Namie Amuro

Name: Amuro Namie (Namie Amuro)
Japanese name: 安室奈美恵
Chinese name: 安室奈美惠
Birth name: Maruyama Namie
Birth date: September 20, 1977
Birth place: Naha, Okinawa, Japan
Height: 158cm
Blood type: O
Family member: Son (named Haruto), a brother and two sisters
Profession: Singer

Amuro Namie started performing at the age of 12 in a little Okinawan supermarket. At 15, Amuro and 4 classmates from her acting school formed a group called the “Super Monkeys,” and their songs received some public interest in Tokyo. The Super Monkeys also attracted the attention of music mogul Tetsuya Komuro, who decided to mentor Amuro into a superstar. The remainders of the Super Monkeys were later reformed as a girl group “MAX” and achieved decent success of their own.

Tetsuya Komuro first production for Amuro, “Body Feels Exit,” exploded her into Japanese music scene. Amuro’s music dominated Japanese music charts and became Japanese music top seller in 1996.

Amuro Namie was not just famous for her music, but also her fashion & style. Amuro was a fashion icon among teenage girls with highlighted hair, thin eye brows, tan skin, short skirts and high boots. The trend (or followers) was named Amuras or Amuroers, and can still be seen everywhere in Asia nowadays. In late 1997, Amuro shocked her fans by announcing her marriage (and pregnancy) with Sam, dancer from popular band TRF, she gave birth to her child Haruto in May 1998.

In December 1998 Amuro made her comeback with single “I Have Never Seen” which debuted as a #1 hit. Things were however not the same again, although still very popular, Amuro was no longer the pop-diva that dominated Japanese music, facing fierce rivalry from then rising star Ayumi Hamasaki. In 1999, Amuro decided to make improvements with her music and worked with American producer Dallas Austin to bring more R&B into Japan music scene. Before she could produce anything, Amuro was shocked by terrible news that her mother (Japanese-Italian mixed) was brutally murdered and it slowed down Amuro’s ambition in her music career.

Amuro ended her collaboration with mentor Tetsuya Komuro in 2001 and in 2002 she shocked the Japanese music scene again with pseudonym “Suite Chic.” Suite Chic was an R&B project where Amuro worked with numerous Japanese R&B and Hip Hop artist to produce a few singles and an original album.

Amuro Namie divorced with her husband, Sam in July 2002. Suit Chic project was ended in 2003 with success and Amuro was back to solo. She released her first original album in three years, “Style” end of 2003, followed by series of singles and 2005 album, “Queen of Hip Pop.”

Amuro Namie is also famous for her annual concert tour, she only missed it during her pregnancy, and her concert never failed to attract full house of fans and audience.

Amuro Namie created another record in early 2007 for becoming the first ever artist to have a Top 10 Singles at ORICON chart for 13 consecutive years.