Tag - namie-amuro

 
 

NAMIE AMURO

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 20, 2015
Namie Amuro returned to form this year with '_genic'
Ten years ago, Namie Amuro's star appeared to be fading fast. The pop singer's massive popularity in the 1990s helped cement the rise of sleek J-pop, but by 2005, sales of her albums and singles were starting to come back to Earth. Worse still, the former "Queen of J-pop" was seemingly being lapped by rival singers Ayumi Hamasaki and Kumi Koda.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2013
Namie Amuro "Feel"
The age of the J-pop diva has long passed, those halcyon days of Whitney Houston-inspired vocals and million-unit-moving singles. The female entertainers from this period have recently coped by embracing American trends. Kumi Koda struck Oricon Single Chart gold last year with "Go To the Top," which featured elements of contemporary stateside electronic dance music (EDM). Ayumi Hamasaki's last release featured bass-heavy dubstep remixes of her tracks. And now comes Namie Amuro's 11th full-length album, "Feel," finding the Okinawa-born belter submerging herself in trendy electronics. Listening to it, you have to wonder what Amuro — and her contemporaries — are trying to do with this approach. Is it a bid for late-stage American success? Or just a new look for the Japanese market?

Longform

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