Namie Amuro

Namie Amuro (安室 奈美恵, Amuro Namie or あむろ.なみえ, September 20, 1977 - ) is a Japanese pop singer and Japanese idol originally from Naha, Okinawa, born to a Japanese father and a half Japanese/half Italian mother. Debuting in 1992 in a g

Namie Amuro (安室 奈美恵, Amuro Namie or あむろ.なみえ, September 20, 1977 - ) is a Japanese pop singer and Japanese idol originally from Naha, Okinawa, born to a Japanese father and a half Japanese/half Italian mother. Debuting in 1992 in a girl group named SUPER MONKEYS, she struggled to reach the top until the release of "TRY ME ~Watashi wo Shinijite~" in early 1995 which catapulted her into superstardom. Leaving the group the same year and joining forces with top producer Tetsuya Komuro, Namie went on to become a cultural phenomenon. Now after performing for well over a decade, she continues to be one of Japan's biggest pop acts.

At the age of 15, Amuro, along with a group of classmates, formed the pop group known as the Super Monkeys. Although moderately successful in their home prefecture, Okinawa, a move to Tokyo (presumably at the behest of their record label, Toshiba EMI) garnered more exposure for the Super Monkeys, and Namie in particular, so much that the group came to be known as 'Namie Amuro with Super Monkeys'.