Sep. 21, 2017
The J-pop singer Amuro Namie announced her retirement on September 20th, the day of her 40th birthday. In her message, she expressed her gratitude to her fans and said, “September 16th this year marked 25 years since I made a debut in the music business.” and “I resolved to retire on September 16th in 2018.” Also she showed her eagerness to “make the one last year meaningful,” and said, “I want to do everything I can, like creating an album and performing at concerts.” Lots of her fans in the show business expressed their shock and some burst into tears.
Amuro Namie debuted in 1992 as a member of Super Monkey’s. After that, she started her career as a solo singer in 1995. She was a role model for young girls, and many girls copied her fashion, which was called Amurer Phenomenon. In 1996, the album “Sweet 19 Blues” hit more than 3 million copies, and in the following year, the single “Can You Celebrate?” hit 2.29 million copies. She has sold 37 million CDs, and still now she is the best solo female singer in the Japanese music history. In 1997, she got married with Sam, a dancer of a J-pop group, TRF, and had a baby boy in the next year, though they divorced in 2002. Last year, she bought a luxury apartment in Kyoto at about two hundred million yen. She is said to start a new life in Kyoto after the retirement.
By Meg Konishi (Find Your Japan)