The Genius 2000 Tour was the third concert tour by Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro, in support of her fourth studio album Genius 2000 (2000). The tour began on March 20, 2000 at the Makuhari Messe Event Hall in Chiba, Japan, and concluded on May 14, 2000 at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawaii. This was Amuro's first tour in three years since the Concentration 20 Tour in 1997, and marked her return to touring after her maternity leave hiatus. The Hawaii concert, billed as Big Wave Honolulu, marked Amuro's first and only live performance outside of Asia.
Background Following her maternity leave hiatus, Amuro returned to the music industry in December 1998, with the release of her number-one single "I Have Never Seen" and her comeback appearance at the 49th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen in which she performed "Can You Celebrate?" and achieved the highest audience rating for a singer in the show's history. Following a series of personal struggles, including the death of her mother in 1999, Amuro finally released her fourth studio album Genius 2000 in January 2000. The album debuted at number one on the Oricon Albums Chart and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). To promote the album, Amuro toured arenas in Japan during the spring of 2000, beginning in Chiba on March 20 and ending with two concerts in Osaka on May 6 and 7.
Big Wave Honolulu To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Okinawans moving to Hawaii, Amuro held a one-off concert at the Waikiki Shell in Honolulu, Hawaii, billed as Big Wave Honolulu, on May 14, 2000. The concert was promoted with posters of Amuro on shopping malls and hotels in Waikiki and in local newspapers. Part of the concert's profit was donated to the Hawaii United Okinawa Association. A day before the concert, Amuro held an event at the Okinawa Hawaii Center in Oʻahu, during which she donated a check to the organization and interacted with members of her fan club, "AmR". 250 members of the fan club were flown from Japan for the concert and were given prizes after participating in a trivia quiz about the singer.
Set list
"Toi et Moi" "How to Be a Girl" "I Have Never Seen" "Next to You" "Still in Love" "Respect the Power of Love" "Sweet 19 Blues" "Something 'Bout the Kiss" "Leavin' for Las Vegas" "Mi Corazon (Te' Amour)" "You're My Sunshine" "Body Feels Exit" "Chase the Chance" "Love 2000" Encore "Can You Celebrate?" "A Walk in the Park" "Don't Wanna Cry" "You Are the One"
Notes
During the Honolulu concert, Amuro performed "Taiyou no Season" during the encore.
Tour dates +Tour dates Date (2000) City Country Venue AttendanceMarch 20ChibaJapanMakuhari Messe Event Hall—March 28SapporoTsukisamu Green DomeMarch 29April 1NagoyaNagoya Rainbow HallApril 2April 5HiroshimaHiroshima Sun PlazaApril 6April 9NaganoM-WaveApril 15FukuokaMarine Messe FukuokaApril 16April 22SendaiKamei Arena SendaiApril 23April 28TokyoYoyogi National Stadium First GymnasiumApril 29May 2May 3May 6OsakaOsaka-jō Hall30,000May 7May 14HonoluluUnited StatesWaikiki Shell6,000
Live recordings
The concert video, titled Namie Amuro Tour "Genius 2000", was released on DVD and VHS formats on August 18, 2000.Citations regarding the physical formats of Namie Amuro Tour "Genius 2000": This was Amuro's last concert tour to be commercially released on VHS. The DVD version was originally released in a jewel case, but was re-released in a snap case along with the videos for Amuro's first two concerts tours on March 24, 2005 at a reduced price. Namie Amuro Tour "Genius 2000" peaked at number 9 on the Oricon DVD chart and remained on the charts for 21 weeks.
Personnel Performer Namie Amuro Music director Kenji Sano Backing vocals Lynn Mabry Sheila E. Will Wheaton Jr. Live band Carlos Rios (guitar) Jetro da Silva (keyboard) Kiki Ebsen (keyboard) Michael Paulo (saxophone) Kenji Sano (bass) Music producer Dallas Austin Tetsuya Komuro Executive producer Max Matsuura Jonny Taira Shinji Hayashi Takashi Kasuga Tom Yoda
Charts Chart (2000) Peakposition Japan Weekly DVD Chart (Oricon) 9
References