Queen of Hip-Pop

Queen of Hip-Pop
Studio album by Namie Amuro
Released	July 13, 2005
Recorded	2004–2005
Studio	On Air Azabu Studio Baybridge Studio Rojam Studio Plaza Studio
Genre	Hip Hop Pop R&B
Length	52:28
Label	Avex Trax
Producer	T.Kura Michico Nao'ymt Tricky Stewart SUGI-V
Namie Amuro chronology
Style (2003) Queen of Hip-Pop (2005) Play (2007)
Singles from Queen of Hip-Pop
"Alarm" Released: March 17, 2004 "All for You" Released: July 22, 2004 "Girl Talk/The Speed Star" Released: October 14, 2004 "Want Me, Want Me" Released: April 6, 2005

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Playlouder	[1]

Queen of Hip-Pop is the seventh studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. It was released on July 13, 2005, by Avex Trax. The album's lyrical content, composing and arrangement was handled by multiple music collaborators, such as Nao'ymt, SUGI-V, Michico, Tricky Stewart, T.Kura, among many others. It is her second full length urban contemporary record, and is made up of songs of various musical genres. Amuro uses the term "hip-pop" to describe the music on the album because it fuses pop music with other genres including R&B and hip-hop music. Three different formats were released to promote the album: a standalone CD, a limited edition Playbutton, and digital download.

Upon its release, Queen of Hip-Pop received positive reviews from music critics. Commercially, the album was a success in Japan, hitting the second position on the Oricon Albums Chart, and has since been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). Four singles were released from the album: "Alarm", "All For You", "Girl Talk/The Speed Star" and "Want Me, Want Me". The latter two singles, "Girl Talk/The Speed Star" and "Want Me, Want Me", both peaked at No. 2 on the Oricon Singles Chart. Meanwhile, "Alarm" and "All For You" peaked at No. 11 and No. 6 respectively. Queen of Hip-Pop is considered Amuro's comeback album, being her best selling record since 2000's Genius 2000, and was her most commercially successful effort in half a decade before Play was released.

Background and composition

For Queen of Hip-Pop, Amuro's record label Avex Trax hired a wide array of musicians, such as Michico, T.Kura, SUGI-V, Nao'ymt, among many others to work on the album.^[2] Those producers are just some of whom worked with Amuro on her preceding album Style.^[3] Amuro contributed as the main and background vocalist.

The title track is a bouncy R&B number with a combination of hand claps and floating synths.^[4] The Michico and SUGI-V penned song "Want Me, Want Me"^[2] is a reggae-style dance tune with an addictive loop that incorporates Japanese elements like the koto that plays during the intro.^[4] Atypical for Amuro, the song contains sexually aggressive lyrics and even name-drops the condom brand Trojan. The song "WoWa" (pronounced "Ooh Wah") is an uptempo R&B and dance-pop number with an arrangement that mixes sounds made by real people, such as marching, hand claps, and flutes; the song was written solely by Nao'ymt.^[4][2] "I Wanna Show You My Love" was written by Michico while its music was composed by T.Kura & Michico.^[2] Musically, the song is a UK-style R&B number that serves as a love letter to Amuro's fans.^[4] "Girl Talk" is a pop dance tune provided by T. Kura and Michico; lyrically it revolved around female camaraderie.^[2][4] "Free" is a mid-tempo Southern hip hop tune with a dark intro that develops into a bewitching rhythmic synth sound; which was written by Nao'ymt.^[2][4] "My Darling" is a Crunk&B number written by Michico while its music was tailor-made by T.Kura & Michico.^[2][4] "Ups & Downs" is a midtempo R&B number featuring Nao'ymt, who also produced it.^[2][4] "Ups & Downs" was originally planned to be sung solo, but after Amuro heard Nao'ymt singing the song exceptionally, Amuro told him, "I would love to sing it with you," and decided to make it a duet.^[5]

