Why is Utada Hikaru...Utada Hikaru?

[pommy48]

Well I'm just wondering like we're so used to calling Ayu, Ayumi Hamasaki, Ai as Ai Otsuka, Namie as Namie Amuro, Mika as Mika Nakashima

so we don't we call Hikki as Hikaru Utada?
is there a special reason for it?

like in my ipod, i changed the name to Hikaru Utada for a day, and it just didn't feel right, like the name didn't flow, so I changed it back to Utada Hikaru, so is that why it's Utada Hikaru? cause maybe it flows better?

Because most singers in Japan put their first names first instead of their last names... but 99% of Japanese people put their LAST names first, like Utada (last name) Hikaru (first name). Hikki is just actin' like a regular person, it's the other singers who are the different ones

[GRACE]

^Exactly, Japanese names run Last name First name. So techincally, Ayu would be Hamasaki Ayumi, Namie would be Amuro Namie(which is what I have her tagged as >.>), and like Kuu is Koda Kumi.

Plus, you're right, Hikaru Utada sounds weird >.>

[bondingo]

I don't really think anyone has actually answered pommy's question. Sure, Utada is Hikki's last name, just as Ayu's is Hamasaki and Namie's is Amuro, but I'm assuming that she's wondering why when written in romanjill, her name is usually written with the last name first, as opposed to the other J-Pop artists that are labeled with their first names before the surname. I don't really think anyone knows why foreign fans of these artists tend to name artists in different ways than just the typical last name first manner that is customary in Japan (i.e. why Hikki, Kuu, and Shiina Ringo tend to have their surnames first, while Ayu, Namie, and Ai usually have their first names before). I think people just started doing this and now plenty of fans go along with it.

[GRACE]

I think it has more to do with be aesthetically pleasing. For example, Utada Hikaru looks nicer than Hikaru Utada. And ayumi hamasaki looks better than Hamasaki Ayumi.

[mi|kshake]

I call her Hikaru Utada, though it does sound pretty cool the other way round too. Whereas Hamasaki Ayumi doesn't sound right to me.

mi|kshake~

[[kokoro♥]]

I agree.
Hikaru Utada just sounds.. wierd. I don't call her Hikki often either, but it doesn't bother me.

And I can't call Kuu Kumi Koda. Thats just.. wrong to me >W<
But Ayu's name sounds wierd if you put Hamasaki first ._.;;

I guess it's just the word flow, as most people prefer the thing that sounds the most "pleasing" ._. *made no sense*

I actually just realized that I don't call or tag any artists as first name, last name. I always call them Hamasaki Ayumi, Amuro Namie, Koda Kumi, Suzuki Ami, Utada Hikaru, etc., etc. I think calling them the other way is weird, cuz that is their proper name.

[KarenPang]

Jasmine like everyone said , it's Japan's norm to usually address artiste with their surnames 1st & then their names .

For me it depends on the situation & how 'pretty' & 'fitting' it sounds .

Like the Japanese addressed Hirai Ken but for me I go with Ken Hirai . Same thing for Jun Matsumoto which I addressed as Matsumoto Jun cos it sounds better lol

there's not really a right or wrong in this issue anyway it all boils down to personal preferences

[mimika]

I don't think the fans just started naming it that way

if you look at the way they name it in their CD covers, in the CD CM's..you can see ayu they always call her ayumi hamasaki..and koda always koda kumi etc etc

maybe it depends on the image they are selling

like ayu..she's starting to become an international star now..that's why they wanna do it in a more westernized manner..so they call her ayumi first

for koda kumi..her fan base is mostly highschool kids in japan..so to relate to them..she does it the traditional japanese way

for hikki...i think since she was bought in US and was bought up there..they are trying to increase her "japanese-ness" to the mass public so they feel they relate to her and her music (afterall, how many japanese were born and grew up in the states speaking english day in and out)...that's why they put her last name first


just my own opinion

[TakaSama]

From a purely linguistic perspective, Utada Hikaru is more pleasing to the ear than Hikaru Utada because Hikaru Utada has two "u"s back to back and that makes the distinction between the names less obvious...

[AyumiSEASONS]

Kumi Koda sounds weird. oO But Koda Kumi sounds better

[Tom Punks]

Originally Posted by koda♥

I agree.
Hikaru Utada just sounds.. wierd. I don't call her Hikki often either, but it doesn't bother me.

And I can't call Kuu Kumi Koda. Thats just.. wrong to me >W<
But Ayu's name sounds wierd if you put Hamasaki first ._.;;

I guess it's just the word flow, as most people prefer the thing that sounds the most "pleasing" ._. *made no sense*

I think Hamasaki Ayumi sounds better than Ayumi Hamasaki, personally. @_@ But yeah, Kumi Koda is weird and, even though I'm apparently the only person who thinks so, Ai Otsuka is weird too. Ai Otsuka does not flow at all. >_>

[[taskin.ayu]]

I think it's a matter of how it sounds when you say it. Amuro Namie sounds odd, like how Hikaru Utada sounds odd also. D: Whatever sounds good really. XD

[Brodie Boy]

Originally Posted by TakaSama

From a purely linguistic perspective, Utada Hikaru is more pleasing to the ear than Hikaru Utada because Hikaru Utada has two "u"s back to back and that makes the distinction between the names less obvious...

I agree!! its just easier to say and more pleasing to the ear lol... nothing all that technical

[Mirai Noah]

I personally call her "Hikaru Utada" when I'm speaking English (i.e. most of the time) and "Utada Hikaru" when I'm speaking Japanese.

[pommy48]

yeah i think Utada Hikaru does sound better, on her CDs, what is her name?

[Calico]

I call all artists "first name last" because, quite frankly, I'm western and am used to addressing people by their first name. On all my sites I use this way and get pretty irked if I find out I was backwards on a name.

Of course when speaking Japanese I say it last-name-first. I don't deny that "Utada Hikaru" may flow better but I still call her "Hikaru Utada" because that's the way I've trained myself.

Sometimes I think people just go with what they commonly see. It irks me though on websites when some names are first name - last or the other way around and there's no real pattern...makes it harder to find people. >>;

[Beauty4123]

question, which is her first name? utada or hikaru? lol. if the japanese go by the last name first, and since i hear them say "utada hikaru" in interviews and stuff, wouldn't utada be her last name then?

this is so confusing.

[emi♡]

because hikki became famous as "utada hikaru"

especially here in the states, she is known by her last name utada, and then, utada hikaru.

utada is her last name, and yes in Japan, you put surnames first, but I'm pretty sure it's because, thats what people remembered. I remember reading that it is because she became famous as utada and not hikaru.