Namie Amuro

Namie Amuro (安室 奈美恵, Amuro Namie or あむろ.なみえ, September 20, 1977 - ) is a Japanese pop singer and Japanese idol originally from Naha, Okinawa, born to a Japanese father and a half Japanese/half Italian mother. Debuting in 1992 in a girl group named SUPER MONKEYS, she struggled to reach the top until the release of "TRY ME ~Watashi wo Shinijite~" in early 1995 which catapulted her into superstardom. Leaving the group the same year and joining forces with top producer Tetsuya Komuro, Namie went on to become a cultural phenomenon. Now after performing for well over a decade, she continues to be one of Japan's biggest pop acts.

Extra Information

• She has four tattoos. Two are located near her wrist on her left arm and the other two are located on her upper right arm. The two on the right arm are dedicated to family members. One tattoo reads her son's name while the other is a tribute to her slain mother.
• She got her first tattoo during a trip to Jamaica in 1996. It is a barcode near her left wrist which reads her birthdate "19770920." A picture of the now famous tattoo would become the cover to her only photobook released that year.
• She is believed to be 3/4 Japanese and 1/4 Italian, she does not actually know her racial background for sure.
• Her single "CAN YOU CELEBRATE?" is double-platinum and became the 14th highest selling single in Japanese music history.
• Since 1995, she has reached sales of approximately 27,000,000 domestically in singles and albums.
• She is currently the fifteenth biggest selling artist in Japanese music history according to a special by Music Station aired on 2005.04.01.
• She was the first solo Japanese female artist to perform a concert at Chiba Marine Stadium.
• She was the first solo female artist to perform at Japan's four Domes.
• She has a pet dog named Betty.
• She divorced her husband SAM in July of 2002 giving full custody of their child to him, but regained full custody of their child in 2005.
• She idolizes American pop singer Janet Jackson.
• She has nine #1 singles, five of which have sold over 1,000,000 copies.
• Namie sports a silver belly button ring. In an interview given to the Mainichi Shimbum, Namie related that she had pierced her belly button in response to a comment from her son that his mother was 'old'.
• She is the first artist to take home awards four years in a row at the MTV Japan Video Music Awards. She took home the "Inspiration Award Japan" in 2002, Best Collaboration in 2003, "Best R&B Video" for 2004, and 2005 as well as "Most Impressive Asian Artist" in 2005.