Namie Amuro

Namie Amuro
安室 奈美恵
Amuro at her 25th anniversary concert in Okinawa in September 2017
Born (1977-09-20) September 20, 1977 (age 47)
Naha, Okinawa, Japan
Other namesNamie Maruyama (legally, 1997–2002)
Occupations
  • Singer
  • dancer
  • model
  • actress
  • entrepreneur
  • lyricist
Years active1992–2018
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1997; div. 2002)​
Children1
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Labels
Formerly of
Websitenamieamuro.jp

Namie Amuro (/ˌnɑːmiˈeɪ/ NAH-mee-AY; Japanese: 安室 奈美恵, romanized: Amuro Namie; born September 20, 1977) is a retired Japanese singer. She rose to prominence as a teen idol, and transitioned into a leading pop artist due to her versatility across music styles and visual presentation. Due to her career reinventions and longevity, she is known as an icon across Japan and Asia.[1][2][3][4] She has been referred to as the "Queen of Japanese Pop", and her influence domestically has drawn equivalent comparisons to artists such as Janet Jackson and Madonna in Western pop culture.[5][6][7][8]

Born in Naha, Okinawa, Amuro debuted as the lead singer of the idol group Super Monkey's in 1992 when she was 14 years old. Despite early sales disappointments, Amuro's rising popularity helped to score a major hit with the 1995 Eurobeat single "Try Me (Watashi o Shinjite)".[9][10][11] Signing to Avex Trax for her solo career, Amuro catapulted to fame with a string of number one singles including "Chase the Chance" and "Don't Wanna Cry". A close partnership with renowned producer Tetsuya Komuro resulted in a dance-pop sound with Western influences. Her first four releases, including Sweet 19 Blues (1996) and Concentration 20 (1997), each received multi-million certifications. Her 1997 single "Can You Celebrate?" remains as the best selling single by a solo female artist in Japanese music history.[12][13][14]

In the early 2000s, "Never End" became Amuro's last successful single before a decline in sales, and her music began evolving from pop to R&B as she reined in creative control of her career. This transition was marked by the Suite Chic project in 2002 and her sixth studio album Style (2003). Amuro's eighth studio album, Play (2007), with the hit single "Baby Don't Cry", began a period of commercial resurgence. Her comeback was solidified with the 2008 single "60s 70s 80s" and its parent release Best Fiction. She continued to experiment musically in the 2010s, dabbling in EDM and recording in English, beginning with her tenth studio album Uncontrolled (2012). It featured the million-certified single "Love Story". She later founded her own management company, Stella88, and record label, Dimension Point.

Amuro finished her career with the 2017 greatest hits album Finally, which became the best selling album of the decade and made her the only artist to achieve a million-seller in each of their teens, 20s, 30s and 40s.[15] She officially retired from the music industry on September 16, 2018. As it coincided with the closure of the Heisei era (1989–2019), she became labelled as the representative "Heisei diva" with many calling it the "end of an era", in both senses.[16][17]

Having sold more than 40 million records, Amuro is recognized as one of the best-selling artists in Japan by Oricon.[18] She has received accolades from the Japan Record Awards, Japan Gold Disc Awards, MTV Video Music Awards Japan and the World Music Awards.

  1. ^ "Okinawan-Born New York City Artist Yuken Teruya Depicts Famous Okinawans Including Namie Amuro In His Bingata-Dyed Portrait Series "Heroes"". Ryukyu Shimpo. July 4, 2018.
  2. ^ "Okinawa Pref. Honors Pop Diva Amuro". May 23, 2018.
  3. ^ "11 times we looked up to Namie Amuro as #beautygoals (90's kids would appreciate!)". Daily Vanity Singapore's #1 Beauty Media. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  4. ^ "Namie Amuro: Celebrating J-pop's first queen". The Japan Times. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  5. ^ Herskovitz, Jon (January 17, 1998). "Japan's Stardom School; Pop Phenoms Get Their Start in an Okinawa Mall". The Washington Post. pp. B.08. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  6. ^ Ryan, Tim (May 11, 2000). "Shy Amuro turned into Japan's 'Madonna'". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Oahu Publications Inc. Retrieved February 24, 2013. EVER hear of Namie Amuro? Most people outside Asia haven't, but she's been called Japan's Madonna (the singer, not the religious figure).
  7. ^ "Okinawan-born New York City artist Yuken Teruya depicts famous Okinawans including Namie Amuro in his Bingata-dyed portrait series "Heroes"". Ryukyu Shimpo – Okinawa, Japanese newspaper, local news. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  8. ^ "Namie Amuro, "The Madonna of Japan," Is Retiring, But Her Style Influence Lives On". Vogue Fashion Magazine. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  9. ^ Try Me ~私を信じて~ (Mini CD Single). Super Monkey’s. Toshiba EMI. 1995. TODT-3421.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ 第37回日本レコード大賞 (in Japanese). Japan Record Awards. Archived from the original on June 15, 2008. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  11. ^ "Dave Rodgers" (in Japanese). Avex Trax. Retrieved October 31, 2008.
  12. ^ "大人が選ぶ女性バラードBEST30" (in Japanese). TV Asahi. December 8, 2007. Retrieved August 10, 2008.
  13. ^ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 1997年3月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. March 1997 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 451. Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan: 9. April 10, 1997. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  14. ^ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 1998年1月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. January 1998 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese). 460. Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan: 9. March 10, 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  15. ^ "引退目前の安室奈美恵、歴代1位記録を振り返". Orion News (in Japanese). Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  16. ^ Michel, Patrick St (September 12, 2018). "Namie Amuro: Celebrating J-pop's first queen". The Japan Times. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  17. ^ "安室奈美恵さんの引退発表に思う 「平成の終わり」とアーティストの「美学」". ハフポスト (in Japanese). September 21, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  18. ^ 引退目前の安室奈美恵、歴代1位記録を振り返る [Looking back on Namie Amuro's records before she retires]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Oricon. September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018.