Queen of Hip-Pop

Last updated

Queen of Hip-Pop
Queenofhippop.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 13, 2005
Recorded2004–2005
Studio
  • On Air Azabu Studio
  • Baybridge Studio
  • Rojam Studio
  • Plaza Studio
Genre
Length52:28
Label Avex Trax
Producer
Namie Amuro chronology
Style
(2003)
Queen of Hip-Pop
(2005)
Play
(2007)
Singles from Queen of Hip-Pop
  1. "Alarm"
    Released: March 17, 2004
  2. "All for You"
    Released: July 22, 2004
  3. "Girl Talk/The Speed Star"
    Released: October 14, 2004
  4. "Want Me, Want Me"
    Released: April 6, 2005

Queen of Hip-Pop is the seventh studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. It was released on July 13, 2005, by Avex Trax. The album's lyrical content, composing and arrangement was handled by multiple music collaborators, such as Nao'ymt, Sugi-V, Michico, Tricky Stewart, T.Kura, among many others. It is her second full length urban contemporary record, and is made up of songs of various musical genres. Amuro uses the term "hip-pop" to describe the music on the album because it fuses pop music with other genres including R&B and hip-hop music. Three different formats were released to promote the album: a standalone CD, a limited edition Playbutton, and digital download.

Contents

Upon its release, Queen of Hip-Pop received positive reviews from music critics. Commercially, the album was a success in Japan, hitting the second position on the Oricon Albums Chart, and has since been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). Four singles were released from the album: "Alarm," "All For You," "Girl Talk/The Speed Star" and "Want Me, Want Me." The latter two singles, "Girl Talk/The Speed Star" and "Want Me, Want Me," both peaked at number 2 on the Oricon Singles Chart. Meanwhile, "Alarm" and "All For You" peaked at number eleven and number six respectively. Queen of Hip-Pop is considered Amuro's comeback album, being her best selling record since Genius 2000 (2000), and was her most commercially successful effort in half a decade before Play (2007) was released.

Background and composition

For Queen of Hip-Pop, Amuro's record label Avex Trax hired a wide array of musicians, such as Michico, T.Kura, Sugi-V, Nao'ymt, among many others to work on the album. [1] Those producers are just some of whom worked with Amuro on her preceding album Style . [2] Amuro contributed as the main and background vocalist. [1] When the album was completed, Amuro said that she had not been able to sing the songs very well yet. [3]

The title track is a bouncy R&B number with a combination of hand claps and floating synths. [4] The Michico and Sugi-V penned song "Want Me, Want Me" [1] is a reggae-style dance tune with an addictive loop that incorporates Japanese elements like the koto that plays during the intro. [4] Atypical for Amuro, the song contains sexually aggressive lyrics and even name-drops the condom brand Trojan. The song "WoWa" (pronounced "Ooh Wah") is an uptempo R&B and dance-pop number with an arrangement that mixes sounds made by real people, such as marching, hand claps, and flutes; the song was written solely by Nao'ymt. [4] [1] "I Wanna Show You My Love" was written by Michico while its music was composed by T.Kura & Michico. [1] Musically, the song is a UK-style R&B number that serves as a love letter to Amuro's fans. [4] "Girl Talk" is a pop dance tune provided by T. Kura and Michico; lyrically it revolved around female camaraderie. [1] [4] "Free" is a mid-tempo Southern hip hop tune with a dark intro that develops into a bewitching rhythmic synth sound; which was written by Nao'ymt. [1] [4] "My Darling" is a Crunk&B number written by Michico while its music was tailor-made by T.Kura & Michico. [1] [4] "Ups & Downs" is a midtempo R&B number featuring Nao'ymt, who also produced it. [1] [4] "Ups & Downs" was originally planned to be sung solo, but after Amuro heard Nao'ymt singing the song exceptionally, Amuro told him, "I would love to sing it with you," and decided to make it a duet. [5]

