Happy 41st birthday Namie :3
===
Singer Namie Amuro Gets Statue, Detective Conan Tribute To Mark Retirement
Quote:
Japanese pop legend Namie Amuro retired from singing with her final concert on Sunday, the 26th anniversary of her debut. The Okinawa native also held a concert in the city of Ginowan, Okinawa on Saturday, leading to many hotels being completely booked throughout the prefecture. Because it marks Amuro's place of retirement from performing within the prefecture, Ginowan may become something of a "pilgrimage" site among the singer's fans, and the city now has plans to erect a bronze statue in her honour.
In light of Amuro's retirement, related events have been held throughout the prefecture, and restaurants and souvenir shops have also been playing Amuro's songs. A giant poster of Amuro has been posted on The Ryukyu Shimpo's building in Naha, where the singer is from.
Fans have come in droves from across Japan not only to see Amuro's final performance in Okinawa, but also to visit related events. Some fans even came from abroad from Taiwan and other locations. Amuro offered photographs and music to the prefecture to use on its tourism website for free. People accessed the site more than 181,000 times from August 14-23.
The head of Ryugin Research Institute Ltd. believes that Amuro's retirement and the resulting boost in tourism will have a significant financial impact on the prefecture. In addition to the statue, there are plans to build a chapel on the grounds of Amuro's final performance in Okinawa, and the the building's chime will be Amuro's "Can you celebrate?" song.
The impact of Amuro's retirement, however, reaches far beyond her home prefecture. Amuro was a frequent collaborator with the One Piece anime, and an animated special that shows her interacting with the Straw Hat Pirates aired in August. The Detective Conan also decided to pay homage to Amuro on the day of her retirement.
The official Twitter account for Takahiro Arai's Meitantei Conan Zero no Tea Time (Detective Conan: Zero's Tea Time) spinoff manga tweeted a tribute image and message at midnight on Sunday. The image features Tōru Amuro holding a sign that reads, "Namie Amuro, thank you for the hard work!!" The tweet for the image reads, "Thank you so much for your hard work over 25 years."
Fans have been gushing over the tweet, and it has received more than 50,000 retweets so far. Commenters praised the "ikemen" character's tribute of the "beautiful woman" and noted that they make a fitting pair to share a name.
|
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/int...rement/.136919
===
The Strait Times wrote 8 pointers about Namie online
These 2 stood out for me
Quote:
5. HER PALM-SIZED FACE - 'KOGAO'
Amuro is not only the queen of J-pop, but she is also often touted as the ultimate "kogao" queen. "Kogao", which literally means small face, is what many Japanese women aspire towards - to have a tiny face that can be obscured by a palm. Japanese variety programmes, magazines and even celebrities like Taiwanese pop sensation Jolin Tsai have commented on Amuro's tiny face.
"Kogao" is still an enduring beauty standard. Face-slimming products from creams to face-rollers line the cosmetics section of Japanese drug stores till today. And Amuro remains the perfect symbol of the "kogao".
6. HATED THE TERM 'IDOL' AND REFUSED TO WEAR PINK
Amuro might have found fame as a teenage idol in her early days but the singer apparently hated the label of "idol" and actively tried to set herself apart.
In an interview she did with Vogue Japan, reflecting on her long career, she said: "When I was young, for some reason, I kept thinking 'I'm not an idol!' even though it did feel like I was one in my early years. I just kept thinking that I'm not one, which was why I didn't want to smile so much. Even when others told me to smile, I'd say no. I also had this weird principle that I would not wear pink."
She said her mindset began to change as she got older and she took more control of her image and music. She told the magazine with a laugh: "I realised that you could only get away with wearing pink when you're young!"
|
https://www.straitstimes.com/lifesty...he-j-pop-queen
yay for anti pink x)
Lastly , here's the Namie history montage that MUSIC STATION Ultra FES 2018 aired on Mon in dedication to Namie that I cut/uploaded from the programme
https://www.mexashare.com/t3lbdsidlv...2018).mp4.html
The montage is about 11 minutes & it's so cool to see very old snippets of Namie performed in MUSIC STATION in the past , 66 times to be exact :O