Namie Amuro was born in Naha, Okinawa, raised solely by her mother, Emiko Taira, as she had divorced when Amuro was four years old. Taira worked as a nursery school employee and bar hostess to support her four children. Amuro is one quarter Italian. She did not have ambitions to become a performer early in life; she wanted to become a flight attendant. However, at the age of twelve, while visiting a friend, Amuro was discovered by Masayuki Makino, the owner of Okinawa Actors School, a performing arts school. Amuro eventually joined the school; after only two years of study, Makino placed her in an idol group called Super Monkey’s with five other girls. They debuted in September 1992 on Toshiba-EMI. A year later, despite Emiko Taira’s disapproval, the group relocated to Tokyo.

The Super Monkey’s were largely unsuccessful and constantly changed members. They changed their group name to Namie Amuro with Super Monkeys in 1994 to reflect Amuro’s individual rising popularity. Aside from group activities, she had bit parts in television dramas and small films. “Try Me: Watashi o Shinjite“, produced by Italian eurobeat producer Dave Rodgers and Max Matsuura, was released on January 25, 1995, peaking at the number-eight position and charting for 25 weeks on the Oricon chart. The other four members of the Super Monkey’s formed their own group, MAX, under the Avex Trax label. Amuro released two more solo singles under Toshiba-EMI before moving to Avex Trax herself.