Namie drops an album sampler of _genic and snatches wigs through the internet

Namie Amuro - _genic | Random J Pop

Namie's 12th studio album _genic is still a month away from release. But given there are no singles to precede it, an album preview has made its way online to whet fans' appetites until June 10th rolls around.

To release an album in Japan with no singles and all new tracks is a risk given that it goes completely against the modus operandi in Japan when it comes to album releases. But if anybody can get away with this, it's Namie Amuro. And if the album sampler is anything to go by, recording an album as a complete body of work has done her wonders, because _genic is sounding like one of Namie's most consistent offerings.

If upon seeing the track list for this album you were crying over the loss of "Neonlight lipstick", "Ballerina", "Sweet kisses" and "Brighter days", dry your tears chile. Namie has given you some new-new that trumps every single one of these songs.


Namie seems to have struck a nice balance between the sound she began to cultivate with Queen of hip pop and Play, the Engrish laden songs she debuted on Uncontrolled, the heavy EDM focus of Feel and also the tinges of rock she touched on with songs like "Wonder woman" and "Damage". It's the all-round Namie many wanted from her past 2 albums and then some. I don't need to hear any more to know that _genic is / will be a much better album than Uncontrolled and Feel.

I am beginning to miss Namie singing in Japanese though. Her English doesn't sound a great deal better than it did on Feel, but as was the case with Feel this could vary from song to song. On some songs it was difficult to make out what she was saying, where-as on others you could make her out perfectly. Let us throw it back to Namie's last studio album - where she was unable to pronounce the word 'Heaven' on the song of the same name (♪ Hair-booon is where we arrrrrr, where we arrrrr!♪), yet could pronounce 'stratosphere' perfectly on "Stardust in my eyes". I would love the evolution of Namie doing these albums (because I can't see her stopping) to be that the special edition releases feature versions of the fully Engrish songs sung in Japanese. Or that she at least makes the Japanese versions available for download.

So far it's sounding like Namie has nailed the sound on this album. The production sounds strong and nicely varied. If she manages to deliver with the music videos, then this could well be one of Namie's better albums.

I have been listening to this album preview for days and have even gone as far as to put the damn thing on my iPod. Below are some of my song-by-song thoughts thus far.

■ Time has come
The is some Janet Jackson type shit and I love it. Every time I listen to this snippet I have visions of Namie starring in her own version of Top Gun. Don't ask why, I just do.

■ Golden touch
This shit has me lying on my rug spritzing Paco Rabanne 1 million every time the chorus drops. SUMMER JAM.

■ Birthday
Katy Perry can take her "Birthday" jam and shove it in between her titties.

■ Scream
The Eurobeat, Para-Para realness is giving me everything. It's like Namie threw my ass back to her Super Monkey days with no warning and I love her for it.

■ Fashionista
Play Namie in full effect. The changes from the verse up to the chorus are magic.

■ Fly
Rock Namie has gone through some messy patches in the past, but she does good here. I love the lyrics. It's pretty much her telling Ayu and Kumi, 'Bitch. I've completed Earth. I'm on the bonus stage called 'Sky'. Gurl bye!".

■ B who I want to B
I'm intrigued, as this is the only preview in which we do not hear Namie sing. This has the potential to be an absolute banger if the beat heard in the preview carries throughout the song or if it becomes more of a beast as the song progresses.

■ Stranger
EDM Namie. Grab your glowsticks folks.

■ What I did for love
This is Namie reaching for Madonna's cape and dragging her off a flight of stairs, through the crowds and to the back exit door of the venue. Rebel-what? Living for-what now bitch? This song is a cover of David Guetta & Emeli Sande's "What I did for love", which was only released as a single in February, prior to which it featuring on David Guetta's album Listen which was released in November of last year. I like how Namie sounds on this though, and it fits nicely within the soundscape of the album as a whole based on the previews.

Ayu and Kumi can consider A one and Walk of my life respectively shitted on. We all knew Namie would use Ayu and Kumi Koda's current state careers as target practice, but I wasn't prepared for just how badly she would do it. Come June 10th, Namie will snatch Ayu and Kumi's wigs and leave their edges looking like burnt crops.

Namie Amuro - _genic | Random J Pop

I don't know about you guys and girls, but I'm sold. Namie can have a couple thousand Yen from me.

