Style (Namie Amuro album)

Style
Style
	The cover art includes their CD and regular cover edition replaced by old pressings.
Studio album by Namie Amuro
Released	10 December 2003
Recorded	2002–2003
Studio	Baybridge Studio; Bazooka Studio; Bunkamura Studio; Maruni Studio; On Air Azabu Studio; Rojam Studio;
Genre	R&B; hip-pop;
Length	53:07
Label	Avex Trax
Producer	Dallas Austin; Full Force; T.Kura; Michico; Teddy Riley;
Namie Amuro chronology
Singles from Style
	"Wishing on the Same Star"; Released: 11 September 2002; "Shine More"; Released: 5 March 2003; "Put 'Em Up"; Released: 16 July 2003; "So Crazy/Come"; Released: 16 October 2003;

Style is the sixth studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. It was released on Wednesday, December 10, 2003, through Avex Trax. Her first studio album in nearly three years, Style follows her crossover into R&B and hip hop that began with the collaborative project Suite Chic in 2002. Although Amuro had dabbled with R&B beats in the past, this is her first original studio album to predominantly feature the actual genre. Style was her first album after the termination of her working relationship with longtime producer, Tetsuya Komuro, as well as her last collaboration with American record producer Dallas Austin to date.

Commercially, Style was a disappointment. It debuted at number four on the Oricon Albums Chart with first week sales of over 93,000 copies, the lowest of Amuro's career and her first not to sell over 100,000 during its first week. Despite being the lowest-selling album of her career, it was still certified Platinum for shipments of over 250,000 copies by the RIAJ.^[1] The album spawned four top ten singles, "Wishing on the Same Star", "Shine More", "Put 'Em Up" and "So Crazy/Come". Amuro promoted Style by embarking on her first international concert tour titled the So Crazy Tour.

Overview

The album represents a major shift in Amuro's musical direction, and would set the tone for all of the singer's subsequent releases. AllMusic described the album as "marginally more gritty", taking Amuro "closer in sound to her musical idol, Janet Jackson".^[2] Although the album is focused on R&B and hip-hop, it still features some pop songs; Amuro explained that certain styles of songs were included for variety. First editions of the album included two bonus tracks, the Mad Bear remix of "So Crazy" and the movie version of "Wishing on the Same Star".

Several of the album's songs are covers: "Indy Lady" (a cover of "Independent Lady", originally by Toni Estes), "Come" (originally by Sophie Monk), "As Good As" (also recorded by WhatFor) and "Wishing on the Same Star" (originally by Keedy).

The song "Put 'Em Up", which was released as the second single preceding the album, is slightly edited from its original form; instead of fading out, the song comes to an abrupt end. "Lovebite" is a collaboration with Takuro of the Japanese rock band Glay. Takuro and Amuro had previously spoken about collaborating years ago and they finally had an opportunity with this album. "Four Seasons" was used as the theme song to the third InuYasha motion picture, Swords of an Honorable Ruler. The song "Come" has also been used as the 7th ending theme for InuYasha.^{[citation needed]}

Style is Amuro's lowest ranking and selling album. Before its release, Amuro launched her largest tour at the time, Namie Amuro So Crazy Tour featuring Best Singles 2003-2004. Due to the nature of the tour, she only performed the singles from the album. Ultimately, many of the songs from the album have never been performed to a public audience, although she did perform them on an exclusive fan club tour in 2004 that was not open to the public.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arranger(s)	Length
1.	"Namie's Style"	T.Kura, Michico	T.Kura, Michico	T.Kura	4:03
2.	"Indy Lady" (featuring Zeebra)	Teddy Riley Japanese lyrics Yuji Toriumi, Zeebra	Teddy Riley	Teddy Riley	5:19
3.	"Put 'Em Up"	Dallas Austin, Jasper Cameron Japanese lyrics Michico	Dallas Austin	Dallas Austin	4:03
4.	"So Crazy"	Full Force, Jennifer "JJ" Johnson Japanese lyrics Michico Rap Tiger	Full Force, Jennifer "JJ" Johnson	Cobra Endo	4:34
5.	"Don't Lie to Me"	Jeff Lorber, Jeff Pescetto Japanese lyrics Yuji Toriumi	Jeff Lorber, Jeff Pescetto	Jeff Lorber, Jeff Pescetto	3:42
6.	"Lovebite"	Takuro	Takuro	Akira	3:09
7.	"Four Seasons"	Jusme	Monk	Monk	3:47
8.	"Fish" (featuring Verbal & Arkitec)	Jusme, Verbal	Monk	Monk	4:27
9.	"Gimme More"	Ivan Johnson, Sylvia Bennett Smith Japanese lyrics Namie Amuro	Ivan Johnson, Sylvia Bennett Smith	Cobra Endo	3:24
10.	"As Good As"	Nicolas Molinder, Joakim Persson, Pelle Anckarberg Japanese lyrics Kenko-p	Nicolas Molinder, Joakim Persson, Pelle Anckarberg	Cobra Endo	3:28
11.	"Shine More"	Scott Nickoley, Sandra Pires, Paul Taylor Japanese lyrics H.U.B.	Scott Nickoley, Sandra Pires, Paul Taylor	Cobra Endo	3:39
12.	"Come"	Kask, Mansson, Cunnah Japanese lyrics Yuriko Mori	Kask, Mansson, Cunnah	Cobra Endo	4:34
13.	"Wishing on the Same Star"	Diane Warren Japanese lyrics Kenko-p	Diane Warren	Masaki Iehara	4:58