"I Love You" is a disco pop number with sparkling rhythmic bouncing sounds. The words 'I love you' are said four times during the chorus in four different languages (French, English, Spanish and Chinese). [4] The track is a Tricky Stewart-produced cover with Japanese lyrics. [1] "All for You" is the album's sole ballad, which was written by Natsumi Watanabe and musically composed by Ryoki Matsumoto. [1] "Alarm" is a pop and R&B song with a heavy bass, which was written by Jusme and composed by Monk. [1] "No" is a club tune with a bouncy sound; with the lyrics and composition penned by Nao'ymt. [1] The bridge, with its handclaps and synths, stirs up calls of "N-A-M-I-E." [4] After the song "No," there is a hidden track that has no official title but is known to fans as "No Pt.2" or "Yes." At 4:06, the listener begins to hear the subtle sounds of the hidden track beginning. The song is a slower version of "No" with new lyrics and vocals. It also features lyrics from her song "WoWa" with variations of "I'ma make ya mine" and "I'ma read ya mind."

Title and artwork

The album art theme is that of the Pink Panther. Amuro happened to be a big fan of the Pink Panther cartoon character and wanted to include its image. A licensing deal was struck with MGM studios allowing Amuro to freely use the character in her album artwork and promotion. A special character "Namie Panther" based on Amuro herself was also created as a counterpart to the Pink Panther. [6] Because of the Pink Panther deal, all of the material released for the album has been pink (Amuro had stated in an interview years before that she did not like pink). First pressing packaging of the album included Pink Panther stickers and a Pink Panther styled newspaper containing lyrics for the album.

During an interview with bounce magazine in July 2005, Amuro stated that the usage of the word "Hip-Pop" in the album title was to give the listener an easy-to-understand image of the record; she explained in full detail;

It was the same with " Style ," but I wanted the album title to express the image of the work in a single word that would be easy to understand. And "Hip-Pop" may be a vague and half-baked word (laughs), but I thought it was the easiest to understand. I don't think I'm biased toward J-pop this time, nor toward hip-hop or R&B. Well, "Queen" is attached to it (laughs). [7]

Singles

Namie Amuro performing "Girl Talk" at MTV Asia Aid 2005 Namie AmuroatMAA.JPG
Namie Amuro performing "Girl Talk" at MTV Asia Aid 2005

Four singles were released to promote Queen of Hip-Pop. The first, "Alarm," released in March 2004, [8] is her first (and to date, only) single to miss the top ten by peaking at number eleven on the Oricon Singles Chart. [9] Despite the low sales, "Alarm" became a popular hit in Japan. She performed "Alarm" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards Japan held at Tokyo Bay NK Hall on May 23, 2004. [10]

Four months later in July 2004 she released "All for You," [11] her first original ballad since "I Will" in 2002. [12] The single was a great success and became the first of three consecutive singles to sell over 100,000 copies. On July 24, 2004, she performed the song at the MTV Buzz Asia Concert held in Seoul, South Korea as a performing artist representing Japan. [13] "All for You" has been certified gold for shipments of over 100,000 by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) [14] and reached number six on the Oricon Singles Chart. [15]

In October 2004, the double A-side single "Girl Talk/The Speed Star" was released. [16] This was her first double A-side single since "So Crazy/Come" in 2003. Interestingly, when the album was released only "Girl Talk" was included in the tracklist while "The Speed Star" was omitted for unknown reasons. The single was a big hit for Amuro, debuting at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart, her first single to achieve this since "Wishing On The Same Star." [17] [18] The success of "Girl Talk/The Speed Star" earned Amuro an invite to perform at the 55th NHK Kohaku Utagassen, but she declined. [19] This ended her nine year streak of performing at Kouhaku Uta Gassen . [20] The following year, on February 3, 2005, she performed "Girl Talk" at MTV Asia Aid 2005, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand. [21] At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards Japan held on May 9, 2005, the music video for "Girl Talk" won the prize for Best R&B Video. [22]

