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The 40th Thread
Spoiler:
Utada Hikaru is a Japanese American singer/songwriter who by the age of 15 had already risen to the top of Japan's music industry. Born on January 19, 1983, Utada was exposed the music industry at an early age by her parents who were both musicians. The recording studio was often like a second home to her because of the long hours she had to spend there due to her parents' work. Growing up, Utada lived in both Tokyo and New York. These aspects of her early life would later influence her musical compositions.
At age 12, Utada made her first professional recording as part of the musical project, U3. Soon after, she made a series of releases under the name Cubic U. In 1998, Utada moved to Tokyo to attend the American School in Japan, from which she later graduated. During her time in Tokyo, Utada was still writing and recording for Toshiba EMI. On December 9, 1998, Utada Hikaru released her debut Japanese single, Automatic/Time Will Tell. She became an instant hit. The single sold over 2 million copies and was followed by the million selling single, Movin' on Without You.
On March 10, 1999, Utada Hikaru released her debut album, First Love. First Love sold over 7 million copies in Japan alone and over 10 million copies worldwide making it the best selling album in Japanese music history. A re-cut single from the album, also titled First Love, was released and reached #2 on the Oricon charts. By age 16 Utada Hikaru was already a household name in Japan.
In 2001, 2 years after her massive debut success, Utada returned with her sophomore album, Distance. There was controversy concerning the album as it was to be released on the same day as Hamasaki Ayumi's first best album, A-Best. Hamasaki, then the top selling idol in Japan, was forced by her label Avex Trax to deliberately release her best album on the same day as Distance. Both artists denied that there was a rivalry. On March 28, 2001, Distance was released. In the album's first week of sales, it took the #1 spot. In the second week, Hamasaki's A-Best topped the charts. In the end, Distance became the best selling album of 2001 and the #4 best selling album in Japanese history.
In 2002, Utada released DEEP RIVER, another #1 selling album featuring the theme song of the popular video game Kingdom Hearts, Hikari. The album became the #8 best selling album in Japanese history. She also surprised the Japanese public by marrying her long time music video director, Kiriya Kazuaki, 15 years her senior. Following the success of the album, Utada took a break from the Japanese music scene, only releasing the single COLORS in 2003 and her first best album, Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL. 1 in 2004. The compilation became the best selling album of 2004.
In 2004, Utada once again shocked the public by announcing that she was to debut in the United States. On July 3, 2004, she released the single Easy Breezy. Fans were shocked to see the shy singer in the promotional video, poolside and in a bikini. On September 8, Utada released her debut English album, EXODUS (released under the name Utada and not Utada Hikaru). Though the album only sold 55,000 copies in the U.S, it sold over a million copies in Japan. Utada also noted that the development of EXODUS influenced the sound of her later releases.
In 2006, Utada Hikaru returned with her fourth Japanese album, ULTRA BLUE, which featured the Kingdom Hearts II theme song, Passion. Though the album reached #1 on the Oricon charts and became the #7 album of the year, it also became her first album to sell less than a million copies, selling about 900,000 copies. To promote the album, Utada embarked on a nationwide tour titled "UTADA UNITED 2006".
In 2007, Utada released the single Flavor of Life, an insert song for the popular dorama, Hana Yori Dango 2. The single became the most downloaded ringtone in Japanese music history with over 5.5 million copies sold. In addition, the single sold over 670,000 physical copies, becoming the #2 best selling single of the year. On March 19, 2008, Utada Hikaru released the album HEART STATION, her fifth consecutive album to reach #1 on the charts. The album sold over a million copies, becoming the #5 best selling album of 2008 as well as the most downloaded album of the year (with 15 million full downloads).
In 2009, Utada once again returned in the US music scene with the album, This Is The One. The album reached #69 on the US Billboard Top 200 Charts. This made Utada only the 7th Japanese artist to accomplish this and the first one in 23 years. The album was also a digital success, reaching #2 on the iTunes pop albums chart as well as #18 overall (the first Japanese artist to accomplish this). In Japan, the album reached #3 on the Oricon album charts and topped the foreign album charts at #1 for 5 consecutive weeks. By the end of 2009, Utada was named the most influential artist of the decade by Tokyo Times. In early 2010, Utada held her first US Tour, Utada In The Flesh, which included 2 dates in London.
