"Respect the Power of Love" (stylized as RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE) is the 13th single from Japanese recording artist Namie Amuro. The song was released on March 17, 1999, by Avex Trax. It was used as the KOSÉ Cosmetics' VISÉE commercial song (which she was featured in) and also the Asahi Drink "niceOne" commercial song. The album cover was also taken at the location where the music video was filmed. The music video was shot at Coyote Dry Lake, California, just like Madonna’s “Frozen” one year before.
Her second single to be released after her hiatus and taken from her fourth studio album Genius 2000, the single was released on the same day that Amuro's mother, Emiko Taira, was murdered. Following this news, Amuro immediately canceled the promotion for the single and returned home to her home prefecture Okinawa to identify her mother's body.
The song is an advertising jingle for a KOSÉ "VISEE" commercial featuring Amuro herself. The version featured on the "VISEE" commercial has a slightly different arrangement from the one on the CD.[1]
"RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE" opened at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart with 200,610 copies sold in its first week (being out sold by "Dango 3 Kyodai", the fifth best-selling single of all time in Japan).[2] It dropped to number five the next week, selling 82,260 copies.[3] On its third week the single climbed up to number four on the chart, selling 81,880 copies.[4] The single stayed in the top ten one last week, ranking at number six and selling 39,040 copies.[5] "RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE" lasted 10 weeks in the top 100,[6] along with becoming the 43rd best-selling single in Japan of 1999. It received a platinum certification by the RIAJ for selling more than 400,000 copies nationwide.[7]
On March 17, 1999, the day the song was released, the murder of Namie Amuro's mother occurred.[8] On the day of the song's release, a press conference for the "nice One" commercial in which she was scheduled to appear was abruptly canceled, and all promotional activities were temporarily halted as a result of the unfortunate incident.[8] In January 2000, she announced on her official homepage, "At that time, I was seriously thinking of retiring. However, I was encouraged by the heartfelt words of my fandom, and I was finally able to get back on my feet." She later added, "I am so glad that the song I sang at that time was 'RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE.' I was able to cheer myself up when I sang it. If it had been any other song, I might have cried and not been able to sing...".
Amuro participated in the 50th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen (for the fifth year in a row) and performed the song "RESPECT the POWER OF LOVE" with a gospel choir while wearing a dress made out of denim fabric.[9]