The last single off the album, "Want Me, Want Me," was released in April 2005. [23] In March 2005, a month before its official release, Amuro sung the song at Japan's largest fashion event, Kobe Collection. [24] The performance surprised the approximately 2,000 audience members who had not been notified at all of her appearance. Amuro commented: "I was nervous as it was a special fashion show, but I enjoyed it a lot because the audience erupted when I appeared!" [25] The song "Want Me, Want Me" was another hit for her and reached number two on the Oricon Singles Chart. [26] It also provided her with her largest first week sales since "Say the Word." Two months later she performed the song at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards Japan in front of an audience of 7,500 people, saying: "I hope people who like music will see it as it is, instead of getting worked up about it." [27]

Music videos

The music video for "Alarm" was directed by Ugichin. [28] The video was predominately filmed in black-and-white and depicts Amuro and her backup dancers dancing in a warehouse wearing biker fashion. There are also interspersed scenes throughout the video of a TV screen in a bar showing Amuro walking down a runway while wearing a yellow minidress. A drag queen also makes a brief appearance. At the end of the video, a ring is chucked at the screen and picked up by a long-haired man whose look is reminiscent of Amuro’s ex-husband.

The music video for "All For You" was directed by Masashi Mutō [29] and depicts Amuro singing emotionally all alone on a beach in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture in front of a sunset.

The music video for "Girl Talk" was directed by Ugichin. [30] Filmed in a Spanish-style mansion, the video is plain and simple, depicting Amuro in a variety of rooms. The main scene of the video has Amuro in a pink cowboy hat while she's dancing with two female dancers. Another scene has her singing on top of a bed. The third scene had Amuro sitting in a living room with her two dancers chatting on a settee in the background.

The music video for "The Speed Star" was also directed by Ugichin; [31] it features Amuro and five background dancers performing in front of a giant car motor. As they dance, runners try to sprint towards Amuro before being blown back by the fan of the motor. The video switches between this scene and two others. Another scene has Amuro and her dancers performing in pink boxes. The camera spans back and forth between each dancer as they freestyle. The last scene of the video involves Amuro pole dancing alone. This scene was presented in black and white with high contrast between the tones.

The music video for "Want Me Want Me" was directed by Masashi Muto. [32] Filmed in an undisclosed studio, it features Amuro and several dancers of various ethnic backgrounds dancing vehemently in a flooded room. The room switches between two colors, blue and beige.

Another track off the album, "WoWa" was released as a video and radio single but was not retailed. The music video for "WoWa" was directed by Masashi Mutō. [33] The main scene of the music video depicts Amuro and several female dancers wearing roller skates and holding cheerleader pom-poms while dancing by a swimming pool. By the end of the video, Amuro is accompanied by two male dancers who dance in a marching band style. There are also interspersed animated scenes in the video featuring The Pink Panther and the Namie Panther character. [34]

Promotion

Five days after its launch, Amuro promoted the album with a secret event titled "HMV 15th Anniversary presents NAMIE AMURO "Queen of Hip-Pop"," which was held on the rooftop of Aqua City Odaiba Aquacity Odaiba.jpg
Five days after its launch, Amuro promoted the album with a secret event titled “HMV 15th Anniversary presents NAMIE AMURO "Queen of Hip-Pop",” which was held on the rooftop of Aqua City Odaiba

