While baby Koda Kumi was training to be the next big thing to hit the market and Ayu was doing her thing and was dominating the charts with new songs and concepts; Namie Amuro was attempting to finally make a long-awaited comeback. The first thing Namie did was entirely change her sound, attempting to grab the gradually growing r&b market that was becoming popularized thanks to acts like m-flo, Double, and Ai. The B-Gal movement was on the horizon as shops such as Baby Shoop in Shibuya 109 started selling clubwear meant for clubs playing mainstream music from the West at the time.
The B-Gal movement started mainly through the appreciation of rap and r&b based celebrities internationally as much as domestically. Some of these Japanese celebs either grew up/went to school in America and had moved back to Japan and had a hard time fitting back into Japanese society or were half-Japanese residents who always had difficulty fitting in due to their appearance and having a multicultural background. Gyaru knew exactly how it felt to feel isolated from the rest of society; They also enjoyed a bit of party culture as much as the next person and open-mindedly listened to new music that was debuting or being brought over. This also for sure happened in the 90s as famous Black artists from the West such as Lauryn Hill were featured and interviewed in Egg magazine prior: There had been interest. However, Japan was keen on getting their own taste of the sound in their own language–Verbal and Taku Takahashi of m-flo released their first album. Afterward, their vocalist Lisa departs from the group and they create the “M-flo loves” era which in turn, helps some of the most iconic musicals to be showcased to new listeners on their albums such as Crystal Kay and Emi Hinouchi. However, Verbal also had many other side projects, one in which he helped produce music for artists under his own label such as Emi Hinouchi, Heartsdales, and ironically, Namie Amuro.
Namie Amuro’s Suitechic era is one of the most unknown but relevant eras in her music career. While her music from this time is not often played or promoted, it wouldn’t be fair to not include Suitechic activities as it contributes enormously to her bigger debut album that influenced fashion and music later on (and is the era that is played off as the renewal debut instead of Suitechic)- “The Queen of HipPop”. Namie goes by the pseudonym Suitechic and released collaborative bops such as collaborating with Verbal for “What If” and “Wet n Wild” featuring Heartsdales. This Namie era is immaculate in regards to channeling a very glamorous, cool, and tough sound that rivals that of America’s own Eve, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Lil’ Kim. Other artists would also try to pursue this style of music such as Sowelu (who was interviewed for Popteen often) and Miliyah Kato. New York-raised sisters Heartsdales also become the B-Gal icons around this time with other groups such as Soulhead and the Destiny Child-esque Foxxi MisQ trailing right behind them.
Namie eventually tests the waters of a solo debut with songs such as, “Alarm” that are too shocking for fans who possibly lacked knowledge that she was already performing this style of music under the persona Suitechic. “Alarm” fails but resiliently enough, Namie Amuro continues onward and releases the iconic, “The Queen of HipPop” album, which in turn shakes the pop culture sphere. Many people mistake it as Namie’s first comeback when she had long made a comeback well before that was mistakenly underground. She takes some of the influences from the Suitechic era and applies them to “The Queen of HipPop” by doing exactly that: combining both genres of Hip Hop and Pop.
By 2005, Popteen has Namie Amuro on many covers of their magazines rivaling the likes of Ayumi Hamasaki who has previously been a force to be reckoned with when it comes to branding domination in Japan. The first debut track sets Namie back on the map as she promotes “Wowa” with a cute pink-themed promotional video featuring Pink Panther. The song is catchy and the PV is visually striking with Namie rolling on around a pool and club on skates with sparkling pink pom-poms donned in her hands. Stylistically, the tiered skirts, tank tops, and studded belts become a massive hit for Gyaru during this era; especially if replica outfits come out in 109 in cute feminine pink colorways.
Other tracks such as “Can’t Eat, Can’t Sleep, I’m Sick” made a nod to the likes of Jennifer Lopez sound-wise and stylistically. Funnily enough, the PV also makes a nod at Namie’s influence on the kogal roots of her fans as she dons an adult rendition of a school uniform. The first sightings of d.i.a-style belts also appear in this era and continue to be seen later on in Namie Amuro’s future activities for the album, “Play”. However, the Gyaru anthem of the mid-00s is then set by Amuro’s hit song, “Want Me, Want Me”. The risqué sex-fueled lyrics, the catchy modern sound, and Namie’s impeccable style choices of donning a modern rendition silver frosted eye make up paired with a neutral-colored outfit as she splashes around in a water-filled set with her backup dancers immediately appealed to the Gyaru masses: Their OG queen is back and she has not come here to play.
