Introducing...Namie Amuro

Namie Amuro embodies the slogan ‘been there done that and got the t shirt.’ In a career spanning 3 separate decades and 25 years exactly, she’s been in every single stage a pop superstar finds themselves in multiple times over; from the young, fresh teen idol, to the maturing young woman who made mistakes and controversy, to the Phoenix queen, rising above it all, Namie’s career has had more peaks than the Alps. Truly a success story through and through, Namie’s incredible work ethic, perseverance through hard times and talent are truly inspiring to me not just as an artist, but as a human. Although she has now retired, and is god knows where on this earth, she really has seen and done it all, and most definitely ended her career on a high, with a legacy so enormous it will go down in history. A singer, a dancer, a songwriter/producer, an entrepreneur and an icon, it was harder than I thought to condense the Diva of the Heisei era’s discography down into just a 10 song introduction, but I gave it my best shot, to truly capture a snapshot all the facets of this legend.

Say The Word- (2001)

To kick things off, we have the first Namie song I ever heard. In the dark days before she added her stuff to Apple Music, this was seemingly the only full music video of hers on the internet. The late 90s boy band, slightly cheesy, poppy feel instantly drew me in, with her sharp choreography and adorable pigtails sealing the deal. A song of happy optimism and hopefulness, this pure pop feel good anthem does what it says on the tin and has remained a steadfast constant in my Namie listening and never fails to make me smile.

Hide & Seek- (2007)

The opening track from Namie’s 8th studio album, Play, which saw the start of a resurgence in popularity for her, following some hectic years both professionally and personally. Hide & Seek is the absolute perfect way to introduce the general public to her new career emancipation- a cacophonous, demanding electro pop production combined with vocals that are both whisper thin and authoritative as hell with one message, and one message only ’Get up and dance bitch.’ A consistent opener in her live shows, almost always with an army theme, this song is the perfect way to kickstart any energetic task- it’s high energy, adrenaline pumping pop, given by a woman whose not afraid to take the reins- in fact she won’t let anyone else have them!

the SPEED STAR- (2004)

This gives a very noughties Western pop feel- the clear influence and love Namie has for western pop at the time is particularly prevalent here, with The Speed Star leaning more into her 'Queen of hip pop' persona. I’m not entirely sure what a Speed Star is but lyrically this whole song reads as a metaphor- directly it’s about how fast she can drive a car but after two underperforming albums, this sassy, confident number instead screams to me to be about how Namie wasn’t gonna give up so easily, as she knew she could succeed.

Wild- (2009)

Lyrically I think this song is an adult version of ‘Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.’ By this point Namie was going full swing into her electronica fantasy, with stuttering synthersizers accompanying a call and respond vocal track. A call to arms if anything, this sees Namie lyrically drawing in the listener- telling them to not be afraid or to be ashamed of what’s within and to be their most authentic self by letting go and being ‘Wild’ as she is. Fitting for a woman whose known for doing her entire career on her own terms, no?

I Will- (2002)

She has the range. The only way I can really explain this song in my head is that the spirit of Whitney must have possessed Namie in the studio when she was recording this. Backed by a lush, orchestral production, this love ballad shows a softer, more vulnerable side of Namie. With vocalisations much like fellow JPop sensation Utada, this song focuses purely on the emotive effort of Namie’s most comfortable mid range, with the occasional falsetto and vocal trill thrown in for dramatic effect, ‘I Will’ softly builds up and then calms back down several times throughout the song, creating a calming, lullaby effect. Akin to a Disney song, but with Namie’s maturity embedded within it, the resulting effect is the perfect example of a pop power love ballad, that also says 'Hey bitch! I can blow too!'

