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Queen of Hip-Pop

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Queen of Hip-Pop is Namie Amuro's seventh original studio album. It was released on July 13, 2005 after four singles and was her most commercially successful effort in five years before Play was released.

Origin of the title

While planning the album, Amuro decided she wanted to create music that would have its most profound effect live. The result is an album that is her most uptempo containing 11 R&B and hip hop songs and only one pop ballad. The term "Hip-Pop" has been coined to the describe the music on the album because of her image as a pop music icon and her transition to R&B/Hip-Hop music.

Packaging and design

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. 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.

Tie-ups and theme songs

"ALARM", "GIRL TALK", and "WoWa" were used in TV commercials for the LUCIDO-L hair products. Amuro appeared in the three ad campaigns.

"ALL FOR YOU" was the theme song of the popular Japanese drama "Kimi Ga Omoide Ni Naru Mae Ni"

"No" was later used to promote the "Space of Hip-Pop -namie amuro tour 2005-" DVD

In the Hindi film "Darling", in the song "Aa Khushi Se Khud Khushi Kar Le", the first few opening lines are from the song "WANT ME, WANT ME". It also has the same sitar sample.

Before the announcement of the album, the title track, "Queen of Hip-Pop" was used as a commercial jingle for Chevrolet Suzuki Cruze automobiles.

Singles

Four singles were released before Queen of Hip-Hop. The first, "ALARM", released in early 2004, is her first (and to date, only) single to miss the top ten. Despite the low sales, "ALARM" became a popular hit in Japan and she performed the song at the 2004 MTV Video Awards Japan.

Four months later she released "ALL FOR YOU", her first ballad since "I WILL" in 2002. The single was a great success and became the first of three consecutive singles to sell over 100,000 copies. She performed the song at the MTV Buzz Asia Concert.

In October, the double A-side single "GIRL TALK / the SPEED STAR" was released. However only "GIRL TALK" was included on the album. Both songs were major hits. Amuro performed "GIRL TALK" at the MTV Asia Aid Concert in February 2005.

The last single of the album, "WANT ME, WANT ME", was her first single of 2005. The song was performed at the 2005 Kobe Collection before its release. "WANT ME, WANT ME" is an up-tempo track similar to reggaeton music and it's her first song to feature sexually aggressive lyrics. Despite this, the single was a smash hit and opened at #2 with her largest first week sales since "Say the word". Two months later she performed the song at the 2005 MTV Video Awards Japan.

Another track off the album, "WoWa" (pronounced "Ooh Wah") was released as a video and radio single but was not retailed.

Sales

Upon release, the album charted at number one in Japan for two days ultimately debuting at number two for the week. It has sold over 475,600 copies and is the 27th best selling album of 2005. Queen of Hip-Pop debuted at #1 on the Taiwanese J-Pop chart and #2 on the Combo Chart. In the second quarter of 2006, Avex reported that Queen of Hip-Pop sold 494,000 copies in Japan.[1]

Album information

After "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.

The version posted on sites such as Imeem clocks in at about 2:35.

Track listing

CD
No.TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Queen of Hip-Pop"TigerNao'ymtNao'ymt3:14
2."Want Me, Want Me"MichicoSUGI-VSUGI-V3:10
3."WoWa"Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt4:08
4."I Wanna Show You My Love"MichicoT.Kura, MichicoT.Kura3:39
5."Girl Talk"T.Kura, MichicoT.Kura, MichicoT.Kura4:22
6."Free"Namie AmuroNao’ymtNao'ymt4:18
7."My Darling"MichicoT. Kura, MichicoT.Kura4:14
8."Ups & Downs" (duet with Nao'ymt)Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt3:46
9."I Love You"Christopher Stewart, Tab, Traci Hale
Japanese lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi		Christopher Stewart, Tab, Traci Hale 4:16
10."All for You"Natsumi WatanabeRyoki MatsumotoJun Abe5:47
11."Alarm"JusmeMonkMonk4:10
12."No"Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt7:07
Secret Track
No.TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s)Length
13."Yes" (-Secret Track-)Nao'ymtNao'ymtNao'ymt7:07

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

Sales total

Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release Chart Peak Position First Week Sales Sales Total Chart Run
13 July 2005 Oricon Daily Charts 1
Oricon Weekly Charts 2 220,000 494,000 70 week
Oricon Monthly Charts 2
Oricon Yearly Charts 27

Singles - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release Single Chart Peak Position
17 March 2004 "Alarm" Oricon Daily Singles Chart 6
Oricon Weekly Singles Chart 11
22 July 2004 "All for You" Oricon Daily Singles Chart 4
Oricon Weekly Singles Chart 6
14 October 2004 "Girl Talk / The Speed Star" Oricon Daily Singles Chart 1
Oricon Weekly Singles Chart 2
6 April 2005 "Want Me, Want Me" Oricon Daily Singles Chart 2
Oricon Weekly Singles Chart 2

Total Single Sales: 371,880

Total Album and Single Sales: 827,308

RIAJ Certification

As of January, 2006 "Queen of Hip-Pop" has been certified double platinum for shipments of over 500,000 by the RIAJ.[1]

References

  1. ^ "Highlights of Consolidated Financial Results" (PDF). avex.co.jp. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-07-31.

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

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