Namie Amuro - Best Fiction (2008)

Still rumbling despite the usual turnover in idol singers, Namie Amuro returned to the J-pop scene in 2007 after some time spent in relative obscurity (her first turns at success had been over ten years prior, and her output had very slowly tapered off over the years). Rather than taking on the basic manufactured pop sound common to the J-pop world, Amuro spends more of her energy in a dance format, using pounding beats and sexualized lyrics to create a different sound from the light and innocent pop saturating the market, acting as something of a Japanese Madonna in a sense. With Best Fiction, her third greatest-hits compilation, her output from 2002 to 2008 is covered in full detail. The album opens with one of two originals, "Do Me More," starting out with an energetic bang of dance before moving to a largely English ballad, "Wishing on the Same Star," which allows Amuro to showcase her actual vocal ability with a basic R&B ballad that calls for some emotion along the way. "Alarm," from 2004, lets her work amidst some Timbaland-style electronic and percussion grooves, and "Want Me, Want Me" introduces a thick bhangra beat that Amuro uses with surprising fluidity as she slinks around the overly sexualized lyrics. There's some standard fare along the way as well -- items that are sure to hit the charts but leave less lasting impressions. Before the end, though, Amuro explores some older samples with bass-heavy tracks and bits of the Supremes, Aretha Franklin, and Irene Cara's "What a Feeling." There's a lot of range covered here, and all of it performed quite well. Not bad stamina for a onetime idol singer.