I didn't see a thread about Amuro-san here so I wanted to make one as a tribute so that newer JPOP fans can also get to know about her and her fabulous discography.
Brief summary from her Wikipedia page:
Namie Amuro is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018.
A leading figure of the Japanese entertainment industry since the early 1990s, Amuro is known for breaking the youthful idol stereotype of J-Pop, changing the fashion trends and lifestyle of women in Japan, her experimentation across music styles, and for her visual imagery in music videos and live performances.
Due to her career longevity, resilience, professionalism, efforts behind-the-scenes in the music industry, and her way of life, she is considered a pop culture icon in Japan and Asia.[1][2][3][4] She has been referred to as "Diva of Heisei Era" and the "Queen of Japanese Pop", and has been recognized as having the influence and career impact domestically equivalent to artists such as Janet Jackson and Madonna in Western music and pop culture.[5][6][7][8]
Amuro is noted within the Japanese entertainment industry for "producing" and managing her own career.[22] Aside from music, she has appeared in various advertisement campaigns in Japan and founded her own management company Stella88,[23] and her own record label Dimension Point.
Having sold more than 40 million records,[24] Amuro is recognized as one of the best-selling artists in Japan by Oricon. Since her solo debut, she achieved top 10 singles for 23 consecutive years (#1 for solo artist). All of her albums are certified Platinum, and her debut solo album, Sweet 19 Blues, was the best selling album in Japan. She is the only artist in Japan to sell a million albums in her teens, 20s, 30s and 40s.[25]
Some facts and tidbits:
- Born in Naha, Okinawa on September 20, 1977
- She is known for her live performances and concert tours (she holds the record for Japan soloist with most dome tours, largest tours, and audience size) and a career that spanned decades.
- Debuted as the lead singer of the group Super Monkey's when she was 14 years old in 1991
- She then went solo in 1995 at Avex to work with Tetsuya Komuro/TK (producer)
- She had her own management company called Stella88 and her own sub-label called Dimension Point, starting with the Feel album in 2013 and all release after
- Retired officially on September 16, 2018 from the entertainment and music industry
- She was a huge fan of Janet Jackson and avid manga reader
- She maintains an official Youtube channel with small 1 minute clips of her discography link here
Discography (her Discography on Wiki, very comprehensive, so if you are looking for information about the 47 singles or 102 music videos go there please).
12 Studio Albums (Listed in chronological order by release date, summary of genre, charting, sales and a highlight overview of the album's track from YouTube.)
1. October 16, 1995 : Dance Tracks Vol. 1 (Toshiba EMI) - Genre: 90's Eurobeat + dance pop
- reached #1 on Oricon, sold about 1,865,000, and certified RIAJ: 2× Million
Entire album is up on YT:
2. July 22, 1996: Sweet 19 Blues (Avex) - Proper first solo album - Genre: Pop + a little bit of R&B
- reached #1 on Oricon, sold about 3,700,000 and certified RIAJ: 3× Million
- original release of album had a total of 4 covers - the other 3 were limited edition covers
Album highlight from YT by NA920:
3. July 24, 1997: Concentration 20 (Avex) - Genre: Pop + a little bit of dance rock
- reached #1 on Oricon, sold about 1,930,000 and certified RIAJ: 2x Million
- contains the massive single, Can You Celebrate, to this day still the best selling physical single by a female singer
Album highlight from YT by NA920:
4. January 26, 2000: Genius 2000 (Avex) - Genre: Pop, R&B and little bit electronica
- reach #1 on Oricon, sold about 803,000 and certified RIAJ: 2× Platinum
- it is produced by TK and Dallas Austin (half of album), so more sonically R&B and hip-hop
Album highlight from YT by NA920:
5. December 20, 2000: Break the Rules (Avex) - Genre: Pop with a little bit of R&B
- reach #2 on Oricon, sold about 335,000 and certified RIAJ: Platinum