So, what are your favourite tracks based on the previews?

Comments

  1. Hahaha, i'm in love with this post!!!! I love stranger, I imagine my pussy dancing at the club and touching all the guys in the place........ I need this álbum release NOOOOOWW!!!!

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  2. When I first heard the previews I literally yelled out "OH SHIT! NOW THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!".


    I'm one of Namie's toughest critics but I can't deny that this album is pure fire. I was never a fan of her overall discography, so this is easily my favorite album of hers. No questions asked. She released "Uncontrolled" and "FEEL" much to my disappointment but this album has something those albums lacked. Consistency. The production value is top notch and a far cry from her muffled sounding album days.The songs that stood out to me the most were "Photogenic", "Time Has Come", "Fly", and "Stranger".

    Good job Namie. It seems I won't be cancelling a CDJapan order for your album for the third time in a row. :D

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  3. #THATMOTHERLOVINGSHADE
    #I.CAN'T.EVEN
    #ME...I AM NAMIE STAN; THE SOON TO BE DEAD OTAKU

    LOLOLOL! But seriously, the last pic is priceless and it sums up pretty much how I've gelt about every Ayu and Koda release since her second singles collection

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  4. I'm really feeling Photogenic and Golden Touch. I have those two on repeat.

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  5. The teaser slayes. The queen never disappoints.

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  6. Reed Livengood5 May 2015 at 14:10

    I'm actually most intrigued for It and Photogenic. We didn't even get hear the chorus for It, but the whistling and staccato beat got my attention.

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  7. Not gonna lie. I was just about done with Namie. I wasn't really feeling any of the matetial she released post Feel, except Tsuki, but she managed to renew my interest with _genic with just how different she decided to roll this album out. You can dislike Namie all you want, but she knows how to stay relevant and reinvent herself with out Alienating fans.

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  8. https://soundcloud.com/platform/sophie From 1:33 --- the demo of B who I want to B

    Serving me QT teas omg, she did NOT! Imagine her vocals on this, Jesus, + its got a decent length, ugh.

    I've never been this excited for a Namie album, she's about to scalp Japan raw. Golden Time, Fly, Photogenic, B who I want to B and Fashionista are all guaranteed perfection.

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  9. I don't care about 'SWEET KISSES', and 'Still Lovin' You', but along with 'BRIGHTER DAY' I think they would fit the album though. The same goes for 'Neonlight Lipstick'. Maybe I will throw 'BRIGHTER DAY' and 'Ballerina' on '_genic' because 'Ballerina' is my jam. But '_genic' is still an amazing album even without those songs. I can't wait for Namie to release some teasers from the music video's.

    My favorite songs:
    Photogenic.
    Time Has Come.
    Scream.
    Fashionista.
    Stranger.

    I can't wait for 'Fashionista', and 'Stranger' mv's. June 10th can hurry the F. up!

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  10. I wasn't ready for this. What the fuck. I've been reduced to a pathetic, sobbing mess in these 15 minutes, and it was amazing.

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  11. "Golden touch" gets plenty of rewinds from me. I'm glad this is one of the songs that's getting the video. I just hope it's a good one. I want to see her popping and squatting on a floor of gold Cartier watches.

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  12. One of my friends is going to be in Japan the week this album drops. I've already given them 3,000 Yen to cop this for me. The album is sounding hot.

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  13. Listen... I was sent a link to the album sampler on Twitter whilst I was at work. I went into the toilet cubicle with my phone and my headphones and I was sat listening to the track to track hotness like 'DIS BITCH...'.

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  14. Given how hot the album sampler sounds, I am not pressed AT ALL that "Neonlight lipstick", "Sweet kisses" or "Brighter day" got left off. Not for a second. "Brighter day" would have fit nicely, as would have "Ballerina". But there are enough hot sounding tracks on this album that I don't feel like it would have been better with them. 'Feel' on the other hand would have befitted greatly from having these songs.

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  15. Uncontrolled and Feel were weak albums with a couple of great songs. The singles that followed from 'Feel' weren't doing it for me either. I liked "Ballerina" for what it was, but it didn't excite me or make me wish it were on an album or that it would end up one.


    But Namie may just have turned it out with _genic. Completely scrapping the singles and recording an album with top to bottom fresh songs was a great decision.