While Ayumi Hamasaki has been writing songs about love and collaborating with the likes of Armin van Buuren creating trance remixes to dominate the club scene, Namie would create an adult sound catering to the audience that had also grown up as much as she had. Her successful comeback lead to her once again being a style icon that not only dominated the music charts but the fashion magazines over in Japan. Platform boots paired with mini skirts had suddenly been replaced by signature thigh-high boots that Namie often donned for the rest of her career as a pop star. Her next album “Play” created a very similar fashion buzz when tracks such as “Hide and Seek” had her donning once again d.i.a-styled belts, and “Funky Town” incorporated a billowy boho silhouette reminiscent of the 60s and 70s paired with a half-corset around her waist along with her infamous thigh-high boots showing off the trendy golden ratio between a thigh-high and a skirt or shorts in Japanese fashion. At one point, every Gyaru in magazines and on the street was donning a pair of thigh-high boots or socks paired with shorts and mini skirts. If not, you were most likely wearing denim paired with a hardware-heavy embellished belt. Namie Amuro who went on to reign as a supreme force in the industry for years to follow with albums such as “Past/Present/Future”, “Best Fiction”, and “Checkmate!” all of which nodded to trend items such as mini hats, eras of time such as 60s/70s/80s, or nodded to previous eras of hers all while featuring new and old artists on tracks alike.
By the mid-2000s however, the battle of the two reigning queens of Avex was joined by a third: Koda Kumi was set to debut with her song, “Take Back” but her actual career did not kick off until her songs “Real Emotion” and “1000 Words” were used for the Square Enix video game franchise Final Fantasy’s X-2. Suddenly, everyone was interested in who this Koda Kumi girl was. Similarly to her predecessors, Koda Kumi had a distinct fashion and vocal style that created shock waves in the Gyaru market:
If Ayumi Hamasaki was the Madonna of Japan, Koda Kumi was Japan’s very own rendition of Britney Spears. Her promotional videos were on the verge of being scandalous at one point as she went as far as seductively going down on bottles in sexually performed choreography for tracks such as “Juicy” and had risqué innuendo lyrics to back it all up.
The Black Cherry and Kingdom era became some of Kumiko’s most memorable eras post “Secret” which the single “Real Emotion” was a part of. Tracks such as “But” that featured bright decorative sets but were thematically sex-positive had contrasting elements of both cute and erotic, thus, making Koda Kumi a trendsetter. The most impactful thing that people remember out of her performances was a concert entrance that may have topped one of Ayumi Hamasaki’s own. Koda Kumi decided to do a one-up by appearing on the stage during one of her tours in a literal fish tank that was immersed in water. To prove to her audience that the tank wasn’t a television screen, she popped out of the tank in real time, soaking wet to the surprise of her enthusiastic audience: This pop star was all about shock value. Due to this, people either loved or hated Ku-chan…some loved a good show and thought she was cute while others were scandalized and thought that she lacked talent.
In the Gyaru world, she was adored and was yet again, another sex-positive trendsetter who pushed the envelope. Koda Kumi donned bleached or streaked hair, rocked a tan, wore a sexy wardrobe, and more importantly-she popularized very intricate nail sets. Before the days of Rina Sakurai being admired for her crazy decked-out nail sets, there was Koda Kumi. Nails had always been an important fixture for Gyaru fashion. However, nothing was nearly as intricate as what Koda Kumi had on her fingernails. Kumiko truly set the bar high with nail art being something that people were fascinated by her for. She not only dominated Popteen covers but also was featured as a part of an entirely different magazine market–Nail UP! magazine. Gyaru immediately began decking out their nails like Koda Kumi as well as emulating her style that was dubbed “ero-kawaii” or “erotic cute” due to the sexy but fun elements that were incorporated into her wardrobe. At one point, there was even a Koda Kumi army full of gals and fans who emulated her distinct style as a promotion for her album in Shibuya for Popteen! I do feel like ero-kawaii influenced the agejo era of Gyaru in which cute and sexy concepts were combined together for Gyaru babes to live out their ultimate Beverly Hills Barbie fantasy.