Translated by CLAUDIA
January 2004
Our VIP makes an appearence! A photoshoot of Amuro-chan’s Christmas fashion! Dresses and mini skirts look this cool and gorgeous when Amuro-chan wears them! What do we have to do to bring out our own individuality so casually? We searched for the secrets of “Namie’s Style” that everyone wants to know.
Q. What is your party fashion like?
I don’t try very hard. (laughter) Since I wear so many different kinds of clothes for work, I don’t really think to get very dressed up in private. But for Christmas, it might be cute to wear a fur coat over a dress like today’s outfit. And when you take off the coat, the atmosphere changes completely.
Q. Do you get excited about Christmas?
Yeah. I mean, the streets are all decorated. You kind of have to get excited whether you want to or not. (laughter)
Q. Do like to spend Christmas quietly? Or do you like to party?
Hmm…I like both. There’s no in between. But I usually have to work on Christmas (laughter). So I party really hard during people birthday parties and that kind of thing. Alchohol? Yeah, I drink. I don’t have very high tolerance, but I’m very cheerful when I’m drunk.
Q. What would be your ideal Christmas?
I want it to snow. But I’m pretty weak against the cold, so I bundle up.
Q. Santa Claus will give you any present you want. What would you ask for?
I want a dog! A tiny dog like a chihuahua. They’re so cute!! That commercial just got me. (laughter) Before I want a golden retriever, but maybe I could have one of my staff keep one and bring it over to play sometimes. (laughter)
Q. What song do you recommend from your new album for girls who are spending Christmas alone?
Um…is there one? (laughter) Oh, ‘Put ’em up’ might be good. Kind of like, ‘Christmas? Bah Humbug!’ You know? Ahaha. It’d be pretty strong!
Q. What song would be just right for girls spending a romantic Christmas with their boyfriends?
‘Wishing on the same star’, or ‘Don’t Lie to Me’. A ballad like those.
Q. At this time last year you were really into the video game ‘Momotetsu’. How about now?
Oh, I was, wasn’t I! I even played it alone at home. (laughter) But lately I haven’t played it at all. I played too much and got tried of it. When I get hooked on something, I go all out. Thinking about it now, it’s just a game, but I was so into I would even get into fights over it. I wasn’t very friendly about it. It was a fight to the death. (laughter)
Q. So when you get into something, you stick to it?
It’s the same with clothes or food, if I get hooked on something, that’s all I have everyday. And it takes me a long time to get tired of things.
Q. Did you get to connect with a lot more people through music this year?
Yes, I did. Because I was able to collaborate with a lot of different people in SUITE CHIC. And I had the people that I was indebted to then help me out on singles and my new album. I think that I’m showing a different kind of world in my album.
Q. Has the shyness you talked about before changed?
As far as shyness goes, I’m the same as ever. (laughter)
Q. Who is your idol?
Janet Jackson, who is also the one that made me want to debut. It’s nice to have someone you aspire to. When people think ‘I want to change to be more like this’, or ‘I want to get closer to this person’, and that kind of thing, they’re always frantic, but I feel like they really shine then. So I always want to feel that way.
Q. What made you find your STYLE?
I don’t know myself what helped me find my style. Listening to music, reading magazines…in the course of everyday life, I’ll have a sudden moment where I think, ‘This is it!’.
Q. Has there been times when you were unsure, and unable to find your STYLE?
I think there are always times like that. And when you really can’t find it, nothing you do works right. The more you think about it the deeper you fall. But if you’re just unsure, you should try different things. Because I think you’ll be able find some thing through that.
Q. Do you ever get uneasy that it won’t work before you try?
Yeah. Where I think ‘I don’t wanna’ before I even act. So I feel like it’s necessary to have someone there to give you a push at times like that. Because there are times when if I do something because of that, it turns out to be fine! If you don’t do something and regret it, you should try it and see if it’s bad.
Q. What is something that you can’t do with out in your recent STYLE?
I’ve gotten to love hats. They can really accent an outfit. Before I couldn’t find one that I looked good in, so I never wore them, but lately I really like newsboy caps and hunting caps. Today’s hat with the wide brim gives a bit of a celebrity feel to it. (laughter)
Q. Isn’t it hard to keep on trying new things, and not to be swayed by other’s opinions?
It is. Because there are various people saying different things. (laughter) But even if the tones I want to express, and the things I want to do are slightly different, I try not to change my basic idea. So I have the same firm base, and the decorations just change a little everytime.
Q. What do you need to firmly establish your own STYLE?
You need to have a lot of confidence in yourself, and to have unwavering feelings of ‘No matter what people say, this is absolutely it!’. I think that it’s when something you want to do really becomes reality is when you become that way. Of course it takes time until you get there, but that just makes the feeling of accomplishment even greater. If you do that, I think you will be able to naturally give off your own colors.
Q. What’s the theme of your new album?
I don’t really have themes. Because I’m not choosy about the world view in the lyrics, I just chose songs by imaginging what I’d like to sing live, or what I want to dance to.
Q. How was the recording?
It went pretty well. (laughter) I worked hard to do my best, so please give it a listen! But I was suprised that it’s my first album in 3 years. It’s really been that long?
Q. What do you think of a casual mini-skirt style like the one you wore today?
It’s simple and I like it alot but you would need courage to walk around town like this. I can wear it for work, but I couldn’t wear it for everyday. (laughter) But the readers of Popteen show a lot of skin even in winter, don’t they?
Q. How do you feel now that your album is complete?
Well, of course I’m relieved that it’s completed, but after I’ve completed one thing, I always want to do more and more. I wonder, Could I have done better? Whether it’s about singing or fashion, I can never stop.
Q. Why did you title it ‘STYLE’?
I worked with SUITE CHIC this year, and I wanted to link my solo work to that as well. Musically, I was able to chose a lot of what I want to do right now, and I feel like I was able to express a lot of what I like right now, so in that way it’s a very fitting title.
Q. Are your own current feelings expressed in the lyrics of ‘Namie’s Style’?
Even though I didn’t expressly tell her what to write about, Michiko’s lyrics always have something about them that takes my breath away. Phrases that I couldn’t have thought of myself and that kind of thing, it was very shocking. (laughter) I can really empathize with them, thinking ‘Oh, I know! I get that! That’s so true! ‘, so I sung it with pride.
Q. You wrote the lyrics to ‘gimme more’, but how do you write your lyrics?
When I think something I write it down on a notepad or the computer. If I think of a good line, I write it down right away. A lot of times I take something I want to use from that list and then add a beginning and end to it.
Q. Do you have a song that you listen to before concerts to get yourself pysched up?
I don’t listen to music, but rather what concert videos of artists I think I are cool. When I do that I get really hyped up. Lately Jennifer Lopez’s video was very cool.
Q. What kind of tour do you think your live tour beginning at the end of the year will be?
I’ve always done a tour after the release of an album, but this time the tour came before the album. So I think I’ll make the tour with just my single I’ve released up until now.
Q. What do think think about them, looking back from your debut song again?
I had a lot of good songs. I’m really looking forward to singing them live. Music has the power to make you remember about the time you first listened to it. So if I sing all my singles I’ve released, I think it will be very interesting for both myself, singing, and the people listening.