"I Love You" is a disco pop number with sparkling rhythmic bouncing sounds. The words 'I love you' are said four times during the chorus in four different languages (French, English, Spanish and Chinese).^[4] The track is a Tricky Stewart-produced cover with Japanese lyrics.^[2] "All for You" is the album's sole ballad, which was written by Natsumi Watanabe and musically composed by Ryoki Matsumoto.^[2] "Alarm" is a pop and R&B song with a heavy bass which was written by Jusme and composed by Monk.^[2] "No" is a club tune with a bouncy sound; with the lyrics and composition penned by Nao'ymt.^[2] The bridge, with its handclaps and synths, stirs up calls of "N-A-M-I-E."^[4] After the song "No", there is a hidden track which has no official title but is known to fans as "No Pt.2" or "Yes". At 4:06, the listener begins to hear the subtle sounds of the hidden track beginning. The song is a slower version of "No" with new lyrics and vocals. It also features lyrics from her song "WoWa" with variations of "I'ma make ya mine" and "I'ma read ya mind."

Title and artwork

The album art theme is that of the Pink Panther. Amuro happened to be a big fan of the Pink Panther cartoon character and wanted to include its image. A licensing deal was struck with MGM studios allowing Amuro to freely use the character in her album artwork and promotion. A special character "Namie Panther" based on Amuro herself was also created as a counterpart to the Pink Panther.^[6] Because of the Pink Panther deal, all of the material released for the album has been pink (Amuro had stated in an interview years before that she did not like pink). First pressing packaging of the album included Pink Panther stickers and a Pink Panther styled newspaper containing lyrics for the album.

During an interview with bounce magazine in July 2005, Amuro stated that the usage of the word "Hip-Pop" in the album title was to give the listener an easy-to-understand image of the record; she explained in full detail;

It was the same with "Style," but I wanted the album title to express the image of the work in a single word that would be easy to understand. And "Hip-Pop" may be a vague and half-baked word (laughs), but I thought it was the easiest to understand. I don't think I'm biased toward J-pop this time, nor toward hip-hop or R&B. Well, "Queen" is attached to it (laughs).^[7]

Singles

Four singles were released to promote Queen of Hip-Pop. The first, "Alarm", released in March 2004, is her first (and to date, only) single to miss the top ten by peaking at No. 11 on the Oricon Singles Chart.^[8] Despite the low sales, "Alarm" became a popular hit in Japan. She performed "Alarm" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards Japan held at Tokyo Bay NK Hall on May 23, 2004.

Four months later in July 2004 she released "All for You", her first original ballad since "I Will". The single was a great success and became the first of three consecutive singles to sell over 100,000 copies. On July 24, 2004, she performed the song at the MTV Buzz Asia Concert held in Seoul, South Korea as a performing artist representing Japan. "All for You" has been certified gold for shipments of over 100,000 by the Recording Industry Association of Japan^[9] and reached No. 6 on the Oricon Singles Chart.^[10]

In October 2004, the double A-side single "Girl Talk/The Speed Star" was released. This was her first double A-side single since "So Crazy/Come" in 2003. Interestingly, when the album was released only "Girl Talk" was included in the tracklist while "The Speed Star" was omitted for unknown reasons. The single was a big hit for Amuro, debuting at No. 2 on the Oricon Singles Chart, her first single to achieve this since "Wishing On The Same Star".^[11] The successs of the double A-side single earned Amuro an invite to perform at the end of the year event Kouhaku Uta Gassen, but she declined.^[12] This ended her nine year streak of performing at the event.^[13] The following year, on February 3, 2005, she performed "Girl Talk" at MTV Asia Aid 2005, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand. At the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards Japan held on May 9, 2005, the music video for "Girl Talk" won the prize for Best R&B Video.^[14]

The last single off the album, "Want Me, Want Me", was released in April 2005. In March 2005, a month before its official release, Amuro sung the song at Japan's largest fashion event, Kobe Collection. The performance surprised the approximately 2,000 audience members who had not been notified at all of her appearance. Amuro commented: "I was a little nervous because I was performing at a special event like a fashion show, but the venue was really excited, so I had a lot of fun!"^[15] The song "Want Me, Want Me" was another hit for her and reached No. 2 on the Oricon Singles Chart.^[16] It also provided her with her largest first week sales since "Say the Word". Two months later she performed the song at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.

