Namie Amuro is a Japanese pop singer and occasional songwriter. She was born on September 20, 1977.

In the Japanese press she was referred to as the "Queen of J-pop" before Ayumi Hamasaki eclipsed her popularity in the mainstream pop scene. She is still considered the Queen of J-pop, but with Hamasaki as the Empress of J-pop. She was noted in her early years for her Westernized dance music and popularized fashion whose followers came to be nicknamed Amurā (Amurer in English).

Debuting in 1992 as part of the quintet Super Monkey's, she later debuted solo in 1995 to phenomenal success with producer Tetsuya Komuro. Severing her ties with Komuro in 2001, Amuro has reestablished herself as a R&B artist.

Her latest album, PLAY (2007) debuted at no 1. She has nine no 1 singles, five of which have sold over a million copies. Namie Amuro is one of the most popular and influential Japanese singers and since her solo debut in 1995, she has sold over 27 millions records.

www.avexnet.or.jp/amuro