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.
Never Shoulda
安室奈美恵 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
ふと 揺らめいて 思わず耳をふさいだ
もいちどかすかに 信じたいけど
でも ダメだって 心が叫んでる
逢いたかったのに 淋しかったのに
よそばっかり見てたの 貴方の方でしょう
なのに今頃 私がすべてと
Never shoulda let me go
Even if your heart said so
Now that I'm out of your life
You want me back forever
でも遅すぎる みんな終わったわ
貴方の愛は もう必要ない
2 months 出かけずに ノックの音無視した
昼夜 いつだって 留守電にしたままで
こんなにはかなく 壊れるなんて
ずっと 続くように 祈ってたのに
欲しがるものは なんでもあげる
寒い体を 包んであげる
笑顔が見たいと 願った夜に
貴方はどこかで 誰かと笑ってた
Never shoulda let me go
Even if your heart said so
Now that I'm out of your life
You want me back forever
でも遅すぎた あの時でなきゃ
貴方の愛は もう届かない
Never shoulda let me go
Even if your heart said so
Now that I'm out of your life
You want me back forever
Remember when you hurt me so
Sometimes I don't know
Since I'm over you now
Then I don't want you ever
Never shoulda let me go
Even if your heart said so
Now that I'm out of your life
You want me back forever
でも遅すぎた あの時でなきゃ
貴方の愛は もう届かない
Never shoulda let me go
Now that I'm out of your life
You want me back forever
Even if your heart said so
Since I'm over you now then I don't want you ever
Never shoulda let me go
Even if your heart said so
Now that I'm out of your life
You want me back forever
でも遅すぎる みんな終わったわ (even if your heart said so sometimes I don't know)
貴方の愛は もう必要ない (since I'm over you now then I don't want you ever)
Never shoulda let me go
Even if your heart said so
Now that I'm out of your life
You want me back forever
でも遅すぎた あの時でなきゃ
貴方の愛は もう届かない
The lyrics of "never shoulda" by 安室奈美恵 (Namie Amuro) convey a sense of regret and longing in a relationship that has come to an end. The singer describes receiving numerous phone calls from her former lover, but she hesitates to answer them, trying to shield herself from the pain. She admits that she still wants to believe in their love, but her heart is screaming that it's impossible.
The song reflects on the feelings of loneliness and wanting to see the person again, despite always being overlooked and now being the one that the former lover clings to. The singer regrets letting go of the relationship, but it's too late now. She no longer needs his love and realizes that it's no longer necessary.
In the second verse, the lyrics illustrate the singer's two months of staying home, ignoring the knocks on the door and leaving her phone message box full. She had hoped that the relationship would continue indefinitely, but it shatters unexpectedly. She had been willing to give anything, wrap him in warmth, and even wished for his smile, but he was somewhere else, laughing with someone else.
The chorus repeats the regret of letting go, emphasizing that even if their heart told them to let go, it was a mistake. The singer acknowledges that the love has ended, and it's too late for reconciliation. She no longer wants him and has moved on.
Overall, "never shoulda" expresses the pain and regret of a failed relationship and the realization that sometimes letting go is necessary for personal growth and happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
10 calls 鳴り続く きっと貴方からの電話
My phone keeps ringing, I'm sure it's your call
ふと 揺らめいて 思わず耳をふさいだ
Suddenly, I felt a pang of sadness and covered my ears
もいちどかすかに 信じたいけど
I want to believe again, even if it's just a faint hope
でも ダメだって 心が叫んでる
But my heart is screaming that it's no use
逢いたかったのに 淋しかったのに
I wanted to see you, I was lonely
よそばっかり見てたの 貴方の方でしょう
I was looking everywhere except for you, right?
なのに今頃 私がすべてと
And yet now you cling to me as if I'm everything to you
情けないほど すがりついて来るなんて
It's pathetic how you desperately hold on to me
Never shoulda let me go
You should never have let me go
Even if your heart said so
Even if your heart told you to
Now that I'm out of your life
Now that I'm no longer in your life
You want me back forever
You want me back forever
でも遅すぎる みんな終わったわ
But it's too late, everything has ended
貴方の愛は もう必要ない
I don't need your love anymore
2 months 出かけずに ノックの音無視した
For 2 months, I ignored the sound of your knocks
昼夜 いつだって 留守電にしたままで
Day and night, I kept my voicemail on
こんなにはかなく 壊れるなんて
I never thought I would break so easily
ずっと 続くように 祈ってたのに
I prayed for it to last forever
欲しがるものは なんでもあげる
I would give you anything you wanted
寒い体を 包んであげる
I would wrap my cold body around you
笑顔が見たいと 願った夜に
On the nights when I wished to see your smile
貴方はどこかで 誰かと笑ってた
You were somewhere, laughing with someone else
でも遅すぎた あの時でなきゃ
But it was too late, if it wasn't for that time
貴方の愛は もう届かない
Your love will never reach me
Remember when you hurt me so
Remember when you hurt me so
Sometimes I don't know
Sometimes I don't know
Since I'm over you now
Since I'm over you now
Then I don't want you ever
Then I don't want you ever
Never shoulda let me go
You should never have let me go
Even if your heart said so
Even if your heart told you to
Now that I'm out of your life
Now that I'm no longer in your life
You want me back forever
You want me back forever
でも遅すぎた あの時でなきゃ
But it was too late, if it wasn't for that time
貴方の愛は もう届かない
Your love will never reach me
Never shoulda let me go
You should never have let me go
Now that I'm out of your life
Now that I'm no longer in your life
You want me back forever
You want me back forever
Even if your heart said so
Even if your heart told you to
Since I'm over you now
Since I'm over you now
Then I don't want you ever
Then I don't want you ever
Never shoulda let me go
You should never have let me go
Even if your heart said so
Even if your heart told you to
Now that I'm out of your life
Now that I'm no longer in your life
You want me back forever
You want me back forever
でも遅すぎる みんな終わったわ
But it's too late, everything has ended
貴方の愛は もう必要ない
I don't need your love anymore
Never shoulda let me go
You should never have let me go
Even if your heart said so
Even if your heart told you to
Now that I'm out of your life
Now that I'm no longer in your life
You want me back forever
You want me back forever
でも遅すぎた あの時でなきゃ
But it was too late, if it wasn't for that time
貴方の愛は もう届かない
Your love will never reach me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Dallas Austin, Jasper Cameron
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind