generasia:Featured article for 2009 week 50

Amuro Namie

Amuro Namie (安室奈美恵) is a Japanese "Hip-Pop" (Hip-Hop / Pop) artist from Okinawa. She debuted in a eurobeat group called the SUPER MONKEYS comprised of her and her classmates from the Okinawa Actors' School in 1992 with the single Koi no Cute Beat / Mister U.S.A.. Amuro became the leader of the group, and found success after their cover of TRY ME ~Watashi wo Shinjite~, which peaked at #8. In 1996, Amuro switched to avex trax and debuted with the single Body Feels EXIT, with her first avex album selling over 3.3 million copies. Her biggest single, the ballad CAN YOU CELEBRATE?, was the top single of 1997. After marriage and personal tragedy, Amuro continued to adopt a more R&B/hip-hop based style of music. She has sold over 27 million copies in Japan alone.

Although never out of the spotlight, Amuro's popularity was reboosted after her #1 single 60s 70s 80s became her first #1 single in 10 years, which ended up being the #18 best-selling single of 2008. This was the lead-in single to BEST FICTION, arguably one of the most popular albums of her career. This album achieved 6 consecutive #1 spots on Oricon's album charts, with Amuro being one of the only singers in the world to achieve such a feat. Her upcoming album PAST < FUTURE will be released on December 16th of 2009.