Break the Rules | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 20, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 2000 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Pop [1] | |||
Length | 63:03 | |||
Label | Avex Trax | |||
Producer |
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Namie Amuro chronology | ||||
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Singles from Break the Rules | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Break the Rules is the fifth studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, released on December 20, 2000, through Avex Trax. It was released only 11 months after her previous album Genius 2000 (2000), and was her final album to date with her long-time producer Tetsuya Komuro, the album generally receive positive reviews by the critics, it was the shortlisted the Asia Association Music Prize Award.
Break the Rules debuted at number two on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart with 334,520 copies sold, the lowest first week sales of her career at that point. [2] It also became her first studio album to not top the chart. Due to the small space in time between the release of this album and her last album, only two singles precede it.
Break the Rules is her second album to feature songs written and produced by American music producer, Dallas Austin. His role in this album, however, is much smaller than the last. For Genius 2000, Austin produced half of the album; with this album he only produced four songs. The majority of the tracks features compositions from Amuro's main producer, Tetsuya Komuro.
First editions of the album came in special packaging. The booklet was presented as a foldout poster featuring Amuro looking out of an airplane window. It also came with a foldout card of photos depicting Namie in different locations around America, mostly New York City and Los Angeles. The album was housed in a transparent slip case with the phrase "break the rules" in pink running diagonally across the front and back of it.
The songs "Think of Me" and "No More Tears" were released as a double A-side single shortly after the release of the album. A video was made for "Think of Me" in New York during photo sessions for the album artwork. No video was made for "No More Tears." Previous songs that appear on the album have all been slightly modified. These songs include "Never End", "Please Smile Again" and "Cross Over". "Cross Over" features a rap verse from Poppa LQ. Unique among Amuro albums is that it features her first attempt at singing a song entirely in English on the track "Looking for You".
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arranger(s) | Length |
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1. | "Rule 8AM" | Tetsuya Komuro Mix Engineer: Chris Puram | 0:30 | ||
2. | "No More Tears" | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro Mix Engineer: Chris Puram | 5:45 |
3. | "Better Days" | Gary White Japanese translation: Junko Kudo | Dallas Austin, Ricciano Lumpkins | Dallas Austin, Ricciano Lumpkins Mix Engineer: Alvin Speights | 4:22 |
4. | "Break the Rules" | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro Mix Engineer: Chris Puram | 4:01 |
5. | "Looking for You" | Tetsuya Komuro English translation: Zhana | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro Mix Engineer: Chris Puram | 4:37 |
6. | "Please Smile Again" | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro Mix Engineer: Chris Puram | 4:43 |
7. | "Never Shoulda" | Dallas Austin, Jasper Cameron Japanese translation: Junko Kudo | Dallas Austin | Dallas Austin Mix Engineer: Alvin Speights | 4:21 |
8. | "Cross Over (feat. Poppa LQ)" | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro Mix Engineer: Chris Puram | 5:02 |
9. | "Girlfriend" | Dallas Austin, Debra Killings Japanese translation: Junko Kudo | Dallas Austin | Dallas Austin Mix Engineer: Kevin Davis | 4:13 |
10. | "Never End" | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro Mix Engineer: Chris Puram | 6:26 |
11. | "Think of Me" | Dallas Austin Japanese translation: Junko Kudo | Dallas Austin | Dallas Austin Mix Engineer: Kevin Davis | 4:46 |
12. | "Rule 8PM" | Tetsuya Komuro Mix Engineer: Chris Puram | 0:33 | ||
13. | "HimAWArI" | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro Mix Engineer: Chris Puram | 4:45 |
14. | "No More Tears (Remix)" | Tetsuya Komuro | Tetsuya Komuro | Mix: Dave Darlington Remix & Reproduction: Junior Vasquez Additional Production: Gomi | 8:59 |
Production
Album - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)
Release | Chart | Peak position | Sales total |
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20 December 2000 | Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 1 | |
Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 2 | 334,520 |
Singles - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)
Release | Single | Chart | Peak position |
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12 July 2000 | "Never End" | Oricon Daily Singles Chart | 2 |
Oricon Weekly Singles Chart | 2 | ||
4 October 2000 | "Please Smile Again" | Oricon Daily Singles Chart | 2 |
Oricon Weekly Singles Chart | 2 | ||
24 January 2001 | "Think of Me" / "No More Tears" | Oricon Daily Singles Chart | 5 |
Oricon Weekly Singles Chart | 7 |
Total Single Sales: 969,940
Total Album and Single Sales: 1,304,460
Namie Amuro is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, 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 considered 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.
Style is the sixth studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, released on 10 December 2003 through Avex Trax. Her first studio album in nearly three years, Style follows her crossover into R&B and hip hop that began with the Suite Chic project in 2002.
Love Enhanced Single Collection is the second greatest hits album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro under the Avex Trax label. The album covers 11 of the 12 singles she released after returning from a one-year maternity leave in 1998. The album excludes the single "Toi et Moi" which can only be found on its retailed single. The single was also excluded from her Genius 2000 album.
Genius 2000 is the fourth studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, released on January 26, 2000, through Avex Trax. The album was released three years after her last album, Concentration 20 (1997), and was produced by Tetsuya Komuro and Dallas Austin, marking her first collaboration with an American producer, the album spawned four singles: "I Have Never Seen", "Respect the Power of Love", "Something 'bout the Kiss" and "Love 2000".
Concentration 20 is the third studio album by Japanese singer Namie Amuro, released July 24, 1997 by Avex Trax. The album's genre is a fusion of styles including pop, dance and rock. Unlike Amuro's previous effort, Sweet 19 Blues, which primarily had lyrics written by Tetsuya Komuro, Concentration 20's lyrics were mostly written by Marc Panther. Komuro did, however, compose and arrange most of the album's songs and wrote the lyrics to three of them, it was Namie's second solo album since the beginning in 1997.