To promote Queen of Hip-Pop, approximately 150 Namie Panther flags were displayed around Center Gai in Shibuya. [35] Throughout the album's campaign, Amuro promoted several songs off of it through various products and advertisements. Before the album was even announced, its title track was used as a commercial jingle for Chevrolet Suzuki Cruze automobiles. [36] For the songs "Alarm," "Girl Talk" and "WoWa," Amuro appeared in three TV commercials for the LUCIDO-L hair products which featured each one of those three songs respectively. [37] [38] [39] "All For You" served as the opening theme to the popular dorama Kimi Ga Omoide Ni Naru Mae Ni . [40] This was her first single since 1998's "I Have Never Seen" to be used for a television drama. [41] "No" was later used to promote the "Space of Hip-Pop ~namie amuro tour 2005~" home video. Five days after the release of Queen of Hip-Pop, a secret event titled “HMV 15th Anniversary presents NAMIE AMURO "Queen of Hip-Pop"” was held on a special stage on the rooftop of Aqua City Odaiba, where she performed 3 songs from the album, including "WoWa." [42]

Furthermore, Amuro embarked on a concert tour titled "Space of Hip-Pop," which made 35 stops throughout Japan from September to December 2005. [43] The tour was later released on DVD on March 15, 2006, [44] which went on to reach number two on the Oricon DVD Chart and was eventually certified gold. [45]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Playlouder Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [46]
Hot Express(favorable) [47]
CD Journal(neutral) [4]

Queen of Hip-Pop was warmly received by critics. Daniel Robson of Playlouder awarded the album with four starts out of five. [46] In the review he commended Amuro for her adaption to the R&B and Hip-Hop trend that became popular in Japan at the time. [46] At the end of the review he stated: "Oh, but then there are bouncy beats, apocalyptic dance-me-ups and crazy stop-starts sprinkled all over the record, as well as a few Engrish lyrics to laugh at. And who could ever ask for more?" [46] Tetsuo Hiraga of Hot Express was extremely positive on the album, feeling that, in his own words: "the songs are uncompromising and unreserved, and give the impression of the “real thing” that Namie Amuro wanted to make her own. It would be difficult to listen to such a comprehensive collection of songs, but I was truly amazed at the identity of Namie Amuro, who was able to make all of them into popular music and comfortable to listen to." [47] A mini-review from CD Journal stated that the vibrant visuals are slightly out of step with the enthusiasm of the project. [4]

Commercial performance

In Japan, Queen of Hip-Pop debuted at the runner-up spot on the Oricon Albums Chart with 201,524 units sold in its first week, being blocked from number one by Ketsumeishi's Ketsunopolis 4 . [48] This became Amuro's highest first week sales for an album in five years. It descended to number three on the albums chart the following week, shifting 91,236 units. [49] In total, Queen of Hip-Pop lasted four weeks in the top ten, and stay in the top 300 chart for 25 weeks. [50] Additionally, it was ranked the 27th best-selling album of 2005 with 450,359 copies sold in Japan. [51] The record also debuted at number one on the Taiwanese J-Pop chart and number two on the Combo Chart. Queen of Hip-Pop was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for shipments of 500,000 units. [52] In the second quarter of 2006, Avex reported that Queen of Hip-Pop sold approximately 494,000 copies in Japan. [53] According to Oricon Style, Queen of Hip-Pop is Amuro's twelfth best-selling album overall. [54]

Track listing

CD
No.TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Queen of Hip-Pop"TigerNao'ymtNao'ymt3:14
2."Want Me, Want Me"MichicoSugi-VSugi-V3:10
3."WoWa"Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt4:08
4."I Wanna Show You My Love"MichicoT.Kura, MichicoT.Kura3:39
5."Girl Talk"T.Kura, MichicoT.Kura, MichicoT.Kura4:22
6."Free"Namie AmuroNao’ymtNao'ymt4:18
7."My Darling"MichicoT. Kura, MichicoT.Kura4:14
8."Ups & Downs" (duet with Nao'ymt)Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt3:46
9."I Love You" Christopher Stewart, Tab, Traci Hale
Japanese lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi
Christopher Stewart, Tab, Traci Hale 4:16
10."All for You"Natsumi WatanabeRyoki MatsumotoJun Abe5:47
11."Alarm"JusmeMonkMonk4:10
12."No"Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt7:07
Total length:52:28
Secret Track
No.TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s)Length
13."Yes" (-Secret Track-)Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt7:07