Music videos

The music video for "Alarm" was directed by Ugichin.^[17] The video was predominately filmed in black-and-white and depicts Amuro and her backup dancers dancing in a warehouse wearing biker fashion. There are also interspersed scenes throughout the video of a TV screen in a bar showing Amuro walking down a runway while wearing a yellow minidress. A drag queen also makes a brief appearance. At the end of the video, a ring is chucked at the screen and picked up by a long-haired man whose look is reminiscent of Amuro’s ex-husband.

The music video for "All For You" was directed by Masashi Mutō^[18] and depicts Amuro singing emotionally all alone on a beach in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture in front of a sunset.

The music video for "Girl Talk" was directed by Ugichin.^[19] Filmed in a Spanish-style mansion, the video is plain and simple, depicting Amuro in a variety of rooms. The main scene of the video has Amuro in a pink cowboy hat while she's dancing with two female dancers. Another scene has her singing on top of a bed. The third scene had Amuro sitting in a living room with her two dancers chatting on a settee in the background.

The music video for "The Speed Star" was also directed by Ugichin^[20] and features Amuro and five background dancers performing in front of a giant car motor. As they dance, runners try to sprint towards Amuro before being blown back by the fan of the motor. The video switches between this scene and two others. Another scene has Amuro and her dancers performing in pink boxes. The camera spans back and forth between each dancer as they freestyle. The last scene of the video involves Amuro pole dancing alone. This scene was presented in black and white with high contrast between the tones.

The music video for "Want Me Want Me" was directed by Masashi Muto.^[21] Filmed in an undisclosed studio, it features Amuro and several dancers of various ethnic backgrounds dancing vehemently in a flooded room. The room switches between two colors, blue and beige.

Another track off the album, "WoWa" was released as a video and radio single but was not retailed. The music video for "WoWa" was directed by Masashi Mutō.^[22] The main scene of the music video depicts Amuro and several female dancers wearing roller skates and holding cheerleader pom-poms while dancing by a pool. By the end of the video, Amuro is accompanied by two male dancers who dance in a marching band style. There are also interspersed animated scenes in the video featuring The Pink Panther and the Namie Panther character.^[23]

Promotion

To promote Queen of Hip-Pop, approximately 150 Namie Panther flags were displayed around Center Gai in Shibuya.^[24] Throughout the album's campaign, Amuro promoted several songs off of it through various products and advertisements. Before the album was even announced, its title track was used as a commercial jingle for Chevrolet Suzuki Cruze automobiles.^[25] For the songs "Alarm", "Girl Talk", and "WoWa", Amuro appeared in three TV commercials for the LUCIDO-L hair products which featured each one of those three songs respectively. "All For You" served as the opening theme to the popular Japanese television drama Kimi Ga Omoide Ni Naru Mae Ni. This was her first single since 1998's "I Have Never Seen" to be used for a television drama. "No" was later used to promote the "Space of Hip-Pop ~namie amuro tour 2005~" home video. Five days after the release of Queen of Hip-Pop, a secret event titled “HMV 15th Anniversary presents NAMIE AMURO "Queen of Hip-Pop"” was held on a special stage on the rooftop of Aqua City Odaiba, where she performed 3 songs from the album, including "WoWa".^[26]

Furthermore, Amuro embarked on a concert tour titled "Space of Hip-Pop ~namie amuro tour 2005~", which made 35 stops throughout Japan from September to December 2005. The tour was later released on DVD on March 15, 2006,^[27] which went on to reach No. 2 on the Oricon DVD Chart and was eventually certified gold.^[28]

