NeWs

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Amuro Namie was born into this world on
September 20th, 1977 in a place called Naha
City, Okinawa, Japan. I guess she owes her
charisma to her parents where she is actually
75% Japanese and 25% Italian.


Among her siblings, she is the youngest
where upon reaching the age of 3 her parents
got divorced and was left in the hands of
mother. For education, she attended the Joto
Elementary school and then Ishimine Junior High School.


She became very obssesed with dancing at a young age, however
the magic spark began at a much later date whilst attending the
Okinawa Actors School. The school's first popular student was
Yoshie Hayasaka, who was widely accepted in the entertainment
industry in the 1980's. During 1980 to 1990, after having seen
Yoshie appear on TV, decided to join the school at that time she
was 11.


The amount of effort Amuro had to put through can only be
described as hardcore. Because her family was poor she could not
affort transportation after having payed off her school fees.


The duration to and from school lasted about 3 hours and then
back. This daily exersice has definately toughen her up in her
earlier yaers sinse performing on stage does not even phase her.


Okinawa Actors School
Izumizaki 1-11-1
Naha City, Okinawa
JAPAN


Making the Move


After graduating the school in 1992, Amuro move a little bit closer
to her dreams. She joined a group called the Supermonkeys, which
comprised of herself and fellow students, Ameku Minako, Takushi
Nanako, Aragaki Hisako and Makino Anna (the daughter of the
head of the school). They signed up on the Toshiba EMI record
label and started making music. After the 1st single, "Mr. USA"
was released, Anna left for personal reasons. Anna did what she
had to get them started in the industry. Now the students had got
themselves through the front door. The group's name changed to
Supermonkeys 4 and they moved to Tokyo to expand their careers.
This was a necessity since there was no hope of becoming popular
without making it Tokyo, the center-stage of entertainment. Mina
and Nana were only 14 years old.


The second, third, and fourth singles were not that successful just
like the first. While the fourth single, "Paradise Train", was being
produced, Hisako left and Nakasone joined the group. When this
single was actually released, the group changed their name to
Namie Amuro with Supermonkeys. Amuro really stood out from the
others (she was always the lead singer anyway). Naksone left after
that and Miyauchi Reina and Matsuda Ritsuko joined before the
fifth single, "Try Me - Watashi Wo Shinjite". At the ages of 16,
they too moved to Tokyo. These times were a drastic change for
the group with all the member and name changes.


On the sideline between 1992 and 1994, when Amuro was in grade
8, she appeared on a kid's TV program called Hirake Ponkikki. She
also appeared on a TV Drama called "Shounan Liverpool Gakuin"
which was about high school life.


Success Finally


Prior to December 1994, they were all sad because they were
not accepted. However, that December they gave a very
impressive song called "Try Me". This was a turning point in
their careers as the single was such a big hit with 750,000 in
sales, still sold to this day. This single made a precedent on
their music style, which was Eurobeat. Their following two
singles, "Taiyo No Season" and "Stop the Music" were also
involved the much anticipated Eurobeat. Although their
popularity was increasing, it just so happened that Amuro
wanted to work on something a little bit different. The group
decided to split so Ameku Minako, Takushi Nanako,
Miyauchi Reina and Matsuda Ritsuko formed another group
called MAX prior to "Stop the Music" being released.


It was very hard for Amuro and the Supermonkeys in the
beginning because the outcome of their performances and
singles were not that good. This was a good learning
experience because it was an uphill battle. Being an instant
success wouldn't have taught them the value of hard work. If
they did do well, and then had a failure, they would have
been disappointed for the first time and may not have
understood what happened.


The Next Level - TK Produced


A rather new and small record label, Avex Trax, was being
formed which mainly consisted of dance oriented groups. It
was perfect for an artist turned producer, Komuro Tetsuya,
who is known for producing the techno / rave group TRF in
1992-1993. He created TRF because of the increasing
popularity of that type of music in the Japanese market. They
became one of the best groups in 1994/5. Around mid 1995,
TK caught a glimpse of Amuro and saw good potential in her.
The alliance of TK, Amuro, and Avex Trax was later written in
the history books as a great success. Although Amuro split
from MAX, they both have contacts under Avex Trax and
sometimes perform together.


