Break the Rules (album)

Break the Rules is the fifth studio album by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, released on December 20, 2000, through Avex Trax. It was released only 11 months after her previous album Genius 2000 (2000), and was her final album to date with her long-time producer Tetsuya Komuro, the album generally receive positive reviews by the critics, it was the shortlisted the Asia Association Music Prize Award.

Break the Rules debuted at number two on the Oricon Weekly Albums Chart with 334,520 copies sold, the lowest first week sales of her career at that point. It also became her first studio album to not top the chart. Due to the small space in time between the release of this album and her last album, only two singles precede it. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).

Background and packaging
Break the Rules is her second album to feature songs written and produced by American music producer, Dallas Austin. His role in this album, however, is much smaller than the last. For Genius 2000, Austin produced half of the album; with this album he only produced four songs. The majority of the tracks features compositions from Amuro's main producer, Tetsuya Komuro.

First editions of the album came in special packaging. The booklet was presented as a foldout poster featuring Amuro looking out of an airplane window. It also came with a foldout card of photos depicting Namie in different locations around America, mostly New York City and Los Angeles. The album was housed in a transparent slip case with the phrase "break the rules" in pink running diagonally across the front and back of it.

Singles and other promotion detail
The songs "Think of Me" and "No More Tears" were released as a double A-side single shortly after the release of the album. A video was made for "Think of Me" in New York during photo sessions for the album artwork. No video was made for "No More Tears." Previous songs that appear on the album have all been slightly modified. These songs include "Never End", "Please Smile Again" and "Cross Over". "Cross Over" features a rap verse from Poppa LQ. Unique among Amuro albums is that it features her first attempt at singing a song entirely in English on the track "Looking for You".

Personnel

 * Namie Amuro – vocals, background vocals
 * Poppa L.Q. – vocals
 * Terry Bradford – background vocals
 * Alex Brown – background vocals
 * Andy Caine – background vocals
 * Jennifer Carr – background vocals
 * Debra Killings – background vocals
 * Maxayn Lewis – background vocals
 * Oleatha "Butta" Richie – background vocals
 * Juliet Roberts – background vocals
 * Will Wheaton Jr. – background vocals
 * Ken Kimura – guitar
 * Tetsuya Komuro – acoustic piano, keyboards, synthesizer
 * Kazuhiro Matsuo – acoustic guitar

Production
 * Producers – Dallas Austin, Ricciano Lumpkins, Tetsuya Komuro
 * Arrangement – Dallas Austin, Tetsuya Komuro
 * Mixing – Dave Darlington, Kevin "KD" Davis, Chris Puram, Alvin Seights
 * Midi & Sound Design – Rick Sheppard
 * Vocal Direction – Kenji Sano
 * Remixing – Junior Vasquez (No More Tears Remix)
 * Photography – Shoji Uchida
 * Art Direction – Tycoon Graphics