Utada Hikaru
From Free net encyclopedia
{{Infobox Band
| band_name = Hikaru Utada
宇多田ヒカル
| image = Image:ULTRABLUEPOSE.jpg
| caption = Utada in the ULTRA BLUE photo shoot
| years_active = 1997–present
| origin = New York City, New York, U.S.A.
| music_genre = J-pop, R&B
| record_label = Toshiba-EMI, Universal & Island Records
}}
Utada Hikaru (宇多田ヒカル Utada Hikaru, born January 19 1983), also known as Utada, is a J-Pop star. She is one of the most popular and successful Japanese artists today, given her personality, singing, songwriting, and producing ability, looks, lifestyle, and upbringing.
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Utada's names
Utada's name varations have been a source of some minor confusions in the past. Her legal Japanese name is currently Hikaru Iwashita (岩下光 Iwashita Hikaru), born Hikaru Utada (宇多田光 Utada Hikaru). The current status of her legal US name as well as the status of her US citizenship is unclear. She debuted as Cubic U in the States, but went mostly unknown during this era in her career. When she moved from the US to Japan, she made big under her phonetically same stage name Hikaru Utada (宇多田ヒカル Utada Hikaru), which she is still popularly known as in Japan even after her marriage. In Japan, it was known to her fans that her nickname in the US was "Hikki." However, due to her immense popularity in Japan, she became better known under this nickname in Japan than in the States. Unlike most Japanese artists, she became well known in the English speaking world under the surname-first name ordering ("Utada Hikaru"), since her name has been romanized only in that order for the Japanese domestic market. After her successes in Japan, she re-entered the US market simply as Utada. On a few rare occasions, she has been credited in full on US domestic albums as either "Hikaru Utada" or "Utada Hikaru".
Biography
She was born in New York City, New York to Japanese parents who both had roots in the Japanese music industry: her father, Teruzane Utada, was a producer, while her mother, Junko Utada, was an enka singer (she performed under the stage name "Keiko Fuji"). She made her first professional recording at the age of twelve, and recorded her first album, Precious, in 1996 under the pseudonym Cubic U. The album led to her career overseas. In a recent MTV interview (MTV's You Hear It First, October 2004), Utada said: "Someone in Japan heard it, at a Japanese record company, and he said, 'Oh, can't you write in Japanese? You speak Japanese.' And I didn't want to say no, so I had to try it."
She is currently married to Kazuaki Kiriya, a photographer and movie director. He has directed several of her music videos, including "Final Distance", "Traveling", "Hikari", "Sakura Drops", "Deep River", "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro", "You Make Me Want to Be a Man", "Be My Last", and "Passion". Also, "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro" was played during the credits of Kiriya's directorial debut, Casshern.
"First Love"
She moved to Tokyo later that year and attended The American School in Japan, while continuing to record on a new contract with Toshiba/EMI. She soon made her mark on Japanese music with her successful single "Automatic", soon followed by the album First Love, which sold over five million copies in a month during March and April of 1999, and placed Utada among the 100 wealthiest people in Japan. She also broke the record of units sold on a single album in Japan; she still holds the record (in 2005).
The album has sold more than ten million copies in Asia.
Music into the 2000s
Utada returned to New York in 2000 to attend Columbia University as a freshman, but took leave from it within the year to continue her activities within the Japanese music industry. Her two subsequent albums, Distance (2001) and Deep River (2002), both went multi-platinum.
The video for Utada's 2001 song "Can You Keep a Secret" received some attention as part of International Week, which coincided with the 2001 EMAs, on the American channel MTV2. That video's airplay was likely Utada's first chance at exposure in the United States.
In May of 2002, she became sick right before the release of her third album Deep River. She was diagnosed with ovarian tumor, and then underwent surgery. During this period, she had to put on hold her TV appearances and other promotional activities. In June of 2002, the album was released. While there were no TV appearances, she promoted her album on magazine and radio interviews. Oricon count of the album was 2.35 million sold for the first week, or 1.89 million by Planet's count. Oricon reports that sales eventually surpassed 3.60 million. Shortly afterwards, in September 2002, she announced her marriage to Kazuaki Kiriya, a photographer and film director fifteen years her senior.
So far she is best known in the western hemisphere for singing "Simple and Clean", the theme to the video game Kingdom Hearts and its sequel "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories", which is an English version of her popular song "Hikari", combined with elements from another of her songs, "Uso Mitai na I Love You". She also performed a well-received duet with Foxy Brown, "Blow My Whistle", which was featured on the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack. Her most successful singles include "Can You Keep a Secret?", "Addicted to You", and "First Love".
As well as singing "Simple and Clean" for Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, she sings "Passion", the theme for the Japanese Kingdom Hearts 2. Oddly, "Passion" is the Japanese version of the English song "Sanctuary," which was used in the English release of Kingdom Hearts 2, which she wrote first.
Breaking into the English market
Image:Exodus utada.jpgOn October 5 2004, Hikaru Utada released her North American debut album, Exodus, under the name "Utada" (for fear of fans mutilating her Japanese nickname, Hikki). It was released nearly a month earlier, on September 9 in Japan, with a special booklet and housed in a cardboard slipcase. In an MTV interview, Utada said: "There really aren't any completely Asian people singing right now. For me, it's an experiment to see what people are gonna think of it".
But her American debut as an Island Def Jam Music Group artist was met with indifference by the American market, perhaps due in part to poor promotion on her record label's part. Despite the failure in the international markets, this album topped the charts in Japan, though it sold less than her releases as Utada Hikaru. Also, "Devil Inside" became a club hit in the U.S. and topped the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Airplay charts.
"Easy Breezy" was released as the lead single in early August 2004, followed up by the dance blockbuster "Devil Inside" a month and two weeks later. "Exodus '04" was released at the end of June 2005. The fourth single from her "Exodus" album was released in October 2005: "You Make Me Want To Be A Man". "Devil Inside" reached the number one spot on Billboards US Dance charts. "Exodus '04" also charted. Maxi singles featuring remixes from The Scum Frog, Richard Vission, JJ Flores, and Peter Bailey were also released.
There is a rumor of an unreleased remix to "Hotel Lobby."
Future plans
She is currently working on recording her next Japanese-language album, called "ULTRA BLUE," set to be released on June 14, 2006. Utada Hikaru is also planning for her national tour in Japan in the summer, called "UTADA UNITED 2006". The dates have all been announced, the tickets can be ordered starting May 28, 2006.
Discography
Odds Recordings
- COLORS(GODSON remix) - Used for a Toyota Wish commercial in 2004
Others — various artists
- Japanese
- Beautiful Drivin' Classic — Wish (November 6th 2003)
- English
Awards
| Years | Awards |
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| 1999 |
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| 2000 |
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| 2001 |
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| 2002 |
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| 2003 |
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| 2004 |
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| 2005 |
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| 2006 |
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See also
- List of best-selling music artists
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
External links
- Hikki's Website — official Toshiba EMI site
- UTADA — official U.S. Island Records/Universal Music Group site
- UTADA — official Japanese Island Records/Universal Music Group site
- Nozomi Online Japanese Entertainment Website
- article on Utada — from Time Asia
- AsiaFinest Utada Hikaru
- History — detailed history, in English
- Template:Musicbrainz artist
- Template:Musicbrainz artist
- Template:Musicbrainz artist
- The PPN's Wiki — Wiki on Utada at THE PPN.
- Video Uncovered - Watch Utada Hikaru videos.
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