The 8th single, "Body Feels Exit", under TK production, was
a mega hit. It sold more than a million copies and it's a
favorite of most fans. Her past and present make her future so
listen to the past works also. Many people have the
misconception that "Try Me" was her first single.


Amazingly all the singles after that were number one hits,
based on the Oricon charts which show sales figures
throughout Japan. She's had various tour and concerts over
the spring and summer of 1996 and 1997. She's been in
commercials ranging from audio (Maxell MiniDiscs, UD
Tapes), cars (Nissan SRV), makeup (Takano Yuri, Kose),
fashion (Fila), food(Mistio softdrink, Lotte chocolate and ice
cream), and the list goes on. There are countless TV shows
she's been on including music shows such as Hey! Hey!
Hey! Music Champ, Yorumi No Hit Parade, and Countdown
TV.


Now it's mid 1997 and there is a summer concert, a new single,
and the new album, "Concentration 20", to look forward to.
The success continues but Amuro is getting tired. Anyone
can see this by her face and reactions on the TV music
programs. She needs and will take a break. Later this year she
will turn 20 years old and that means the "coming of age
ceremony" (next January 15). The last couple of singles are a
change from the usual dance stuff. "A Walk In The Park" has
some guitars, "Can You Celebrate?" is a slow wedding song
with high pitched singing, while "How To Be A Girl" has
synthesized / distorted voices plus a changing beat. She's
changing right before our very eyes!


Variety is the key to longevity in the J-Pop industry, and is
where Amuro has to go.


Amuro Namie is going to be in th kouhaku =) i can't wait till i see her on stage

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HEADLINE : NAMIE AMURO'S MOTHER MURDERED. Oogimi, Okinawa - JAPAN
On the 17th, around 10:40AM a 110 call (Japanese equivalence to 911) was made that a woman was hit by a car, then beaten by a metal pipe. The woman was taken to the hospital but died shortly.
Later, the Police Station issued a statement stating the woman in the accident was the mother of Lady Singer Namie Amuro's mother, Emiko (48) - who lived near the vicinity of the crime scene. The station is looking at this as a murder case. After some initial investigation, Emiko was run over by a vehicle several times, then beaten by a metal pipe-like object by the man who stepped off the car. It's speculated that the man left in that very vehicle. Witnesses say the man can be identified as being Emiko's brother-in-law (Namie's Uncle). The Station is looking for the suspect at this point.
According to family members, the family had plans to go on a trip and the incident occurred just subsequent to her leaving her husband's family.
Friends of the deceased stated that, "on Sunday, there were some incidents outside of the family, but it didn't seem as though there were problems within". The deceased's father-in-law said, "I first learned what the commotion was about when the Ambulance came over. I don't know any specifics."



The deceased, Emiko, was born and raised in Okinawa and raised Namie and her brothers and sisters while managing a small eatery.
Just last year, she published a book "A Promise : To my daughter, Namie Amuro". Within the text, she wrote about her comments of seeing Namie on stage saying, "The daughter I bore has grown up, not only as a magnificent singer but as an adult... That happiness was worth the trials and turbulations of the past."
For daughter, Namie, after appearing in the 1997 50th Annual NHK "Kou-haku uta gassen" (Red [women] v. White [men] Singing Competition) gave birth to her son, Haruto, and thus took a break until she made her comeback in the 1998 51st Annual NHK "Kou-haku uta gassen". She had just released her new CD single on the 17th - the same day as her mother's passing.
In addition, Namie's husband and dancer SAM (37) had just appeared on a "child-rearing project" poster with his son, Haruto, and was getting a lot of publiscity.


HEADLINE : SUSPECT IN MS. AMURO'S MOTHER'S DEATH, COMMITS SUICIDE


While the Okinawa Police were on the search for the suspect of singer Namie Amuro's mother, Emiko (48), an investigater from the station found the suspect - the deceased's brother-in-law (44) - on the 17th, approximately 1:45 PM. The investigator found the suspect, unconscious and still in his car, deep in the moutains of a nearby town. Soon after, the brother-in-law died. Inside the car, police found traces of bug killers and is speculated that the suspect ingested the bug killers to commit suicide.
Suspect was found about 5 km (approx. 3 miles) from the crime scene deep in the mountains. He was foaming from the mouth and pale in the face.