She initially debuted in 1992 as the lead singer of SUPER MONKEY'S, with fellow Okinawa Actors School classmates MAX as back dancers. After the group disbanded, she eventually had her solo debut in 1995 on the Avex Trax label with the Tetsuya Komuro produced single "Body Feels EXIT", which was an instant hit. The following singles "Chase the Chance", "Don't wanna cry" and "You're my sunshine" all sold 1 million copies during a short period of time. In 1996, Namie released her debut solo album "SWEET 19 BLUES" which sold 3.8 millions of copies throughout Japan and broke sales records at the time. It is the 12th most selling album of all time in Japan. At the end of 1996 she won the Grand Prix Award, the highest honor at the Japan Record Awards, for "Don't wanna cry". Another monumental release for Amuro was 1997's "CAN YOU CELEBRATE?", which was the best selling release of the year, and remains the best-selling physically released single by a solo female artist in Japan.
In 1997, Namie shocked everyone when she announced that SAM (from the band TRF) and she were getting married and that she was pregnant. Namie took a break from the entertainment business and her son, Haruto, was born on May 19, 1998.
Her comeback single, "I HAVE NEVER SEEN", released on December 23rd the same year, gave Amuro a warm welcome back to the industry. "I HAVE NEVER SEEN" became Amuro's 9th number-one single.
On March 17th, 1999, Amuro released her 12th single, "RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE". On the same day, Emiko Taira, Amuro's mother, was murdered. All promotional activites for the single grinded to a halt as Amuro flew to Okinawa to identify Emiko's body. A short break followed for Amuro to recover.
A few months later, Amuro began to work with producer Dallas Austin, known for his work with American hip-hop/R&B trio, TLC. This shift was in part to Amuro's personal desire to create more R&B and Hip-Hop oriented music. In 2001, Amuro parted ways with long-time producer Tetsuya Komuro, as part of her musical direction shift. From this point on, Amuro always would be in complete creative control of her career. Around this time, Amuro made a few attempts at writing lyrics for her songs, including her single "Say the word", which hit #3 on the Oricon charts, and remained a fan-favorite with Amuro performing the song over numerous tours, including her final tour, which included 20 songs that garnered the most fan votes.
Amuro and SAM would divorce in 2002, and Amuro would completely mmerse herself in her work, hardening her R&B and Hip-Hop sound, collaboriating with a number of artists under a sonic project entitled "SUITE CHIC". "SUITE CHIC" helped empower Amuro to not "be stuck in the past" with her music, as she felt mentally constricted by her name at the time. Feeling liberated after releasing a SUITE CHIC album, Amuro would continue to refine her sound and image with the following albums "STYLE" in 2003, and "Queen of Hip-Pop" in 2005.
"PLAY", released on June 27, 2007, became Amuro's highest-selling studio album since her 2000 album, "GENIUS 2000", sold 540,000 copies, and contained another fan-favorite release, "Baby Don't Cry", which reached #3 on the Oricon charts.
2008 marked a new peak in Amuro's career. In March, she released a new single, "60s70s80s", which became her 10th #1 single, the first one for Amuro since 1998's "I HAVE NEVER SEEN".
Amuro released her third "best of" album "BEST FICTION", on July 30, 2008. "BEST FICTION" proceeded to spend 6 weeks at the #1 position on the Oricon charts, had the highest first-week album sales of any release in 2008, became the #2 best overall-selling album of that year, and has sold more than 1.4 million copies since its release.
Namie started a new arena tour called Namie Amuro BEST FICTION 2008-2009 tour. It ran from October 25, 2008 to May 31, 2009. This was her first tour Amuro held sans songs produced by Tetsuya Komuro.
From 2009 on, Amuro would steadily release chart-topping studio albums. Straying from the traditional methods of the Japanese music industry yet again, Amuro decided to utilize a strategy of focusing on touring as means of promotion, rather than TV and commercial appearances. What resulted was a beneficial business move, while fulfilling Amuro's long-time preference to perform over giving interviews. This cultivated a very loyal and diverse fanbase that would consistently result in sold-out shows whenever Amuro toured.
From 2010 to 2018, as Amuro performed relentlessly long tours every year, Amuro remained consistent and dedicated to giving performances she felt she could be proud of, and in the process, quietly withheld that after a vocal cord injury in 2010, Amuro's vocal cords slowly were deteriorating. Amuro later revealed this was the deciding factor in her retirement, as she did not want to perform at a level she personally could not accept.
After her 25th anniversary concert in Okinawa, Amuro announced that she would retire from the industry on September 16th, 2018. The masses, aggrieved with this announcement, even created the name "Amuloss" for the emotion that was felt, knowing Amuro would leave a great void in the music industry.
A greatest hits album, "Finally" would be released in November of 2017 and would go on to sell over 2.5 million copies and be the best-selling album in Japan for both 2017 and 2018. Starting in March 2018, "namie amuro Final Tour 2018 ~Finally~" would result in Amuro breaking both ticket and Blu-ray/DVD sales records. With shows in all 5 major Japanese domes, including and a handful of shows outside of Japan, nearly 800,000 were in attendance. Pre-orders alone for the Blu-rays/DVDs would exceed the best-selling concert video release at that time. Combined DVD and Blu-ray sales for "namie amuro Final Tour 2018 ~Finally~" have sold over 1.74 million since its release in late August 2018.
