[Namie Amuro] Let Namie drive it cause she's the SPEED STAR in her 40th thread!

[SunshineSlayer]

It's interesting to see a bunch of people here finally getting into her older stuff. Its funny to see the comments about Don't Wanna Cry being "different" for her. At the time, it wasn't different at all, that was pretty much her style. That's the image of Namie that the people of Japan have, more than her hip hop style now. (although I love both)

[Maemi]

Originally Posted by identity

i like No, both parts.. but didn't the 2nd part rip off an old destiny's child song?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zmq9KER3m0

The link is removed

@SunshineSlayer I know what you mean, and i agree. Also, I believe her Japanese fans still remember her as a queen of pop who brought some kind of revolution with SWEET 19 BLUES. Of course, there are fans who support her for her new, hip-pop style, but her influence in 90's was much bigger.

[jiarongisme]

Well, everything was fine and dandy. But Ayu just had to go into the picture. XD

[Maemi]

^ I think Utada is the one who got into the picture with First Love, and after her...Ayu.

[jiarongisme]

^ Ahh, true true. XD

[KarenPang]

top 100 singles of '09

20 *,117,183 ***,532 WILD/Dr. / 安室奈美恵 09/03/18

I can't believe it has been 3 months since the single was released

top 100 albums of '09

59 *,*69,738 ***,842 BEST FICTION / 安室奈美恵 08/07/30 累計1,516,887

it's still selling

[aloopy]

DAMN, still almost 1k a week for best fiction
i wonder what took those people so long before buying it

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by Maemi

^ I think Utada is the one who got into the picture with First Love, and after her...Ayu.

Yeah, but in Namie's case, her drop really happened more due to scandal than anything else. Although to us, getting pregnant and married is hardly a scandal.

[Maemi]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Yeah, but in Namie's case, her drop really happened more due to scandal than anything else. Although to us, getting pregnant and married is hardly a scandal.

That was a scandal?

[aloopy]

i never knew her pregnancy and marriage was a scandal

i always thought her fame dropped becuase she was gone for too long/changed her music style/ ayumi + utada taking over lol

[AyuHamasaki01]

Originally Posted by aloopy

i never knew her pregnancy and marriage was a scandal

i always thought her fame dropped becuase she was gone for too long/changed her music style/ ayumi + utada taking over lol

So did I.

If getting pregnant and marriage is a scandal in Japan then it's a weird county. Only because she is famous

[KarenPang]

I don't know if I'm right to say this but I think at that time , those issues were considered quite taboo & the Japanese public weren't accepting of such issues that befall on Japanese artistes & let alone Namie as they perceived idols to be perfect & etc

at least now they're a bit more open minded to a certain extent

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by KarenPang

I don't know if I'm right to say this but I think at that time , those issues were considered quite taboo & the Japanese public weren't accepting of such issues that befall on Japanese artistes & let alone Namie as they perceived idols to be perfect & etc

at least now they're a bit more open minded to a certain extent

Exactly. Nowadays I think they are a little less strict about that kind of thing. But a shotgun marriage at the height of her career WAS indeed considered a scandal - not to mention the huge age difference (19 and 35 I believe). It was a huge piece of news at the time. Women are expected to quit working once they are married. Just look at how many idols in the 80s got married and were never heard from again. That's just how Japan is, though as you mentioned, it has gradually been changing. That was what did her popularity in, in combination with taking time off to have the baby etc., not Ayumi or Hikki or someone else specific like that. When she came back, her style really wasn't THAT different - that didn't happen till around 2003 but less people supported her because of the married woman and child issue. Then she did the even more taboo thing of getting divorced. Divorce to this day in Japan is considered a taboo.

To give a recent example - Leah Dizon. Shotgun marriage recently, but she talks about wanting to come back afterwords. My boyfriend and I discussed it and he is native Japanese and said that there is no way Leah Dizon will come back even if she wants to, no one in Japan wants to see her now etc etc. That, by our standards, outdated view is still held to a fairly large extent in Japan. So imagine how much more it must have been 10+ years ago. That's what makes Namie's comeback all the more impressive.

[Maemi]

^ interesting... that makes Japan interesting =D

[Spiral]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

Exactly. Nowadays I think they are a little less strict about that kind of thing. But a shotgun marriage at the height of her career WAS indeed considered a scandal - not to mention the huge age difference (19 and 35 I believe). It was a huge piece of news at the time. Women are expected to quit working once they are married. Just look at how many idols in the 80s got married and were never heard from again. That's just how Japan is, though as you mentioned, it has gradually been changing. That was what did her popularity in, in combination with taking time off to have the baby etc., not Ayumi or Hikki or someone else specific like that. When she came back, her style really wasn't THAT different - that didn't happen till around 2003 but less people supported her because of the married woman and child issue. Then she did the even more taboo thing of getting divorced. Divorce to this day in Japan is considered a taboo.

To give a recent example - Leah Dizon. Shotgun marriage recently, but she talks about wanting to come back afterwords. My boyfriend and I discussed it and he is native Japanese and said that there is no way Leah Dizon will come back even if she wants to, no one in Japan wants to see her now etc etc. That, by our standards, outdated view is still held to a fairly large extent in Japan. So imagine how much more it must have been 10+ years ago. That's what makes Namie's comeback all the more impressive.

Whoa. So that makes Namie amazing. She had to fight her way back to the top. My hats off to her.

But Leah didn't have major success like Namie did in the beginning. Could that be part of it also?

[aloopy]

woah
i always thought the people in japan were happy for her
tbh i find it very strange that they concider that as taboo..

oh well. i'm even more proud of her for having such a huge comeback.
i hope she can keep it up

[koumori]

Originally Posted by SunshineSlayer

It's interesting to see a bunch of people here finally getting into her older stuff. Its funny to see the comments about Don't Wanna Cry being "different" for her. At the time, it wasn't different at all, that was pretty much her style. That's the image of Namie that the people of Japan have, more than her hip hop style now. (although I love both)

Ahahaha XD That would be meee~~ X_X

Sorry, I guess I'm used to the more R&B Namie-Namie >o<; LOLL.

And the shotgun marriage information..makes her so much more admirable. ^_^ Wow, go Namie~

[SunshineSlayer]

^ I think her popularity now is an example of the gradually changing mindset of Japan - women especially. Nowadays more and more women are thinking that it is ok to continue your work after marriage - even as close back as the 90s that was considered a very foreign concept to them. I think that since her comeback, Namie doesn't have as many male fans as she did back in the 90s but I do think she picked up female fans with that changing mindset and see her as something of a role model in that regard.

[Yum!Fruit_Salad!]

Originally Posted by prussian blue

namie was singing hitomi's song back iin the 90s!

It's clothing like this that makes me believe the 90s had the worst fashion.

[UHPlus]

Namie new tie-in with McDonald this summer?!