Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Namie Amuro -- Don't Wanna Cry



Although I remember watching the commercial (as above) for Namie Amuro's (安室奈美恵) 5th single, I think my first view of "Don't Wanna Cry" was through an ad for a drink by the name of Mistio.


Released in March 1996, "Don't Wanna Cry" was one of the few songs for Amuro that hadn't been completely by Svengali Tetsuya Komuro (小室哲哉). The former TM Network keyboardist was responsible for the lyrics along with Takahiro Maeda(前田たかひろ)and Komuro took care of the melody. The same combination was also responsible for a previous Amuro hit, "Chase The Chance". At the time, Amuro was beginning her ascent to the top of the J-Pop world, and probably most of us knew her for her dance-pop stuff with The Super Monkeys (now known as MAX) up to that point, but "Don't Wanna Cry" was the first time I'd heard and seen her try an R&B groove, as light as it was. Sometimes, I thought she was going to break her vocal cords on some of the high notes in the song, but I couldn't deny it was a catchy song. Out came my yen.



"Don't Wanna Cry" was another chart-topper for Amuro, and it ended up becoming the 9th-ranked single for 1996. It was her 2nd consecutive No. 1 hit and her 3rd million-seller (1.5 million copies sold). The single won a prize at the Japan Record Awards that year which was the first for Amuro, and the fact that the singer was only 19 at the time meant that she was (and apparently still is) the youngest winner ever to receive such an award. If I'm not mistaken, the above video is from that awards show, and ironically, she didn't mind crying for that. 

By the way, the song is also on her 2nd album, "Sweet 19 Blues" which was also a No. 1 hit and the 2nd-biggest album of 1996. Just to add onto the accolades, Amuro made her 2nd consecutive appearance on NHK's Kohaku Utagassen for "Don't Wanna Cry" as the top batter.


3 comments:

  1. No worries. Love your blog. Keep up the great work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi again. Thanks kindly. Yeah, if you come across any errors or want to make any other comments on the other entries, let me know. Take care!

      Delete
  2. Hi, J-Canuck.

    "Don't Wanna Cry" is one of Amuro's classics. The singe version is nice, but the album version is way groovier. If I'm not mistaken, the bass is thicker (I'm not sure. It's been at least two years since I heard that version).

    I also agree that the high notes are kind of too much at times. Komuro was really pushing her vocals at the time, but she wasn't so gifted in that aspect. Although I like her 90s concerts, it's torturing to hear "Don't Wanna Cry" or "You're My Sunshine" live. Fortunately, she doesn't try too hard on her new songs. Amuro is at a point that she knows what she can or not do.

    ReplyDelete

Feel free to provide any comments (pro or con). Just be civil about it.