Namie Amuro. First Name Pronunciation: NAH-ME-EH. The one who apparently “ended the golden era of J-pop” with her retirement in 2018.
Hamasaki is the goddess of J-Pop. Utada is the queen of J-pop. And Amuro? She is the real deal. And when it comes to that, she doesn’t fake it when it comes to disliking the foibles of the music and media industry. It’s a hard endeavor. That’s why I understand her blank expressions when posing for whatever she’s posing for. She looks bored to death. SHE LOOK’S LIKE SHE DOESN’T WANT TO DO THIS SHIT. So I get it. And that’s why she fled faster than the Road Runner before Avex would leave her in a pit and screaming in agony (rather than singing) like Hamasaki, regretting the whole deal. Girl done good and planned her life well before Avex got the chance to grab her with their money-loving claws just to photoshop her image at the age of 60. And While Namie probably enjoyed singing and dancing to the depths of the widest sea, she still had to sell her talent. A girl gotta get paid to feed the children at night. Nevertheless, it’s her style to not smile in front of a camera. So when she hit the jackpot with Finally, her biggest most genuine smile and expression ever was revealed. I believe it made her fans so proud.
Namie Amuro’s Discography
They always say, never judge an album by its cover. It’s true for Namie. While her album covers and Magazine covers rarely display emotion, her music is something else. She does what a singer is meant to do: sing. Not turn into a business by a label. While I still love listening to Hamasaki, her innovation has run dry yet she is still recording music as if she’s relevant. Unlike Utada and BONNIE PINK who write their own songs and music yet, they take their time and they always produce great work. While Namie didn’t write her songs, her voice is grounded and she did have major control over her artistry when she was famous.
I don’t want to write too much about Namie because enough has already been written. Namie is recognized as the Madonna of Japan and most of her career spanned many genres. She started off with hip-hop and r&b and later geared more towards pop. Other than that, I’ll just say Namie Amuro has had a tough life. Yet after all her blood, sweat, and tears of being one of the greatest icons in Japan and Asia too, Namie is now doing whatever she enjoys other than music, maybe sipping a piƱa colada on some island somewhere. Who knows. All I know is that she is probably laughing silently at all the rest of those trying to remain big in Japan saying, ” Well, they ain’t writing about my industry struggles. Heck, I made the industry. HAHAHA. Peace Out bitches.” Namie glad she left just at the death of J-pop. Therefore, I just want you to enjoy the sound that is Queen A.