In August 2010, Utada Hikaru announced that she was taking a break from music. She will release Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL. 2 on November 24, 2010 with 5 new songs.
Spoiler:
Utada publicly denounces release of English compilation album
On October 24, 2010, Utada made a statement through Twitter criticizing Universal Japan's decision to release a compilation of her English works and their audacity in placing the album for release on the same date as her Japanese compilation.
"The release of "Utada the best" is entirely against my will. I wish that my fans won't have to buy it. There's no new material in it."
Utada In The Flesh footage being released soon!
On Oct. 15, Utada Teruzane (Utada's father) announced that they are currently in talks with Apple to release the concert footage from Utada's 2010 US Tour.
"We have been discussing w/ Apple i-Tunes to utilize the US/London 2010 tour video, by the way, it is already mixed/edited. teruzane"
English Compilation Album: Utada The Best
Universal Japan has announced an English compilation album to be released under the name Utada on 11/24 (the same day as SINGLE COLLECTION VOL. II).
Release Date: 11/24/2010
Tracklist:
01. Come Back To Me
02. Easy Breezy
03. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - FYI
04. You Make Me Want To Be A Man
05. This One (Crying Like A Child)
06. Exodus '04
07. Apple And Cinnamon
08. Automatic Part II
09. Devil Inside
10. Kremlin Dusk
11. Sanctuary (Opening)
12. Sanctuary (Ending)
13. Exodus '04 (JJ FLORES Double J Radio Mix)
14. Devil Inside (RJD2 Remix)
15. Come Back To Me (Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Radio Edit)
16. Dirty Desire (Mike Rizzo Radio Edit)
Utada opens official Twitter Account!
Like she hinted at in her recent blog posts, Utada has opened a Twitter account. In fact, there are three.
http://twitter.com/utadahikaru
http://www.twitter.com/u3music
http://www.twitter.com/hikki_staff
Utada to star in new commercial for Pepsi NEX
The CM will air on October 2
Screenshots below
Other famous artists with lucrative contracts with Pepsi NEX include Koda Kumi and Perfume.
Watch the 15 sec, 30 sec, special version of the CM + interview with Hikki here (gallery also shows 2 new promo pics):
http://www.pepsi.co.jp/gallery/index.html
Yokohama Arena Concerts!
Utada will be having 2 shows at the famed Yokohama Arena on Decemeber 8th and 9th.
The concert is titled WILD LIFE
New Digital Single: Hymne à l'amour ～愛のアンセム～ (Ai no Anthem)
Rumored release date: October 9
Promo Pic:
The song is a cover of Édith Piaf's "Hymne à l'amour" and will feature Japanese and French lyrics.
Preview on Hikki's official website:
http://www.emimusic.jp/hikki/release/
*Note for Mac users: If you are having a hard time trying to open the file, right click on the file icon, go to Get Info, and change the extension of the file from .wax to .asx. Then open with VLC media player. Hope that helps!
Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2
Release Date: 11/24/2010
Tracklist:
Disc 1:
01. Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro (誰かの願いが叶うころ)
02. Be My Last
03. Passion
04. Keep Tryin'
05. This Is Love
06. Boku wa Kuma (ぼくはくま)
07. Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version-
08. Beautiful World
09. Kiss & Cry
10. HEART STATION
11. Stay Gold
12. Prisoner Of Love
13. Beautiful World -PLANiTb Acoustica Mix-
Disc 2:
01. Arashi no Megami (嵐の女神 )
02. Show Me Love (Not A Dream)
03. Goodbye Happiness
04. Hymne a l'amour
05. Can't Wait 'Til Christmas
First Press Bonus:
*Foldable sleeve + case
*Enclosed Kuma Charm
*Application ticket for lottery for Yokohama concert tickets
PREORDER NOW: CDJapan, YesAsia, HMV Japan
Simple and Clean featured in new Kingdom Hearts TV CM
Oricon Favorite Artists Poll 2010
Utada was voted #7 in the most recent edition of Oricon's annual poll for favorite artists. Utada previously topped the list in 2004, 2007, and 2008.
Link: http://www.oricon.co.jp/music/specia...909/index.html
*Numbers reflect peak positions on the Oricon Weekly Album/Singles Charts. Info provided by Jpop Stop Wiki.
Japanese Discography
US Discography (as Utada)
Last edited by Polyrhythm; 29th October 2010 at 01:19 AM.
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