Free
安室奈美恵 Lyrics
Jump to: Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh baby
Free free free yeah
Free free free (I'm free) free
Free free free yeah free free
Tell me what you wanna do
同じ道たどっても
それでも走らされてる 意味もなく rail のうえを
ただの pretty doll になっても何も始まらないのに
私らしくあるために必要な pride みにつける (yeah yeah)
時に弱さもみせるの 君にだけ君にだけは
うるさい雑音抜け出して必要な未来みつける (yeah yeah)
どんな遠回りだっていい いつも きっと そう自分しだい
Any kind of time I am free free free
You know because that I am free free free
余計なモノは何一ついらない (free free)
Any kind of time I am free free free
You know because that I am free free free
どんな時代がきても I live 強くいたい
Yeah yeah
Free free free yeah free free
(Verse two)
Tell me what you wanna do
求められてるままの場所も
きっと悪くない but つまらない yeah yeah yeah yeah
何かを変えたくて何かを伝えようとして
時に責められ くらう衝撃 yeah yeah 痛く切ないけど
私らしくあるために必要な pride みにつける (yeah yeah)
時に弱さもみせるの 君にだけ君にだけは
うるさい雑音抜け出して必要な未来みつける (yeah yeah)
どんな遠回りだっていい守るモノは いつも ここに
Any kind of time I am free free free
You know because that I am free free free
余計なモノは何一ついらない (free free)
Any kind of time I am free free free
You know because that I am free free free
どんな時代がきても I live 強くいたい
見捨てぬ夢をその胸に抱け
あきらめず 突き進め ありのままに hey girls
全て脱ぎ捨て今夜は朝まで
踊り明かせ もっと騒げ ありのままに hey girls (hey girls)
Any kind of time I am free free free
You know because that I am free free free
余計なモノは何一ついらない (free free)
Any kind of time I am free free free
You know because that I am free free free
どんな時代がきても I live 強くいたい
Any kind of time I am free free free
You know because that I am free free free
余計なモノは何一ついらない (free free)
Any kind of time I am free free free
You know because that I am free free free
どんな時代がきても I live 強くいたい
Yeah (yeah) oh oh oh c'mon
An urging to step up and take charge of one's own life and destiny, with a sense of confidence and enthusiasm expressed through the repeated syllables and sounds.
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh baby
A playful and flirtatious address to a lover, encouraging them to join in the spirit of fun and freedom being expressed.
Free free free yeah
Affirming that freedom is the core value being celebrated in the song, with repetitions to emphasize how important it is.
Free free free (I'm free) free
Indicating that the artist has already achieved a sense of liberation and autonomy, and is eager to share that feeling with others through the song.
Tell me what you wanna do
Inviting the listener to engage with the song's message and consider what actions they might take to live more freely and happily.
同じ道たどっても
Even if we walk the same path together,
行き着く先はかわらない わかりきってるのに yeah yeah yeah yeah
We'll end up in the same place we knew we would all along, yeah yeah yeah yeah
それでも走らされてる 意味もなく rail のうえを
Still, we keep running forward without any real destination, like we're on a train going nowhere.
ただの pretty doll になっても何も始まらないのに
Even if we become nothing more than pretty dolls, it won't change anything or move us forward.
私らしくあるために必要な pride みにつける (yeah yeah)
Learning to be proud of who we are (yeah yeah) is essential to being true to ourselves.
時に弱さもみせるの 君にだけ君にだけは
Sometimes, we have to show our vulnerability, but only to someone we truly trust.
うるさい雑音抜け出して必要な未来みつける (yeah yeah)
Tuning out the noise and distractions in our lives (yeah yeah) is necessary to find the future that we really need.
どんな遠回りだっていい いつも きっと そう自分しだい
It's okay if we take the long way around (どんな遠回りだっていい) - in the end, it's always (いつも) up to ourselves (自分しだい) to make our lives what we want them to be.
Any kind of time I am free free free
Repeating the chorus to reiterate the song's central message: that living a free and independent life is possible, no matter what the circumstances might be.
You know because that I am free free free
Stating that this freedom is not an abstract concept but a lived reality for the singer, and that others can know it too.
余計なモノは何一ついらない (free free)
Better to be free of anything unnecessary. (free free)
どんな時代がきても I live 強くいたい
Whatever time may come, I want to live strongly.
求められてるままの場所も
Even the places we feel obligated to be,
きっと悪くない but つまらない yeah yeah yeah yeah
Are probably not bad, but they're definitely boring - yeah yeah yeah yeah
何かを変えたくて何かを伝えようとして
Sometimes, we want to change something or tell someone what's on our mind.
時に責められ くらう衝撃 yeah yeah 痛く切ないけど
But sometimes we face blame and criticism, and it hurts - yeah yeah - even though it's also cutting and sorrowful.
守るモノはいつも ここに
The things we must protect are always right here.
見捨てぬ夢をその胸に抱け
Hold fast to your dreams, don't give up on them.
あきらめず 突き進め ありのままに hey girls
Don't give up, but push forward, being true to yourself - hey girls!
全て脱ぎ捨て今夜は朝まで
Strip away everything and let loose tonight until morning.
踊り明かせ もっと騒げ ありのままに hey girls (hey girls)
Dance all night, get rowdier, be true to yourself - hey girls! (hey girls)
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Namie Amuro, Nao'ymt
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind