Translated by mesmeresque
July 2013

Namie Amuro Question & Answer
An honest look at Amuro-san!

From beauty regimens to her food recommendations, we get a glimpse at Amuro-san’s natural self and in the process get to hear her thoughts on various topics. Don’t miss it!

Q. What’s a food you’ve been addicted to recently?

A. “Baked banana”. We’re addicted to making and eating these at home. You leave the peel on them and bake in the oven until they’re completely black on the outside, plus I’ve heard that they’re good when you have a lot of salt in your diet, so we eat them often for dessert.

Q. What do you do when you’re at home?

A. There’s quite a lot of foreign dramas on TV, so the I’ve been watching a lot of the “CSI:” series lately. I like “CSI: Miami” in particular, but it ends with season 10, I think. From “CSI: Miami” I like Horatio Cane. He’s got a really cool air about him. There’s another drama that really impressed me about someone that gets involved in an incident and always wakes up on the same day. He is in involved in a loop and has to figure out who framed him (“Day Break”). He doesn’t know why this keeps happening or why he always wakes up at 6:15 every morning. But the actions of people change every day as a result of his decisions in the previous day. I think those various angles are key to unraveling the mystery of the drama. It’s going to be available on DVD soon, so I’m interested in picking it up.

Q. Do you order out? What types of foods are the best?

A. I do! A little while back I always was ordering “olive ramen”. It’s really delicious. The olives are kneaded into the noodles, which gives it a light olive flavor and makes it really tasty.

Q. What types of songs do you sing in karaoke?

A. I like to sing songs that get everybody excited and that make them want to sing along together. When I sing, I usually pick older songs.

Q. Do you watch Fuji TV’s “Mezamashi TV?”
(“Can You Feel This Love” is Mezamashi TV’s annual theme song)

A. Actually I watch Mezamashi Janken (Rock, Paper, Scissors) every morning. Every time someone scores points, I get a little stressed out (laughs). Afterwords, regular Janken doesn’t seem so bad. I played against the staff the other day, and won 6 out of 6 games.

The Secret of Being “Cute yet Cool”, Something All Girls Long For

Ever wonder why she’s always so unbelievably cute? Everytime Namie Amuro is seen, you can be sure that somewhere girls are letting out a sigh of admiration. Last year, she celebrated her 20th anniversary since debut. She held her first 5-Dome Tour at the end of last year, which was hugely successful, showcasing her new and old hits with amazing singing and dancing. She’s a hip-hop singer who without a doubt represents Japan’s music scene. But every once in a while when she shows her smile, she’s as charming as a young woman. In her “Big Boys Cry” music video (new single “Big Boys Cry/Beautiful”), she was enchantingly cute in a macaroon-colored dress and a neon pink mini-skirt!

“Expression and feeling changes with the color of the clothes you put on, right? When you wear brighter colors you feel like dancing around, but when they’re monotonous, things are kind of one-tempo and calm. The dress I wore in the “Big Boys Cry” video was the first time I’d worn something that fluffy, so I was wondering how I was going to dance in it, but somehow I managed (laughs). The clothes that I wore today were all wonderful colors, too. The yellow dress (on the cover) was especially cute! I bought some shirts for my own personal wardrobe recently. One is a shade of lavender, and the other is a black and white checkered shirt. Usually I’d pair them with denim, but I want to try some other types of combinations, too.”

Fashionable Women Who Excel in Work are Wonderful

In videos and on stage, Amuro-san is the epitome of a “cool adult woman” in mini-skirts and heels. But surprisingly, she does not enjoy fashion that emphasises her beautiful legs and rarely makes use of it.

“I don’t really worry about these things at work, but I don’t like showing my legs for long periods of time. I think other women in the world feel this way, too. I really respect women who can wear heels all day. Personally I can only wear heels for about two hours. That includes during lives, too (laughs). So I think that fashionable women who get ready, put on heels, and commute to work and school everyday are really wonderful..”

Fuji TV’s Mezamashi TV theme song “Can You Feel This Love”?which went on air April 1st, gives busy women motivation in the morning. The House/Pop sound together with Amuro-san’s softly shining vocals, help give a brighter start and gentle boost to every day.

“It’s a struggle for me to get up in the morning (laughs). I wish I could master the ‘secret’ of getting up early. After that, I’d have to find another goal for myself. Now I guess I have to keep doing my best not to miss my train by 5 minutes so I have to take a more crowded one. Ah! Especially because cool guys that ride the train every morning probably don’t want to see a bare face (laughs). Isn’t it better to walk and get on the train gracefully rather than impatient and in a hurry (laughs)? Actually I enjoy watching Mezamashi’s Janken in the morning. Thanks to that, I’ve gotten into the habit of getting up early and eating a healthy breakfast more often.”

Your 20s Are Challenging Time. It’s Important Not to Lose Sight of Yourself

No matter how small the thing, the charm of Namie is that she always continues to challenge herself. Her new song “Contrail”(TBS Sunday night drama “Soratobu Kouhoushitsu” Theme Song) puts you in mind of the blue sky and a pleasant breeze, and she sings about going forward through life positively.

“I think it depends on the type of person listening, but it would be nice if I could sing such a song. As for me, I’m the type who changes what they like unexpectedly (laughs). In the old days, I would consider the type of people I’d be hanging out with and change my clothes accordingly (laughs). The Mina generation especially is changing. Or should I say “it can change”. When you become an adult, to some extent you want to change to match the people around you, and you make various decisions, even though there’s really no need to change. But today’s girls are very strong-willed, saying “I like this type of fashion and makeup” and finding their own self-worth and merit, which is a complete 180 from the old days when fashion centered around looking pretty for men. It’s important to look inside yourself and make your own choices about those things. But I think the challenges you face throughout your 20s are a good thing. You should live your 20s to the fullest, discover who you are and take chances, even if you fail once or twice. That way you can fully embrace your 30s and you won’t question what could have been.”

Amuro-san is currently in the middle of recording a new album, which will be released in the summer. “The album is very summery and high energy, and you can just enjoy it without having to think too much.” she told us happily.

“I’ve done a lot in 20 years, and I was thinking before that what type of music I wanted to do going forward. I’m interested in continuing to challenge myself harder. I don’t need to worry about failing, but I still can’t help thinking about it in the back of my mind. Of course, it’s natural to feel sad when you fail. But I don’t want to dwell on it. After you’ve fallen as far as you can go, there’s no where left to go but up. During times like those, music is a good thing. I want to create music that you can want to listen to in times when you’re happy or sad, so if I can achieve that, I’ll be very happy.”