genius 2000, released in January 2000. The album still debuted at the number-one position on the Oricon weekly chart. She spent the first half of 2000 touring in support of the Genius 2000 album. After the tour, she released a single, "Never End", in July. The single was used as part of the G8 summit taking place in Okinawa, Japan that year. It was commissioned by late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who asked Tetsuya Komuro to write a song conveying "a vision of harmony and interaction in the world in the 21st century". Obuchi later asked Amuro to perform the single at the summit.

Amuro's next studio album Break the Rules, released on December 20, 2000, was not able to top the Oricon weekly charts, peaking at the number-two position. Starting in March, 2001, Amuro toured Japan in support of Break the Rules; the tour ended in May. In August, Amuro released the single "Say the Word". For the first time, she wrote the lyrics herself. The single also unofficially marked an end to the working relationship between her and longtime producer Tetsuya Komuro. However, in December she worked with Komuro for the last time on a "Lovin' It", a single released as part of Avex's Song+Nation charity project. The single featured hip-hop artist Verbal of the group M-Flo.

2002–2006: Decline in sales and popularity

On March 13, 2002, she released her new greatest hits album Love Enhanced Single Collection, but the songs were re-arranged from those original versions. In July 2002, Amuro was divorced from Maruyama. On September 11, 2002, "Wishing on the Same Star", written by Diane Warren, was released, peaking at the number-two position on the oricon weekly chart. The song was originally sung by Keedy in 1991.

From December 2002, fully immersed into the Japanese R&B; scene releasing music in the musical project Suite Chic, she collaborated with several of Japan's popular hip hop and R&B; artists such as Verbal, Zeebra, Dabo and DJ Muro. They released two singles, an original album and one remix album before ending the project in 2003. She later said that after the project she had begun to do what she had wanted to do.

Amuro returned to solo activities on her own with the single "Shine More", released on March 6, 2003. The subsequent single "Put 'Em Up", released on July 16, 2003, was produced by Dallas Austin. On October 16, 2003, the double a-side single "So Crazy / Come" was released. "So Crazy" was written by American R&B; producers Full Force. "Come", used for the Japanese anime InuYasha, was a re-arranged song from Sophie Monk. At the end of the year, she released her first original studio album in three years, Style. From November 29, 2003 to April 11, 2004, she performed on the Namie Amuro So Crazy Tour Featuring Best Singles 2003-2004. In May, she also toured Taipei, Taiwan and Seoul, South Korea. Shortly after the tour, she released the ballad "All for You"; this was followed by the double A-side single "Girl Talk / The Speed Star", released on October 14, 2004. The single debuted at the top position on the Oricon daily chart and reached the number-two position for the week, making it her first Top 3 single in two years. Amuro chose not to appear on Kōhaku Uta Gassen though she had been invited to perform at the event. She had previously attended the coveted event nine years in a row. Amuro explained that while she wished to regain popularity, she did not want to "force" herself on the public anymore. She donated ¥10 million (approximately USD$90,000) to UNICEF for children who were affected by the disaster.

On April 6, 2005, she released the single "Want Me, Want Me". The song was a well-received hit at home debuting at the number-two position. In May 2005, following a three year split from her former husband Sam, it was reported that she would take back full custody of their child, Haruto. In August, it was reported that she officially did that. On May 29, she performed at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan for the fourth consecutive year in a row. She received two awards, "Best R&B; Video" and "Most Impressive Performing Asian Artist", making the first artist to receive awards four years in a row at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan. She took home the "Inspiration Award Japan" in 2002, "Best Collaboration" in 2003, "Best R&B; Video" for 2004, and 2005 as well as "Most Impressive Performing Asian Artist" in 2005.

On July 13, 2005, she released her sixth original studio album, Queen of Hip-Pop. In collaboration with MGM Studios, Amuro used the Pink Panther character in the album; a female panther counterpart was created for the album as well. When the album was completed, Amuro said that she had not been able to sing the songs very well yet.

In September 2005, Amuro held her seventh national tour, Space of Hip-Pop. Shortly after the start of her tour, she announced that she would contribute to the Japanese theaterical release of Sin City. After viewing the movie, Amuro made an offer to the Japanese distribution company to sing its theme song; the company, feeling that her image fit the movie, accepted her offer. Director Robert Rodriguez was impressed by the song and asked to be a part of it; he can be heard saying "Welcome to Sin City" towards the end of the song. The theme song, "Violet Sauce", was later released as part of a double A-side single, "White Light / Violet Sauce", on November 16, 2005. Shortly after the single, she released Filmography 2001-2005 a compilation of twelve of her music videos from 2001 to 2005.

Amuro collaborated with Zeebra, AI, and Mummy-D on Zeebra's album The New Beginning, released on February 15, 2006, in a song called "Do What U Gotta Do". On May 17, she released the double A-side single "Can't Sleep, Can't Eat, I'm Sick/Ningyo", which debuted at the number-two position on the oricon weekly chart. In August 2006, she began her tour Namie Amuro Best Tour "Live Style 2006". On September 17, she performed to an audience of 12,000 at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. She stated that she would do the performance greater than ever before in 2007.