- It was the final album with TK as a producer and Dallas Austin also produced a few songs for this album (Looking for You is her first all English song)
Album highlight from YT by NA920:
6. December 10, 2003: Style (Avex) - Genre: R&B and Hip-pop
- reach #4 on Oricon, sold about 250,000 and certified RIAJ: Platinum
- First album in 3 years and after her exploration into R&B, hip-hop with the Suite Chic project, she fully transitioned into the genre hip-pop
Couldn't find an album highlight so here are the promoted songs from the album:
Wishing on the Same Star:
Shine More:
Put 'Em Up:
So Crazy:
7. July 13, 2005: Queen of Hip-Pop (Avex) - Genre: R&B and Hip-pop
- reach #2 on Oricon, sold about 494,000 and certified RIAJ: 2× Platinum
- Amuro said she made this album to be performed 'LIVE' so the album only had 1 ballad, the rest are all upbeat
Album highlight on YT by NA920:
8. June 27, 2007: Play (Avex) - Genre: R&B and Hip-Pop
- reach #1 on Oricon, sold about 541,000 and certified RIAJ: 2× Platinum
- first album to be released as a CD and CD+DVD format; also reached #1 on Taiwan music charts
Album highlight on YT by NA902:
9. December 16, 2009: Past < Future (Avex) - Genre: Pop, Electronica, R&B
- reach #1 on Oricon, sold about 600,000 and certified RIAJ: 2× Platinum
- Amuro said this album was a 'fresh' start after the Best Fiction best compilation album
Album highlight on YT by NA902:
10. June 27, 2012: Uncontrolled (Avex) - Genre: Dance pop + Electro-pop
- reach #1 on Oricon, sold about 541,000 and certified RIAJ: 2× Platinum
- It was released before her 20th Anniversary concerts and first album to have multiple (4) all English songs (The single version of Go Round w/ YEAH-OH released prior to album - the lyrics are in Japanese mixed with English; on the actual Uncontrolled album, both Go Round ('n Round n' Round) + Singing "Yeah-Oh" are the all English versions; the other two all English songs are In the Spotlight (Tokyo) and Only You)
- Spent 3 weeks at #1
Album highlight on YT by NA902:
11. July 10, 2013: Feel (Dimension Point) - Genre: Dance-pop + Electro-pop
- first album to be released on her own sub-label, Dimension Point
- reach #1 on Oricon, sold about 393,000 and certified RIAJ: Platinum
- She worked with various Western producers e.g., Zedd, Dsign Music, Anthony Maniscalco, Steven Lee etc.
- Album was successful in Taiwan and South Korea too
Album highlight on YT by NA902:
12. June 10, 2015: Genic (Dimension Point) - Genre: Electronica, Synthpop, + R&B
- her last studio album also released on her own sub-label, Dimension Point
- reached #1 on Oricon, sold about 253,000 and certified RIAJ: Platinum
- She continued to work with various Western producers e.g., Sophie, David Guetta, Bardur Haberg, Joacim "Twin" Persson etc.
Album highlight on YT by NA902:
7 Compilation /BEST Albums - Part 1
1. September 30, 1996: Original Tracks Vol. 1 (Toshiba-EMI)
- reached #3, sold about 419,000, and certified RIAJ: Platinum
- They released a remastered edition in 2018
There's no highlight on YT so I just selected a few tracks:
Heart ni Hi wo Tsukete:
Taiyou no SEASON:
Rainbow Moon:
2. January 28, 1998: 181920 (Avex)
- reach #1, sold about 2,000,000 and certified RIAJ: 2× Million
- Basically the early singles released prior to her marriage and maternity leave
- There is also a film - videography version with all the music videos, called 181920 & Films
CM for this album:
3. March 13, 2002: Love Enhanced Single Collection (Avex)
- Reach #3, sold about 305,000 and certified RIAJ: Platinum
- Included the 11 out of 12 singles since returning from her maternity leave except Toi et Moi, which is only available as a single and not included on any album
- Namie wrote the Japanese lyrics for the song: Say the Word
Album highlight from NA902:
4. July 30, 2008: BEST FICTION (Avex) lol I don't know why I had to capitalize it lol I think it's a good album to start if you want to dive into her career.
- Reach #1, sold about 1,590,000 and certified RIAJ: Million
- Stayed #1 on the charts for 6 weeks~
- Included two new original songs 'Do Me More' and 'Sexy Girl' and the triple side, mega-hit single/EP: 60s70s80s which were songs for the Vidal Sassoon commercials
Album highlight from NA902:
