Namie Amuro is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of the Japanese entertainment industry since the early 1990s, Amuro is known for breaking the youthful idol stereotype of J-Pop, changing the fashion trends and lifestyle of women in Japan, her experimentation across music styles, and for her visual imagery in music videos and live performances. Due to her career longevity, resilience, professionalism, efforts behind-the-scenes in the music industry, and her way of life, she is a pop culture icon in Japan and Asia. She has been referred to as "Diva of Heisei Era" and the "Queen of Japanese Pop", and has been recognized as having the influence and career impact domestically equivalent to artists such as Janet Jackson and Madonna in Western music and pop culture.
Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its spectator capacity is 36,500 at maximum settings, making it the second-largest indoor arena in the world. The main arena capacity is between 19,000 and 22,500.
Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the closest station, Shin-Yokohama Station on the JR/Yokohama Municipal Subway.
Best Fiction is the third greatest hits album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, and the final greatest hits release under her Avex Trax, her record company since 1995. The release follows her two previous greatest hits albums, 181920 (1998) and Love Enhanced Single Collection (2002). The compilation was released as a stand-alone CD and a CD packaging including music videos on a DVD. The album includes two new tracks; "Sexy Girl" and "Do Me More", and spawned an extended play 60s 70s 80s.
Now: The Hits of Spring 2008 is the 22nd album of the Australian Now! series.
The 20th annual World Music Awards was held on 9 November 2008 in Monaco. Awards are given based on worldwide sales figures for that year. The ceremony was hosted by actor Jesse Metcalfe and singer Michelle Williams.
The 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards were held in Toronto, Ontario at MuchMusic's headquarters on June 21, 2009. Along with the MuchMusic VJ's, on April 16, 2009, it was confirmed on the MuchMusic website that the Jonas Brothers would co-host the show. The show featured performances by The Black Eyed Peas, Billy Talent, Lady Gaga, Jonas Brothers, Alexisonfire, Kelly Clarkson and others. The artists with the most nominations were Nickelback and Danny Fernandes with five nominations each. Nickelback won the most awards with 3 awards.
The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards Japan were held on Saturday, May 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Hosted by Misaki Ito and Hidehiko Ishizuka, the awards show took place at the Saitama Super Arena before a live audience of 12,000 screaming music fans. The 6th annual show premiered live on MTV, Saturday May 26 to over 6.6 million homes in Japan.
The MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2006 were hosted by Mokomichi Hayami and Masami Hisamoto at Tokyo. The 5th annual show premiered live on MTV, Saturday May 27 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium. The awards show was filmed before a live audience of 8000. The event featured live performances from the far east and the west, including Japanese acts AI, Def Tech, Kumi Koda and Remioromen, along with international acts Hoobastank, John Legend, Kelly Rowland, Rihanna and Se7en from South Korea. The event also featured a special performance by Japanese R&B superstar Ken Hirai joining forces with John Legend. The award ceremony was also marked by appearance of the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson.
The MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2005 were hosted by Takashi Fujii and Megumi at Tokyo Bay NK Hall, the awards included performances by Namie Amuro, Rain, Mariah Carey, Hoobastank, Jamiroquai and Ashanti.
The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, honoring the best music videos from the previous year between June 2008 to June 2009, were presented on September 13, 2009, at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and televised by MTV. The ceremony was hosted by Russell Brand.
The MTV World Stage VMAJ 2010 were held on Saturday, May 29, at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. The nominees were announced on March 31, 2010. Lady Gaga received five nominations while Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, The Black Eyed Peas, Namie Amuro, Miliyah Kato, and Juju all received three nominations each.
The 2011 MTV Video Music Aid Japan were held in Chiba on June 25, 2011 at the Makuhari Messe. The VMAJ were the culmination of MTV Japan's Music of Hope campaign, the channel's multiplatform response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The 2011 awards were marked the ten-year anniversary of the MTV Video Music Awards Japan.
The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan was held in Chiba on June 23, 2012 at the Makuhari Messe and was hosted by Japanese trio Perfume. The nominees were announced on March 21, 2012.
The 2012 Billboard Latin Music Awards were held on April 26, 2012 at the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.
The 2013 MTV Video Music Awards Japan was held in Chiba on June 22, 2013 at the Makuhari Messe and was hosted by Atsuko Maeda and Nobuaki Kaneko from Rize.
The 2016 MTV Video Music Awards Japan was held in Tokyo on October 26, 2016 and was hosted by Rip Slyme.
