Flashback Friday: Double & Namie Amuro - Black Diamond | Namie and the chaos emeralds

We still don’t have any of Namie Amuro’s full music videos officially uploaded to YouTube, which is just crazy to me. But there is one. Through no help of Avex or the estate of Namie Amuro. I know a bitch isn’t dead. But that's what I’mma call the team she has responsible for her shit, because I know she herself ain’t dealing with it. When she said she was retiring, she said meant RETIRE. And that included career admin.

Y’all remember Double? The Japanese R&B duo who tragically became a solo act, who managed to get Namie Amuro on a song AND show up in the music video AND dance AND physically touch somebody AND do several outfit changes!?

Namie must really ride for Double, because Namie barely did any of these things for her own music videos, much less somebody else’s. Despite only being available officially as a -12p quality ‘short version’ on YouTube for 6 years, the full version of “Black Diamond” has finally been officially uploaded to the YouTube account of the label / management company Double is signed to, and has been signed to her entire career.

I’ve seen fan uploads of this music video which are better quality. But that’s Japan for you.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of “Black Diamond” when it first released, but I didn’t hate it. The one thing about the song and video that I liked is that Double pretty much said ‘Let’s just make this a Namie Amuro thing’. The style of the song and the music video is very in line with what Namie was releasing at the time. Some probably even thought it was a Namie Amuro featuring Double song, which I don’t think Double minded at all.

Not only did Namie go above and beyond for the song and music video, but she actually showed up to promote the damn thing. She performed “Black Diamond” live with Double on more than one occasion. She turned up to the MTV awards with Double. “Black Diamond” was even included as part of some of Namie’s tour setlists, with Namie singing Double’s verse. Namie also performed “Black Diamond” at her last ever concert, and brought out Double to perform it with her.

She really loved this song y’all. And I think it’s highly regarded by Namie’s fans as one of her better and most memorable collaborations, because it really put Namie in her element.

There was a clear mutual respect and comfort that Namie and Double felt towards one another. Something which resulted in the two of them working together again for Namie’s song “Love Game”, which was written by Double. A song which was more famed for Namie bringing out the bob wig than anything else.

It’s a shame Double didn’t end up writing more songs for Namie. Having her pen one of the newer songs for her pink slip album Finally would have been a nice bow, and a way to have Double be a part of the album, given that neither “Black Diamond” or “Love Game” featured on it. Also, those newer songs for Finally were all garbage. “Finally” was the only song I actually liked, and that was such a weird song, because it felt like a euthanasia anthem. The song really sounded like Namie was singing about dying and not just retiring from music.

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💿 Namie album reviews: Finally | _genic | Feel | Uncontrolled | Past < Future | Play | Queen of Hip-Pop | Style | When Pop hits the Fan | Break the Rules | Concentration 20

📀 Revised edition: Uncontrolled

🔊 Namie playlists: The ballads & slow jams | The buss down | This is Namie Amuro