Exclusive bonus tracks
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
14.	"So Crazy" (Mad Bear Mix)	Full Force, Jennifer "JJ" Johnson Japanese lyrics Michico Rap Tiger	Full Force, Jennifer "JJ" Johnson	4:26
15.	"Wishing on the Same Star" (Movie Version)	Diane Warren Japanese lyrics Kenko-p	Diane Warren	3:12

Personnel

Namie Amuro – vocals, background vocals
Arkitec – vocals
Verbal – vocals
Zeebra – vocals
Mr. Blistah – additional vocals
Clench – additional vocals
Coyass – additional vocals
Kareb James – background vocals
L.L. Brothers – background vocals
Yuko Kawai – background vocals
Michico – background vocals
Dave Cleveland – electric guitar
Cobra Endo – multiple instruments
Ron Harris – multiple instruments
Jeff Lorber – keyboard, guitar
Monk – multiple instruments
Murayama-Kishiyama Strings – strings (bonus track: Wishing on the Same Star [Movie Version])
Jeff Pescetto – guitar
Yasuharu Nakanishi – piano (bonus track: Wishing on the Same Star [Movie Version])

Production

Producers – Full Force, Dallas Austin, T.Kura, Michico, Teddy Riley
Arrangement – Akira, Dallas Austin, Cobra Endo, Masaki Iehara, T.Kura, Monk, Teddy Riley
String Arrangement – Tatsuya Murayama
Mixing – Rob Chiarelli, Kevin "KD" Davis, Junya Endo, T.Kura, Peter Mokran, Koji Morimoto, Yoshiaki Onishi, Teddy Riley, David Z.
Vocal Direction – Akira, Mayumi Harada, Daisuke Imai, T.Kura, Michico, Kenji Sano
Remixing – Mad Bear Sound System (bonus track: So Crazy[Mad Bear Mix])
Photography – Kazunali Tajima
Art Direction – Tyg

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2003-2004)	Peak position
Japan Albums Chart (Oricon)^[3]	4

Year-end charts

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Japan Albums Chart (Oricon)^[4]	67

Sales and certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)^[6]	Platinum	221,874^[5]

References

^ ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2004年2月. RIAJ (in Japanese). 10 March 2004. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
^ "Namie Amuro – Biography – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
^ "STYLE 安室奈美恵". Oricon. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
^ "2004年　アルバム年間TOP100". Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
^ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 May 2014.
^ "Japanese album certifications – 安室奈美恵 – STYLE" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 22 March 2024. Select 2004年2月 on the drop-down menu

[1] ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2004年2月. RIAJ (in Japanese). 10 March 2004. Retrieved 13 November 2010.

[2] "Namie Amuro – Biography – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 March 2014.

[3] "STYLE 安室奈美恵". Oricon. Retrieved 22 March 2024.

[yearly-4] "2004年　アルバム年間TOP100". Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2024.

[5] "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 May 2014.

[Japan安室奈美恵STYLEalbumCertRef-6] "Japanese album certifications – 安室奈美恵 – STYLE" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 22 March 2024. Select 2004年2月 on the drop-down menu

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