Body Feels Exit- (1995)

A debut! Though not really a debut because Namie was kinda the Beyonce of a teeny bopper group called Super monkeys (later actually renamed to Namie Amuro with the Super Monkeys to reflect Namie’s rising star). It makes sense then that Body Feels The Exit exudes the kind of cool confidence of someone who knows what their doing. The sound is classic mid 90s pop with a slightly amateurish, house feel, with synthesised keyboards and drums coming together to create stomping, building verses into a bombastic chorus that slowly rises higher and higher. Fairly standard fare for a popular song to sound exciting, but what makes it really special is in the last minute a blink and you’ll miss it key change adds a little something that isn’t quite tangible but elevates the song to new heights of excitement. You can hear Namie’s excitement and passion really come through here- she basically shouts her way through the song, but she’s young and having fun so it works perfectly.

Neonlight Lipstick- (2014)

Dance music excellence! Very evocative of the time it was released, in someone elses hands this couldve sounded like an LMFAO song. Thankfully, Neonlight Lipstick is Namie at her cockiest- 'I'm the most stylelicious! I see you looking at me!' and 'I'm the most delicious! I'm gonna show you my tricks like Ra Cha Cha!' are just two examples of how, by this point, she knew she was that bitch and was just having fun with it. A club banger through and through, chants, a heavy bass line and a production that goes from a sparse pre chorus to an all in chorus at a rate of 6000 mph easily explain why this bangerwent platinum in Japan so quickly!

Want Me Want Me- (2005)

A hip hop song with an earm worm of a sitar sample throughout, this dance track is quickly elavated to another level. Bhangra inspired chants and choreography accompany to create a sense of allurement whilst also subverting gender roles. Namie is unafraid to talk about herself, take control and say what she wants- it’s called want me want me, not want you want you for a reason! A song where one sings about her oochie oochie poppin coochie and making sure her partner slips the Trojan on before going any further would be ridiculous in anyone else’s hands, but Namie’s deadpan don’t f with me I don’t wanna be here delivery and expression in the video serve to create a fierce bop. Also props to her for promoting safe sex. Smart Queen.

Love 2000- (2000)

Ominous drip drop synths slowly build up into an orchestral symphony before dropping into an industrial pop drum led production in this retro vibes mid tempo. Released at the turn of the millennium this song encapsulates that feeling of looking back at the past whilst also looking into a bright future- a decidedly 90s beat is matched with Namie’s auto tuned (which was fairly new technology at the time), layered and vocoder’ed vocals creating an otherworldly, creepy effect. Added onto that the ritualistic chant of ‘we are the people of system 2000’ in the chorus and the matrix meets 1984 esque music video, this suggests that Namie was perhaps afraid of what was to come when we hit the big 2000. Maybe she thought that the computers were gonna take over the world or whatever everyone was convinced was gonna happen. I don’t know I was only 3 then! Thankfully that didn’t happen and I am able to enjoy and share this experimental PS2 vibe bop with you all.

B who I want 2 B- (2015)

Now if you told me Namie Amuro- a woman famous for not smiling, would collab with Hatsune Miku, the world famous vocaloid and the endlessly cheerful virtual idol, I’d have laughed in your face. So for some reason Namie decided to show me up and did just that. Produced by SOPHIE (yes- THEE SOPHIE!!) this song shows a playful, girlish side of Namie- she’s pitched up to the 9s to match Miku and backed by that quintessential SOPHIE production- less pots and pans and more tennis balls being thwacked into a wall this time though. However what I like most about this song and the reason it made this list are the lyrics (they are mostly English but there’s a couple Japanese phrases thrown in there so it counts for my rules!). An upbeat, empowering tune about the joys of single life it truly captures Namie’s essence- no one knows Ms. Amuro better than herself and all she needs is her, so try as those boys might, she’s not gonna give up being herself for anything or anyone. And she really truly didn’t and that steadfastness made her the living legend she is today. And I think that’s just swell.

An overall legend like no other, Namie has left a hole in the hearts of fans worldwide with her decision to withdraw from public life, but honestly, after all she's been through and dedicating her life from childhood to this legacy she's created, she deserves a life of peace. The fact she went out leaving it all on the stage shows what a true icon she is. If you want to get into her discography after this I'd do nothing but recommend it. It's well worth it. I hope you enjoyed this little educational trip and I'll see you next time for another introduction! (Namie if you read this from your private island, please unblock your full PVs on YouTube, cheers hun!)