    A One and Walk of my life weren't a damn thing from the start. But Namie has thrown both of those albums in a burnable trash pile. She's nailed the sound. The only thing I think fans may rat on her for is that too many of the songs are in Engrish.

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  16. @Random J, your comment about "Fly" had me nearly on the floor laughing. The imagery I got from that one comment was like a cutaway scene in an episode of Family Guy. Thank you for sharing this. I am looking forward to Namie's new album so I can finally put some new songs in rotation that aren't from the "Play" and "Uncontrolled" era. Namie is finally back on my relevant radar again with this hot fire that is about to burn edges like wildfires destroy trees and claw wigs like an eagle building a nest.

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  17. There is one thing I can say about Crystal Kay is that she looks damn good. All that time being busy doing a lot of stuff that amounts to nothing in terms of her US debut have given her even more time to work on her fitness, and the CrossFit has given her abs like her idol Janet had in her days of relevancy. Just like you, I will always support Crystal in all of her endeavors because she is a talented artist and a good human being that I can't help but root for. I will light some Shoyeido incense around my copy of her CK 10 anniversary tour DVD, "Call Me Miss" album, and my iPod filled with all of her previous albums and singles in the hopes that it will grant her some luck this time around as she re-enters her native market in Japan.


    I am also going put her song "I Pray" on repeat as I say an extra special prayer that her video for this new single looks like it was shot on a budget that used some of the profits from that Samsung iGalaxy S6 Edge and not simply on the phone itself. I might have to go kill a goat for a ritual so that it can not only consist of a high budget but also have a good director and concept because I cringe when I see videos like "Rule Your World" or "What We Do" to this day for all the missed opportunities for greatness. That is all.

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  18. I'm glad my home girl C-Kay is still releasing music. I personally like "The Light" more than "Kimi ga ita kara". I'm sorry but the song does nothing for me and sounds like your typical J-pop ballad.
    I just hope she releases more R&B flavored songs in the future. I'm not digging the "light pop" trend that's been prevalent lately. She's still my favorite Asian singing diva and always will be. I just hope her next album will be released this year.

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  19. Oh my lord, i want yo buy it too

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  20. When Namie's version of this drops, you can find me on the floor like...

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  21. The full preview video is out!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9mK4nw7nuY

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  22. It's at the point in her career, that im glad she is releasing music. I hoping this single gets into the top 50, like superman did. Top 10 or 20 will be a miracle!

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  23. And they all sound the same. Not feeling this at all.

    Overproduced into oblivion with no melodies in sight.

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  24. I am happy she's releasing music. Last time I checked she was in top 10 on recochoku and top 10 Itunes japan. I've just checked now she's in top 20 on recochoku so I am glad she's doing well.

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  25. I absolutely hated Uncontrolled. It's her most forgettable album to date in my opinion. I think the only song off that album that still gets any kind of love from me is Yeah Oh. I thought feel was considerably better, but some of the material was still forgetable. It looks like Namie might have just nailed the sound she was going for these past few years with Genic.

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  26. I felt this way on a first listen, but after giving the Album sampler a second run through I changed my opinion. A coupe of the songs do sound like shit though.

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  27. I went to listen to the sampler youtube clip tonight and they've taken it down.

    Probably mad about the Leaks.

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  28. What do you think of her Exile connections? That's an interesting entry point to get back on her J-swag. I'm not a big Exile fan but they are insanely popular.

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  29. Augusto Aguayo25 May 2015 at 19:51

    I don´t know, as long she does not come back to the fucking ghetto from PLAY, QUEEN OF HIP-SHIT AND NIGGASTYLE i´ll be happy, i thought she was going to renew herself in a more authentic way with more freshing ballads like brighter day (for me, that´s wong is waaaaaay better than all the shit she released from 2002-2010) but no, she wants to keep autotuned, wel, she can go ahead.

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  30. Augusto Aguayo25 May 2015 at 19:53

    Namie is folowwing her friend ayu to the highway to FLOP, she is selling billiosn of copies beacuse of the public she is directed to (horny teenage girls) as long as she keeps on a gyaryu´s mind she will end up as ayu, and boy, i start to hate someone when uses a lot the same fucking genre on and on (aski to ayu and her horrible trend to do sappy balldas D:)

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