[Utada Hikaru] 58th Thread: New album BAD Mode, out 19.1.2022

[Gubsi]

the new single is out in Japan… it's so ethereal and heavenly. The second half is glorious.

[Chris_Duvall]

^should be out in Europe by tomorrow, right?

[Gubsi]

^yes at midnight local time

[Chris_Duvall]

^just pre-safed/ordered it. Thanks!

[Akutenshi]

Wow, what a fascinating and beautiful track. I'm loving the direction she's going in.

[ShiniTakashi]

"Time" didn't hit me the way I wanted it to in the end, but damn. "Dare nimo Iwanai" is amazing.

[thinkingoutloud89]

^as time grew on me as a background song, I again think this is song is kinda lame. I can see the interesting choice in composition she made here but it sounds like an album track - nothing more.

[RealLight]

I have mixed feelings.

Just the preview was enough to get me excited, so...

At first the only thing that put me off a bit were the weird "horn" sounds, but still I was enjoying it. It's glorious, ethereal, much better than Time, then the second half came... the let down. Wish she kept it going the same way as the first half, I just can't connect with it.

Idk if this will grow on me but I don't feel like listening to it a lot, at least not the full thing.

[Katsuyuki012]

It's really nice.

[Akutenshi]

Not surprised some people don’t like the second half, JPop listeners are notoriously prude lol

The second half really takes off, the whole song is fantastic.

[Chris_Duvall]

I like this song a lot. Really looking forward to the new album!

[bluegie]

I didn't like the song at all until I listened to it again with the earbuds. Blame amazon echo dot, a mono speaker with no dynamics at all lol.

[RealLight]

Originally Posted by Akutenshi

Not surprised some people don’t like the second half, JPop listeners are notoriously prude lol

I don't even know what the lyrics are lol but that's not my issue

[thinkingoutloud89]

^yeah, i was also confused by Akutenshis post. Nobody talked about the lyrics here and musically there is nothing insane going on

[EndOfTheWorld]

I love the new song. I feel like I can hear her personality coming back to the music. I also don't understand the prude comment. How is this song explicit?

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

This is a song I’d gladly listen to. It feels melancholic, which I enjoy. It feels like one of those songs you’d listen to staring out a train window, pretending you’re in you’re own music video, lol.

The song flowed into For You on my Spotify, and it was a great transition.

This is also the type of music J-POP needs right now. There’s absolutely nothing interesting or exciting happening in right now, in my opinion. (Less famous rappers are exciting me but on the pop sphere I can’t say I’ve been into very much...)

[thinkingoutloud89]

^there is quite a lot going on, just mostly not mainstream.
But I don't feel like this song adds anything fresh either. Its just an enjoyable listen on the side.

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

Yes, I was referring to mainstream music. It’s been pretty stale. I know there’s at least some interesting stuff if you dig around, but big J-pop artists have been pretty stuck IMO. Either it’s singer-song writer stuff, which isn’t particularly “exciting”, or K-pop inspired stuff.

If I hear Paprika or Lemon or Marigold one more time... lol

I don’t think this song is a “hit” I just meant it’s... different, compared to other big names. Which is exciting enough for me lol.

[thinkingoutloud89]

Kenshi Yonezu is great tho. Dunno why you dislike it - pretty amazing compositions and lyrics. Mainstream Pop yes, but good ones and there is a reason he is a big hit.

I don't even think this Utada song is too far off from his style.

But you are right - J-Ppop isn't moving forward especially if you are a longtime fan. These two Utada songs are pretty meh for me for exactly that reason. Nothing fresh - heard it before.

[tokyoxjapanxfan]

I didn’t say I didn’t like it or him, just saying that’s it’s overplayed. I’d get tired of any song if it was overplayed.