namie amuro 25th ANNIVERSARY LIVE in OKINAWA at 宜野灣海濱公園野外特設會場 2017.9.16
namie amuro Final Tour 2018 ~Finally~ at Tokyo Dome 2018.6.3
【WHEN】:2017、2019
【WHERE】:Avex Trax Online Shop、iTunes
【WHO】:Only with myself, alone.
【WHY】
Being a fan since 1997. Ticket to live concert 2001 in Taiwan purchased, but it was ruined by a typhoon. Live concerts 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013 in Taiwan attended.
In two. She breaks her heart in two, black and baby blue. She wanna take the only brighter half. Then she feels alright. Determination of retiring.
Stranger and Space Invader released in June 2015.
Alive and Poison released in July 2013.
Shut Up released in December 2009.
HANDLE ME released in April 2005.
butterfly released in July 2004.
As Good As released in December 2003.
I WILL released in February 2002.
lovin’ it released in December 2001.
break the rules released in December 2000.
No Communication released in July 1997.
During the tour, there were fans, who got no ticket, gathering outside of the places and listening to the music leaked from inside. How hatred and sad it could be!
I’ve been to several places around the world, and one of them is Okinawa. It’s never been an option on my list. A short chat with a friend of mine got us visited there. She noticed me the news of the live concerts in Taipei, and I told her that if I could get the ticket, I would definitely get myself there even though I would cry from the beginning to the end. Probably, it is hatred and sad enough, so my Gods and Goddesses changed the future of me attending one of my previous favorite activities.
To me, it’s a pity that I didn’t make it to the concert hall at the end. Tears appeared on the day retirement got announced, and they should disappear in one of the places outside of Japan. Mainland China and Hong Kong used to be options, but my schedule and budget were not available. Therefore, those tears are still kidnapped by the hatredness and sadness. The feelings should be erased as the tears want to be rescued. Truth or Dare game is calling it quits.
Truth: As a fan since 1997, I’ve seen her dancing while singing for a very long time. She is definitely a pro. However, the reality demands challenges. Among the same type of singers around the world, is she professional enough to keep herself in good shape for dancing while singing all the time? Her music were made for live performance. Except her music, she has no extra word for any attendee to her live concerts. So, live performance defines her singer and dancer career. Compare to other beaties, who are and are not capable of dancing, she needed to maintain herself with heavy volume of exercises, so there is no need to keep her beautiful in public with too much medical care, makeup, fashion accessories etc. A celebrity gets more than one role in industries. She is a boss, an employee, and a physical product maker. Myself as a normal resident needs privacy, holidays, day-offs, and retirement. She is not actually that special. A sexual partner who would not betray, a marriage which is not easy to break, a group of friends without industrial financial connections, a lifestyle without hiding her faces, to name a few. Retirement in her fourties is not that suprising, to be honest.
Dare: Where was the spotlight after the retirement announcement went public? There were lots of activities launched by her. There were different reports in different media platforms. What’s in common is the review of her career. As a long-term and senior consumer, I sensed something unuasul to myself. For the strategy of getting retired, she became a dancing singer I have never met before. “Retirement” is not an easy topic for celebrities and their followers. According to her arrangement, the marketing topic was sadness but the phenomenon and atmosphere were glorious and excitement. “Finally” was the slogan of the strategy. “How do you feel now?“ marked the end of her dancing singer career. Was she a betrayer to all of her fans? What would be a better movement for her to get off the entertainment industry? Longer gaps between singles and albums; fewer schedules for each live tour; more magzines, advertisements, and other activities as income sources; time spent on exploring what’s new in life and gently shifting to another future, etc. Is all of her fans her friend or foe? Were purchasing her relevant products and buying tickets to participate in her live concerts the worst investments I have ever made? If I knew about her idea and planning of getting retired at the very beginning, would I still decide to become a fan? She is probably the first one in history to retire under such an arrangement. Is it good or bad to retire under such an arrangement?
The last year of her career began and ended both at OKINAWA on September 16th, but in 2017 and 2018 seperately. Am I the only one seeing the duration as the funeral? It’s a western and eastern integreted style funeral. The eastern part connected with all the money contributed to all relevant services and products provided by her. The western part connected with the entire strategic planning. In the east, people paying money when attending a funeral tends to show their willingness of helping the remaining family members to get through the hard time. So, it‘s impossible to have fun or make fun of the dead in such an occasion. In the west, people could deliver speeches for the dead and create a less serious ceremony for all attendees. How hatred and sad it was, wasn’t it?
To me, some nobody as her fan since 1997, Namie Amuro as a Japanese dancing singer is not just retired. I saw myself a friend to her, but feel like a foe to her at the end. Namie Amuro as a Japanese dancing singer had died at my end in 2018. From then on, Namie Amuro is just a normal Japanese resident. My role of Namie Amuro’s fan has marked “1997-2018” forever. Period.