“If I was able to get closer to fans, I am happy.” Namie Amuro retires
Namie Amuro performing at her final live show the evening before her retirement. September 15, Ginowan, Okinawa
September 17, 2018 Ryukyu Shimpo
Okinawa-born singer Namie Amuro, 40, retired on September 16. In the mid-90’s, Amuro sparked the fashion phenomenon known as “Amura” on the streets of Japan, and after marrying and having a child at age 20, continued to captivate the country as she continued to sing and dance while going through a divorce and raising a child.
Called the “Heisei Diva,” she broke records throughout Asia.
In her hometown Okinawa, where Amuro chose to end her music career, fans from both inside and outside of Japan for various events surrounding her retirement.
Late in the evening of the 16th, Amuro posted to her official homepage, “Even though these 25 years have passed by in an instant, I am happy to have been able to get close to my fans as a singer.
Thank you for the past 25 years.”
On September 15, Amuro had her final live show at the Okinawa Convention Center in Ginowan, where she performed eight songs in total.
On September 16, 30,000 fans gathered at Tropical Beach in the same city to send off Amuro with a fireworks show.
Amuro announced her retirement on her 40th birthday last year on September 20. Her greatest hits album, which she released last year, sold 2.3 million copies, making her the only singer to sell at least one million albums in each decade from her teens into her forties.
Her last dome tour attracted 750,000 people, which set a new record.
The tour DVD and Blu-ray sold over 1.57 million copies, making it the first-ever Japanese music movie to sell more than one million copies.
Amuro also won back to back Japan Record Awards in 1996 and 1997.
She was awarded the Okinawa Prefectural People’s Honor Award in May of this year.
The final show on September 15 prohibited press photography, however Amuro released photographs from the show on the evening of the 16th.
(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)
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