2007–present: Revived popularity

Amuro's next single, "Baby Don't Cry", released on January 24, 2007, was used as the theme song of a Japanese Drama Himitsu no Hanazono. On the oricon weekly chart, "Baby Don't Cry" debuted at the number-three position and she achieved a Top 10 single each year for 13 consecutive years, breaking the solo female artist's record in Japan by Kyōko Koizumi and Shizuka Kudō. It sold over a million ringtone digital downloads and was ranked at number seven on the RIAJ 2007 yearly ringtone sales charts. Amuro's 32nd single, "Funky Town", was released on April 4, 2007. She was also featured on M-Flo's album, Cosmicolor, in a song titled "Luvotomy".

Her seventh studio album, Play, was released on June 27, 2007. The album includes 12 songs, four of which are single tracks. The album was said to reflect Amuro's new style, and featured a rock number, and a chic slow song. One of her new songs, "Top Secret" was used as the theme song of the drama series Prison Break Season 2 in Japan. Play took the number-one spot on the Oricon Weekly Chart Rankings, becoming her first number-one album in more than 7 years, with her last number-one occurring in 2000 with her album, Genius 2000. It is also her fourth studio album to reach the number-one position. Play spent two consecutive weeks at the number-one position. From August 18, 2007, to February 27, 2008, she performed her concert tour in Japan Namie Amuro Play Tour 2007-2008 which consisted initially of 53 performances but was increased by 12 performances to 65 performances, making this her biggest tour in terms of number of performances by far.

Amuro's first single of 2008, released on March 12, was an image song for the new Vidal Sassoon marketing campaign Fashion x Music x VS. The title of her new single was confirmed to be "60s 70s 80s", and contained three songs - "New Look", "Rock Steady", and "What A Feeling". These songs have a modern twist from the '60s, '70s, and '80s. The single debuted at the number-two position on the oricon weekly charts with over 114,000 copies sold. In the second week the single gained the number-one spot for that week, making it her first number-one single after 9 years and 3 months since "I Have Never Seen". According to Oricon, "60s 70s 80s" sold nearly 300,000 copies.

On March 25, 2008, Amuro has won the prize for "Best Female Video" for "Hide & Seek" at Space Shower TV music video awards 08. "Hide & Seek" also won the prize for "Best R&B; Video" at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2008 which was conducted at the Saitama Super Arena on May 31. In May 2008, Amuro also recorded a collaboration with Double in a song called "Black Diamond". On the ringtone download sales chart, it earned double-platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. On July 26, about 25,000 people attended the a-nation '08 and saw her performance. This was the first time she was invited to perform on it in seven years. On July 31, she took part in Double's concert.

Amuro released her third greatest hits album Best Fiction on July 30, 2008. It featured all her singles from 2002's "Wishing on the Same Star" to the recently released "60s 70s 80s". It also featured two new songs, "Sexy Girl" and "Do Me More". "Sexy Girl" was the theme song for NHK drama Otome no Punch that aired on June 19, and the other called "Do Me More" was the campaign song for Vidal Sassoon. Best Fiction sold 681,000 copies on the first week and debuted at the number-one position on the oricon weekly charts. Within its third week, Best Fiction outsold a million copies, and Amuro became the only artist who produced million-selling albums in the oricon chart for three decades of her teens, 20s, and 30s. Best Fiction eventually spent six consecutive weeks at the number-one position, becoming the first album to do so in more than 14 years since the Dreams Come True's 1993 album Magic. Best Fiction became the second best-selling album behind Exile's Exile Love on the Oricon 2008 yearly album charts. In addition, it became the second best selling digital-format album by Japanese artists behind Hikaru Utada's Heart Station on the iTunes yearly album charts in Japan. Best Fiction won the award for "the best album of the year" at the 50th Japan Record Awards.

On October 25, 2008, Amuro also started a tour called Namie Amuro Best Fiction tour 2008-2009 at the Makuhari Messe. NHK invited her to the 59th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, but Amuro declined.

On January 20, 2009, Sanspo officially announced a new Vidal Sassoon CM featuring Amuro, featuring a song from her entitled, "Dr." Her 34th solo single, "Wild/Dr.," was announced on January 21, which was a double A-side single released March 18, 2009. Wild was used in a commercial starring Amuro for Coke Zero entitled "Wild Health". On release, it became her 11th #1 single and second consecutive after 60s 70s 80s. She also broke her own record of having all of her singles debut in the Top 10 (on the daily charts) for the last 15 years. On October 1, 2009, hairstyling company Vidal Sassoon released new commercials featuring Amuro and two tracks from her expected album, "My Love" and "Copy That."

