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.
Tempest
安室奈美恵 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
消えそうな灯にしたたるしずく
空へ還そうと
小さな手 差し出す
何をこころに決めたのか
誰よりも私が知っている
泣いてもひとりなら
時は巡り
再来の風に吹かれて
その願いは遠く
誰かの明日を照らすだろう
そんなに傷ついて
上手には笑えなくて
今は少しだけ
目を閉じて
嵐が過ぎるまで
抱えてしまった空洞を
埋めようと選んだ言葉は
虚しく響き
過去へと 流れ着く
耳をふさぎ生きているなら
それは色のない
世界と同じだから
私はあなたを許したい
時は巡り
再来の風に吹かれて
その思いは遠く
誰かの涙 ぬぐうだろう
いのちの恵みが
広漠な大地にあふれ
絶え間ない悲しみなど
どこにも
ありはしない
雷雨に舞う花びら
居場所を探して
さけんでいるんだ
声がかれるほどに
ぬかるみに足をとられ
最後のひとりになったとしても
でもどうして
信じてしまう
時は巡り
再来の風に吹かれて
その願いは遠く
誰かの明日を照らすだろう
泣いていた
笑っていた
すべてを慈しんで
降りそそぐ光の中
この道を歩いていこう
嵐が去っていく
The song "Tempest" by Amuro Namie tells the story of a young girl standing on the shore, watching the sea while tears fall from her eyes like drops of rain on a lamp that seems to be fading. She holds out her small hand, hoping to return the tears to the sky. The lyrics then suggest that she has made a decision inside her heart that nobody else knows about. Even when she is crying alone, she vows to become stronger. The time passes, and the wind brings a new storm, but her hope reaches someone else in the future. The girl continues to struggle and cannot laugh easily, but she closes her eyes just for a moment to wait for the storm to pass.
The following verse talks about how the girl tried to fill the void inside her by choosing her words carefully. But, it felt empty and hollow, and she ended up drifting away in the end. The girl seems to have a tough time living in a world without color, where she feels like she has to block her ears to survive. But, somehow she wants to forgive someone, and if she is alive, she wants to live brightly. There is a shift in mood when the girl acknowledges that the sorrows of life are not eternal and that nature continually overflows with blessings.
The chorus comes back again, where the girl observes that her wishes will eventually reach someone, and they will help heal their tears. She has loved everything, been crying, and laughing, and now she wants to walk in the pouring light, continuing her journey.
Line by Line Meaning
海を眺める少女がいた
There was a girl looking out at the sea.
消えそうな灯にしたたるしずく
Drops of water fell on the light that seems to be fading away.
空へ還そうと
To return it to the sky.
小さな手 差し出す
She reached out with her small hand.
何をこころに決めたのか
What did she decide in her heart?
誰よりも私が知っている
I know more than anyone else.
泣いてもひとりなら
Even if she cries, she is alone.
強くなろうと
She is trying to be strong.
時は巡り
Time passes by.
再来の風に吹かれて
Blown by the wind of change.
その願いは遠く
Her wish is far away.
誰かの明日を照らすだろう
But it will illuminate someone's tomorrow.
そんなに傷ついて
She is hurt so much.
上手には笑えなくて
She cannot laugh convincingly.
今は少しだけ
Just for a little while.
目を閉じて
She closes her eyes.
嵐が過ぎるまで
Until the storm passes.
抱えてしまった空洞を
The emptiness she has carried.
埋めようと選んだ言葉は
The words she chose to fill it.
虚しく響き
They sound hollow.
過去へと 流れ着く
They drift to the past.
耳をふさぎ生きているなら
If she closes her ears and lives,
それは色のない
It's colorless.
世界と同じだから
Because it is the same as the world.
私はあなたを許したい
I want to forgive you.
その思いは遠く
Her feelings are far away.
誰かの涙 ぬぐうだろう
But they will wipe someone's tears away.
いのちの恵みが
The blessings of life.
広漠な大地にあふれ
Overflow on the vast land.
絶え間ない悲しみなど
There is no constant sadness anywhere.
どこにも
Anywhere.
ありはしない
Does not exist.
雷雨に舞う花びら
Flower petals dancing in the thunderstorm.
居場所を探して
Searching for a place to belong.
さけんでいるんだ
Screaming.
声がかれるほどに
Until her voice becomes hoarse.
ぬかるみに足をとられ
Her feet got stuck in the mud.
最後のひとりになったとしても
Even if she becomes the last one.
でもどうして
But why?
信じてしまう
She believes it.
泣いていた
She was crying.
笑っていた
She was laughing.
すべてを慈しんで
Cherishing everything.
降りそそぐ光の中
In the pouring light.
この道を歩いていこう
Let's walk this path.
嵐が去っていく
The storm is leaving.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: (PKA NAOYMT) Naoaki Yamato
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ta Ta
歴代シングルから一曲ずつ収録のFinallyで
人気のあるFight Togetherだけでもよかったはずなのに
この曲も歌い直されて入ったということは
安室ちゃんやっぱり沖縄の人なんだなぁと感慨深い
champagne샴페인
Beautiful stage, Beautiful voice.. My Goddess Namie would be forever❤❤❤❤❤
Capitano Koizo
歌う姿が輝いてる👑✨
安室ちゃんのバラードは、安室ちゃんにしか歌えない。
当たり前のような事を言ってしまったけども(^_^;)
安室ちゃんはよく謙遜する人だったけど、こんなに胸を打つバラードを歌い上げる歌唱力と表現力は心から素晴らしいと思う。
Moon light2
安室ちゃんの隠れた名曲！
Balladaに未収録になっちゃったり、ライブでは2011しか歌われなかったりしてたけども、良曲！！
クソデッパ
発売した頃は、短調な曲だな、くらいの印象でしたが、このライブにいってから好きになりました。嵐＝東日本大震災を想起させます。個人的にも2011年は辛いことが多かったのですが、この曲があって良かったなと思います。
MK NA
安室ちゃんのライブでどの曲が1番印象残ってるかと聞かれればきっとこの曲だな。
恵
傷つくことを学んだ上で、出来る限り、誰もが傷つかないように人に優しくし続け、生きていくだけ...強くなりたい。
SuperBobodo
^^LOVE myPRETTIEST Namie~ no matter what happening in this pandemic time, YOU are myLOVE!!!!! ^^
谷口美鈴
やばすぎ‼️可愛い
マリテス 岸田
ずっとだいすきです❤️