Sweet 19 Blues is the second studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. The album was released in four different slipcases, with the first three cases limited to 1,000,000 copies each—were put on sale on July 20, 1996, throughout Japan, and were distributed two days later to the rest of Asia by Avex Trax. The album was primarily handled by Japanese producer Tetsuya Komuro, with the assistance of Cozy Kubo, Akio Togashi, Takahiro Maeda, M.C.A.T. and Randy Waldman, it is her debut solo album to date since the spilt of Super Monkey's.
"Can You Celebrate?" is Namie Amuro's seventh solo single under the Avex Trax label. Released on February 19, 1997, "Can You Celebrate" is the best-selling single by a solo female artist in Japanese music history, with sales of 2,296,200 copies.
"A Walk in the Park" is a song by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro from her third studio album Concentration 20 (1997). The song was released as the album's lead single on November 27, 1996. It was written, composed and produced by Tetsuya Komuro. The song is a dance track, which features instrumentation from guitars, synthesizers, organs, keyboards and drums. "A Walk in the Park" and "Can You Celebrate?" were both theme songs for Maxell UD commercials and Whisper was used as the background music for the Maxell MD74 commercial.
"Body Feels Exit" is Namie Amuro's debut solo single on the Avex Trax label. Released nine days after her only album with former label, Toshiba-EMI, "Body Feels Exit" debuted in the top three on the Oricon chart and would be her first of 24 consecutive top ten solo singles.
"Chase the Chance" is Namie Amuro's second solo single on the Avex Trax label. Released in December 1995, it debuted at number one on the Oricon charts becoming her first of five million selling singles. As of August 2012, the single has sold 1.3 million copies in Japan. At the end of the month, she would make her first appearance as a solo artist on Kōhaku Uta Gassen performing the single. It is the last single before she and MAX permanently split ways, even though MAX do not appear in the accompanying music video.
"Don't Wanna Cry" is a song by Japanese singer and record producer Namie Amuro released on the Avex Trax label, as her third single for her debut solo album Sweet 19 Blues (1996), It is her second consecutive million-selling single as well as her second consecutive number-one single. In December, the single took home the "Grand Prix Award" from the 38th Annual Japan Record Awards. 19 years old at the time, she is the youngest artist to have been awarded the grand prize.
"Dreaming I was Dreaming" is Namie Amuro's ninth single on the Avex Trax label. Released after the announcement of her pregnancy and marriage to SAM of the group, TRF, it debuted at #1 on December 8, 1997. The single does not appear on any of Amuro's original albums but does appear on her first compilation album, 181920 (1998). The song samples the T. Rex song "Liquid Generation". It was her last original single before taking a year leave in 1998. The single was certified double platinum by the RIAJ for 800,000 copies shipped to stores.
"I Have Never Seen" is Namie Amuro's 11th single on the Avex Trax label. Released after a year hiatus, it serves their lead single for her fourth studio album Genius 2000, it debuted at #1 on January 11, 1999. It is her ninth number one single, and was her last until 2008's 60s 70s 80s. The single was certified double platinum by the RIAJ for 800,000 copies shipped to stores.
"Love 2000" is Namie Amuro's 15th single on the Avex Trax label. First pressing privileges came with a bonus remix of the title track. The same remix was later included on a vinyl single released two months after the CD version, as their fourth and final single Genius 2000, Released in Japan on New Year's Day, the single debuted at #4 becoming her 15th consecutive top 10 solo single. The single was certified platinum for 400,000 copies shipped.
"Never End" is Namie Amuro's 16th single on the Avex Trax label. It serves as the lead single for her fifth studio album Break the Rules, and was made specifically for the G8 Summit that took place in Okinawa, Japan that year. Released in July, the song debuted at #2, becoming Amuro's 16th consecutive top 10 solo single. This was Namie's last single to debut with over 100,000 copies in sales until 60s 70s 80s in 2008.
"Please Smile Again" is Namie Amuro's 17th solo single on the Avex Trax label. Although the single "Think of Me / No More Tears" (2001) was slated to be released in December, it was pushed back until the next year making "Please Smile Again" the last single to precede her 4th studio album, Break the Rules (2000). It was certified gold for 200,000 copies shipped to stores.
"Respect the Power of Love" is Namie Amuro's 12th single on the Avex Trax label. Her second single to be released after her hiatus and taken her fourth studio album Genius 2000, The single was released on the same day that Amuro's mother was murdered. Amuro cancelled promotion for this single and flew to Okinawa to identify her mother's body.
"Something 'bout the Kiss" is Namie Amuro's 14th single under the Avex Trax label, released on September 1, 1999, taken her fourth studio album Genius 2000.
Play is the eighth studio album by Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro, released on June 27, 2007 in Japan. The follow-up to her successful 2005 album Queen of Hip-Pop, Play showcases her new hip-pop genre. It marks her first album to be released in both the CD and CD+DVD formats. Play is her highest selling album since 2000's Genius 2000. The album was ranked 9th on CDJapan's list of top 100 CDs of 2007.
60s 70s 80s is a triple A-side single, Namie Amuro's 33rd solo single under the Avex Trax label. It was released in CD and CD&DVD formats on March 12, 2008, 11 months since her previous single "Funky Town", and nearly nine months after her successful album Play. This single continues her successful comeback, as it had her highest first week sales since 2000's "Never End" even at a time when CD single sales are dramatically decreasing. It became her first #1 since 1998's "I Have Never Seen", and her highest selling single since "Never End".