Namie released her ninth studio album, Past < Future, on December 16, 2009. Released in CD and CD+DVD format, it contained her latest single "Wild/Dr.", and was supported by airplay and video clips of several of the new songs on the album. The album became her sixth number-one original studio album and in terms of sales, surpassed her last studio album, Play. In April, Amuro launched a large-scale, 9-month-long nationwide tour in support of her album, touring 26 cities.

On May 18, 2010, Amuro attended the World Music Awards, receiving an award for "Best Artist From Asia", and also performed "Hide & Seek". The show will be aired on June 6, 2010 on ABC.

Her next single "Break It/Get Myself Back" was released on July 28, 2010.

The live DVD “namie amuro PAST＜FUTURE tour 2010″ sold 95,000 copies within the first week, ranking first in the Music DVD category of the 12/27 weekly DVD Oricon rankings. This is her consecutively number one DVD following “namie amuro BEST FICTION TOUR 2008-2009″, adding up to her 4th time on the rankings. The Blu-Ray version has sold 18,000 copies. “PAST＜FUTURE” ranked 6th in the Oricon yearly rankings.

Influence

Early in her career, Amuro's music consisted of mostly dance-pop songs, typical of her then-producer Tetsuya Komuro. In later years, however, Amuro began incorporating elements of R&B; and hip-hop; producer Dallas Austin as well as Amuro's involvement in Avex's Suite Chic project were pivotal in her musical evolution. Also among the fads that Amuro popularized were body wire (nylon accessories that resemble tattoos), baggy socks, and skin-baring clothes. Additionally, Amuro is often credited with starting the Ganguro trend, as it has its roots in Amura. Amuro's "idol" status contributed to her prominence in the media in the mid-nineties; at one point, Amuro hosted her own television show in addition to promoting various products through commercials as well as appearing on a television show "almost every night". Their only child, a son named Haruto, was born in May 1998.

Her mother, Emiko Taira, whom Namie used to rely on, was murdered.

Discography

Studio albums

1995: Dance Tracks Vol. 1

1996: Sweet 19 Blues

1997: Concentration 20

2000: Genius 2000

2000: Break the Rules

2003: Style

2005: Queen of Hip-Pop

2007: Play

2009: Past

Compilation albums

1996: Original Tracks Vol.1

1998: 181920

2002: Love Enhanced Single Collection

2008: Best Fiction

Concerts and tours

August 31, 1996 - September 1, 1996: Summer Presents '96 Amuro Namie with Super Monkey's (sic)

March 23, 1997 - May 18, 1997: Namie Amuro tour 1997 a walk in the park

July 26, 1997 - August 13, 1997: Mistio presents Namie Amuro Summer Stage '97 Concentration 20

March 20, 2000 - May 7, 2000: Namie Amuro Tour "Genius 2000"

March 18, 2001 - May 27, 2001: Namie Amuro tour 2001 Break the Rules

October 17, 2001 - November 10, 2001: Namie Amuro tour "AmR" '01

November 29, 2003 - April 11, 2004: Namie Amuro So Crazy Tour Featuring Best Singles 2003-2004

August 27, 2004 - September 20, 2004: Namie Amuro tour "fan space '04"

September 1, 2005 - December 24, 2005:

August 13, 2006 - November 23, 2006: Namie Amuro Best Tour "Live Style 2006"

August 18, 2007 - April 13, 2008: Namie Amuro "Play" Tour 2007-2008

October 25, 2008 - May 31, 2009: Namie Amuro Best Fiction tour 2008-2009

April 2010 - November 2010: Namie Amuro Past

Filmography

Drama

Ichigo hakusho (TV Asahi, 1993)

Toki o Kakeru Shōjo (Fuji TV, 1994)

Watashi, mikata desu (TBS, 1995)

Station (NTV, 1995)

湘南リバプール学院 (Fuji TV, 1995)

Films

That's Cunning! Shijo Saidan no Sakusen (1996)

Gakko II: The Learning Circle (aka: A Class To Remember 2) (1996) (Cameo)

Anime theme songs

Toi et Moi - ending theme for (1999)

"Come / So Crazy" - 7th ending theme song for InuYasha (2003)

"Four Seasons" - theme song for InuYasha 3rd movie (2003)

Drama theme songs

"Chase The Chance" — theme song for The Chef (NTV, 1995)

"Can You Celebrate?" — theme song for Virgin Road (Fuji TV, 1997)

"I Have Never Seen" — theme song for Yonigeya Honpo (NTV, 1999)

"All for You" — theme song for Kimi ga omoi de ni Naru Mae ni (Fuji TV, 2004)

"Baby Don't Cry" — theme song for Himitsu no Hanazono (KTV, 2007)

'"Sexy Girl" — theme song for Otome no Punch (NHK, 2008)

See also

List of J-pop artists

Suite Chic

References

Further reading

External links

Namie Amuro Official Site

J-pop.com profile

* Category:Japanese female singers Category:Japanese dancers Category:Japanese people of Italian descent Category:Japanese pop singers Category:Japanese rhythm and blues singers Category:Avex Trax artists Category:People from Naha Category:1977 births Category:Living people