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.
RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE
安室奈美恵 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
えがお 見せるまで
とおく
さみしい想い吹きとばして!
こんなに変われる運命より強く
磁石のようにあなたにひかれた
純粋なあこがれと
子供のような無邪気さと
あなたを大切にする気持ち
誰でももし男女が
人間でありたいなら
Respect ah respect
Respect the power of love
誰かに伝えたい
伝えなきゃ守れない
愛を守るため
うそはつけない かくせない
どこかにかくれて
四角い空ながめてた
だけど昨日も
Respect the power of love
それでよかった
(Respect the power of love)
(Respect the power of love)
ほとんどは許してくれない
まわりや世間は許してくれない
1人じゃたえられそうもない
そんなときは
はやくあなたに会いたい
傷みもつらさもいやすこと
出来はじめた
このごろでも変わらない
あなたを救いたい気持ち
誰でももし男女が
人間でありたいなら
Respect ah respect
Respect the power of love
今日も明日も全部心は
満たしきれない wow
どうしてこんなに
ただ前に進まなきゃならない?
(Respect the power of love)
誰かに知らせたい
It's the power of love
何よりも wow
誰かに伝えたい
マイフェバリィット
好きだけじゃない
Respect respect respect
Respect the power of love
誰かに伝えたい
伝えなきゃ守れない
愛を守るため うそはつけない
かくせない
(Respect the power of love)
どこかにかくれて
四角い空ながめてた
だけど昨日も
Respect the power of love
それでよかった
The lyrics of 安室奈美恵's song "RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE" express the power of love to transform and heal pain and loneliness. The opening lines encourage holding onto each other tightly until they both exhibit happy and fulfilled smiles. The song emphasizes the strength and allure of love, using a magnet as a metaphor for its ability to attract individuals to each other. The singer expresses undying love and an unchanging desire to cherish and protect her partner. The chorus reinforces the importance of respecting the power of love, as it protects them from deceit and the inability to hide truths.
Line by Line Meaning
つよく 抱いていて
Hold me tightly
えがお 見せるまで
Until I smile
とおく さみしい想い吹きとばして!
Blow away the distant lonely feelings!
こんなに変われる運命より強く
Stronger than fate that can change so much
磁石のようにあなたにひかれた
Drawn to you like a magnet
純粋なあこがれと
Pure longing
子供のような無邪気さと
Childlike innocence
このごろでも変わらない
Unchanged even now
あなたを大切にする気持ち
The feeling of cherishing you
誰でももし男女が
If anyone, whether man or woman,
人間でありたいなら
Wants to be a human,
Respect ah respect
Respect ah respect
Respect the power of love
Respect the power of love
誰かに伝えたい
I want to tell someone
伝えなきゃ守れない
I must tell to protect
愛を守るため
To protect our love
うそはつけない かくせない
Cannot tell a lie or hide it
どこかにかくれて
Hiding somewhere
四角い空ながめてた
Staring at the square sky
だけど昨日も
But even yesterday
Respect the power of love
Respect the power of love
それでよかった
And that's good
(Respect the power of love)
(Respect the power of love)
(Respect the power of love)
(Respect the power of love)
ほとんどは許してくれない
Most won't forgive
まわりや世間は許してくれない
The world and people around won't forgive
1人じゃたえられそうもない
Cannot bear it alone
そんなときは
At times like that
はやくあなたに会いたい
I want to see you as soon as possible
傷みもつらさもいやすこと
Healing both pain and suffering
出来はじめた
Begun to be possible
このごろでも変わらない
Unchanged even now
あなたを救いたい気持ち
The feeling of wanting to save you
Respect ah respect
Respect ah respect
Respect the power of love
Respect the power of love
今日も明日も全部心は
Today, tomorrow, all my heart
満たしきれない wow
Cannot fill completely wow
どうしてこんなに
Why is it like this
ただ前に進まなきゃならない?
Just have to move forward?
(Respect the power of love)
(Respect the power of love)
誰かに知らせたい
I want to let someone know
It's the power of love
It's the power of love
何よりも wow
More than anything wow
マイフェバリィット
My favorite
好きだけじゃない
Not just love
Respect respect respect
Respect respect respect
Respect the power of love
Respect the power of love
誰かに伝えたい
I want to tell someone
伝えなきゃ守れない
I must tell to protect
愛を守るため うそはつけない
To protect our love, I cannot lie
かくせない
I cannot hide it
(Respect the power of love)
(Respect the power of love)
どこかにかくれて
Hiding somewhere
四角い空ながめてた
Staring at the square sky
だけど昨日も
But even yesterday
Respect the power of love
Respect the power of love
それでよかった
And that's good
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Tetsuya Komuro
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
kage tsumugi Bz
とってもとっても大好きな曲です。
CMで初めて聞いた時から好きで、テレビ番組で披露したのを聴いてもっと好きになって、
でも発売日にあんな事が起きて……
聴く度に色んな感情が沸き立つけれど、
聴く度に元気を貰える曲です。
安室ちゃんが今日も、笑顔で過ごせていますように……(；＿；)💕
関谷順子
❤
ひよこ豆
全部安室ちゃんの曲は良いけど、この曲は飛び抜けてる。あの時期にこの曲、歌詞、メロディ、神がかっていると思いました。素晴らしい。
Capitano Koizo
当時、本当にカッコ良いと思った。
他の方も仰っていますが、安室ちゃん自身が崩れてしまってもおかしくない程の、ツラい事や苦しい事に畳み掛けられた時期だったけど、それにも関わらず、他者を敬う気持ち、愛の力、この曲を歌い抜いた安室ちゃんは本当に強くて、尊い存在になった(T_T)
Y Higa
何度も励まされた曲。
この曲が発売された当時、辛い事件の直後に生放送特番で涙ぐみながら歌ってたのが今でも忘れられない。
歌手を辞めずに、引退まで沢山の素晴らしい歌を届けてくれてありがとう。
世界の舞台にも立ち、
多くの人を魅了したこと。
同じ沖縄出身者としてとても誇りに思います。安室ちゃんの全盛期に楽曲を楽しむことができて幸運でした。ありがとう。
RB10 fantasista
Finallyのベストアルバムにも再録されていましたが、特にこの曲での安室さんの歌唱力の高さにとても感心しましたね。本当に元気と力を頂ける名曲だと思います！😄
my melody
安室ちゃんの曲のなかでも一番好きな曲です。神編集ありがとうございます。
MCM
歌詞の中に、どうしてこんなに目の前に進まなきゃならない。
私はこの曲のこの歌詞が大好きです。
辛い時、苦しい時、思い通りにならない時に必ず聴いています。安室ちゃんから力がもらえるから‼️
安室ちゃん、ありがとう😆💕✨
슈크림
음악의 힘이란 정말 대단하다
tara tyan
日本嫌いな方も、ファンにしてしまう歌手はすごいです😮