Credits and personnel

  1. Queen of Hip-Pop
    • Produced by Nao'ymt
    • All instruments performed by Nao'ymt
    • Mixed by D.O.I.
  2. WANT ME, WANT ME
    • Produced by Sugi-V
    • Co-Produced by Michico
    • Vocal Produced by Michico
    • All instruments performed by Sugi-V
    • Mixed by D.O.I.
  3. WoWa
    • Produced by Nao'ymt
    • All instruments performed by Nao'ymt
    • Mixed by D.O.I.
  4. I Wanna Show You My Love
    • Produced by T.Kura
    • Vocal Produced by Michico
    • All instruments performed by T.Kura
    • Mixed by T.Kura
  5. GIRL TALK
    • Produced by T.Kura
    • Vocal Produced by Michico
    • All instruments performed by T.Kura
    • Mixed by T.Kura
  6. Free
    • Produced by Nao'ymt
    • All instruments performed by Nao'ymt
    • Mixed by Yoshiaki Onishi
  7. My Darling
    • Produced by T.Kura
    • Vocal Produced by Michico
    • Additional Vocals by L.L.BROTHERS
    • All instruments performed by T.Kura
    • Mixed by T.Kura
  8. Ups & Downs duet with Nao'ymt
    • Produced by Nao'ymt
    • All instruments performed by Nao'ymt
    • Mixed by Yoshiaki Onishi
  9. I Love You
    • Produced by C."Tricky" Stewart
    • Japanese Lyrics by Shoko Fujibayashi
    • All instruments performed by C."Tricky" Stewart
    • Track Recorded by Brian"B-Luv"Thomas
    • Mixed by Carlton Lynn
  10. ALL FOR YOU
    • Arranged by Jun Abe & Ryoki Matsumoto
    • Chorus arranged by Ryoki Matsumoto
    • Programmed by Jun Abe
    • Chorus: Ryoki Matsumoto
    • Piano & Keyboard: Jun Abe
    • Guitar: Kenji Suzuki
    • Strings: Rush by Takashi Katou
    • Mixed by Junya Endo
  11. ALARM
    • All instruments performed by MONK
    • Mixed by Yoshiaki Onishi
  12. No
    • Produced by Nao'ymt
    • All instruments performed by Nao'ymt
    • Mixed by D.O.I.

Production

Charts

Sales and certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ) [56] 2× Platinum494,000 [57]
South Korea3,700 [58]

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<i>Past Future</i> 2009 studio album by Namie Amuro

Past<Future is the ninth studio album by Japanese pop singer Namie Amuro. It was released on December 16, 2009, through Avex Trax. This was her first original album to be released in two and a half years. The record came after the release of her blockbuster greatest hits album Best Fiction (2008), which sold over a million copies. Unlike her previous studio albums, Queen of Hip-Pop (2005) and Play (2007), Past<Future features a more electropop and synth-pop sound that was prevalent in the western music charts at the time.

"Dr." is a song by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, taken as the only A-side single from her ninth studio album Past<Future (2009). The track was written, composed, arranged and produced entirely by long-time collaborator Nao'ymt, and recorded at Azabu-O Studios in Minato, Tokyo. Musically, "Dr." is a dance number that is influenced by modern club music, and also samples an orchestral section from the musical piece "Boléro", composed by French conductor Maurice Ravel. Lyrically, it is a love song that uses the titular term to metaphorically describe Amuro's lover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">So Crazy</span> 2003 single by Namie Amuro

"So Crazy" is a song by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released on October 16, 2003, by Avex Trax, and serves as the fourth and final single from her sixth studio album, Style (2003). Furthermore, all physical and digital formats included an additional A-side titled "Come," which appears on the parent album. "So Crazy" was written by Full Force, Jennifer "JJ" Johnson, Michico, and Tiger, and produced by Cobra Endo.

References

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^ "Recording Industry Association of Japan" . Retrieved May 3, 2006.