Commercial performance

In Japan, Queen of Hip-Pop debuted at the runner-up spot on the Oricon Albums Chart with 201,524 units sold in its first week, being blocked from number one by Ketsumeishi's Ketsunopolis 4.^[29] This became Amuro's highest first week sales for an album in five years. It descended to number three on the albums chart the following week, shifting 91,236 units.^[30] In total, Queen of Hip-Pop lasted four weeks in the top ten, and stay in the top 300 chart for 25 weeks.^[31] Additionally, it was ranked the 27th best-selling album of 2005 with 450,359 copies sold in Japan.^[32] The record also debuted at #1 on the Taiwanese J-Pop chart and #2 on the Combo Chart. Queen of Hip-Pop was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for shipments of 500,000 units.^[33] In the second quarter of 2006, Avex reported that Queen of Hip-Pop sold approximately 494,000 copies in Japan.^[34] According to Oricon Style, Queen of Hip-Pop is Amuro's twelfth best-selling album overall.^[35]

Track listing

Credits and personnel

1. Queen of Hip-Pop
   • Produced by Nao'ymt
   • All instruments performed by Nao'ymt
   • Mixed by D.O.I.
2. WANT ME, WANT ME
   • Produced by SUGI-V
   • Co-Produced by Michico
   • Vocal Produced by Michico
   • All instruments performed by SUGI-V
   • Mixed by D.O.I.
3. WoWa
   • Produced by Nao'ymt
   • All instruments performed by Nao'ymt
   • Mixed by D.O.I.
4. I Wanna Show You My Love
   • Produced by T.Kura
   • Vocal Produced by Michico
   • All instruments performed by T.Kura
   • Mixed by T.Kura
5. GIRL TALK
   • Produced by T.Kura
   • Vocal Produced by Michico
   • All instruments performed by T.Kura
   • Mixed by T.Kura
6. Free
   • Produced by Nao'ymt
   • All instruments performed by Nao'ymt
   • Mixed by Yoshiaki Onishi
7. My Darling
   • Produced by T.Kura
   • Vocal Produced by Michico
   • Additional Vocals by L.L.BROTHERS
   • All instruments performed by T.Kura
   • Mixed by T.Kura
8. Ups & Downs duet with Nao'ymt
   • Produced by Nao'ymt
   • All instruments performed by Nao'ymt
   • Mixed by Yoshiaki Onishi
9. I Love You
   • Produced by C."Tricky" Stewart
   • Japanese Lyrics by Shoko Fujibayashi
   • All instruments performed by C."Tricky" Stewart
   • Track Recorded by Brian"B-Luv"Thomas
   • Mixed by Carlton Lynn
10. ALL FOR YOU
    • Arranged by Jun Abe & Ryoki Matsumoto
    • Chorus arranged by Ryoki Matsumoto
    • Programmed by Jun Abe
    • Chorus: Ryoki Matsumoto
    • Piano & Keyboard: Jun Abe
    • Guitar: Kenji Suzuki
    • Strings: Rush by Takashi Katou
    • Mixed by Junya Endo
11. ALARM
    • All instruments performed by MONK
    • Mixed by Yoshiaki Onishi
12. No
    • Produced by Nao'ymt
    • All instruments performed by Nao'ymt
    • Mixed by D.O.I.

• Lead and Background Vocals directed by Nao'ymt(#1,8,12), Michico(#2,4,5,7), Daisuke Imai(#3,6,9), Kenji Sano(#11)
• Recorded by Toshihiro Wako, except #3 (by Yusuke Abe) and #10 (by Toshihiro Wako & Eiji Kameda)
• Mastered by Tom Coyne

Production

• Producers – T.Kura, Michico, Nao'ymt, C. "Tricky" Stewart, SUGI-V
• Vocal Producers – Michico
• Vocal Direction – Daisuke Imai, Michico, Nao'ymt, Kenji Sano
• Chorus Arrangement – Ryoki Matsumoto
• Mixing – D.O.I, Junya Endo, T.Kura, Carlton Lynn, Yoshiaki Onishi
• Photography – Shoji Uchida
• Art Direction – Hidekazu Sato

Charts

Sales and certifications

References

^ "Recording Industry Association of Japan". Retrieved May 3, 2006.

This page was last edited on 14 April 2024, at 23:10