Hikaru Utada was born 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 (藤圭子). Utada Hikaru has been recording since 1993. She made her first professional recording at the age of twelve, and recorded her first album, Precious, in 1996 under the pseudonym Cubic U. This album led to her career overseas. In an interview for MTV's, You Hear It First, Hikaru 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."
Hikaru moved to Tokyo in late 1997 and attended Seisen International School, and later the American School in Japan while continuing to record on a new contract with Toshiba-EMI. Unlike other pop stars at the time, she was more focused on becoming a singer and songwriter while other Japanese female singers were attempting to become idols. Leading up to the release of her Japanese debut album "First Love", Hikaru released two successful million-selling singles: "Automatic/ time will tell" and "Movin' on without you". "Automatic/Time Will Tell" sold over two million copies. Backed by her singles, First Love went on to sell over 7 million units in Japan alone (with an additional 3 million overseas, bringing it to a sum of at least 10 million units), becoming the highest-selling album in Japan's history.
After a two-year break, Hikaru released her follow up album "Distance", garnering first-week sales of 3 million units sold. Backed by her singles — "Addicted to You", "Wait & See ~リスク~", "For You / タイム・リミット" and "Can You Keep a Secret?" — Distance became the best-selling album of the year, with almost 5 million copies sold in Japan alone. Additionally, "Addicted to You" became Hikaru's best-selling single, selling one million in its first week. Hikaru went on to release a single which was dedicated to the female victim of a murder case in Ikeda, Osaka, titled "Final Distance".
Leading up to the third album, "Deep River", Hikaru released "traveling", "光", and "SAKURAドロップス"; all the songs reached the top of the charts. Deep River sold 2.35 million copies in its first week. Oricon reported that sales eventually surpassed 3.6 million, making Utada the only act in Japanese music history to have three consecutive albums surpass the three million mark. The album was cited by many fans and critics as Hikaru's most acclaimed work, as well as achieving the Triple Crown at the 17th Golden Disc Awards in Japan. Later, she attempted to break into the US market under her stage name Utada with her album Exodus.
A year after the release of Exodus, Hikaru moved back to Tokyo and started work on her next album. Leading up to the release of her fourth album, "Ultra Blue", Hikaru released a string of successful hit singles: "COLORS" (no. 1), "誰かの願いが叶うころ" (no. 1), "Be My Last", (no. 1), "Passion" (no. 4), and "Keep Tryin'" (no. 2). The digital single "This Is Love" was released to promote the album, netting around one million digital downloads. Ultra Blue sold 500,317 copies in the first week, lower than that of the previous album, although it still topped the Oricon Daily, Weekly, and Monthly charts. Ultra Blue gave the artist her fifth consecutive chart-topping Japanese album (excluding her English album) to sell in excess of 500,000 copies for first-week sales. On July 13, Toshiba EMI published a report stating that Ultra Blue had sold over one million copies worldwide and four million digital ringtones already making it one of EMI's 10th best-selling albums of the past year.
A tour of Japan, "Utada United 2006," commenced on June 30th, 2006 (Two weeks after Ultra Blue's release) and ended on September 12th, 2006, after Hikaru Utada's performances at Yoyogi. Ticket sales started on May 28th, 2006, with the majority of venues selling out in less than two hours.
Hikaru Utada released the single "Flavor of Life" on February 28th, 2007. Her next single, "Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry", was released in Japan on August 29th, 2007 - A track which also doubled as the theme song to the anime movie "Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone".
On February 20th, 2008, she released her 20th Japanese single, HEART STATION/Stay Gold which reached #1 on Japan’s weekly radio charts, which was followed shortly after by her 6th Japanese studio album, HEART STATION released on the 19th of March 2008. Hikaru intended to go for a "simpler" approach for the album; she stated, "From the beginning, I had always intended to make this album easier to listen to so anyone can enjoy it. I always aimed for a simple melody, simple lyrics and a simple message rather than over-complicating it all. But overall, I had a lot of fun making this album." Utada then returned to the US market, releasing This Is the One. She also went on tour with 'Utada: In the Flesh', playing in cities around the world, such as Los Angeles, New York, and London.
On August 9, 2010, Hikaru announced on her personal blog that beginning in 2011, she would go on an indefinite hiatus, citing fatigue since her debut 12 years previously. She also stated a need for rest, to study new things and learn more about the world, as well as see to some personal matters. It was unclear as for how long this break would last and if she would ever return to the music scene. Before the hiatus began, she said that she would go "full throttle" on her artistic activities, and soon after her site was updated, a new compilation album, "Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2", was announced, with a release date of November 24, 2010. This new album would include all her Japanese singles from "誰かの願いが叶うころ" to "Prisoner of Love" on disc one, as well as an extra EP, featuring five new tracks.
From November 24, 2010, first-week sales for Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2 were 231,000 units according to Oricon album daily charting. On April 10, 2011, Utada won the award for "Best Conceptual Video" in the SpaceShowerTV Music Video Awards for the PV for "Goodbye Happiness", which also marked her directorial debut. An announcement was made that Utada would perform a two-night concert titled Wild Life at Yokohama Arena to promote the album, her first Japanese concert since 2006's Utada United.
On August 8, 2016, her sixth Japanese album's title was released: "Fantôme", French for "ghost". Following its release on September 28, Fantôme was commercially and critically successful. It debuted atop the Oricon Albums Chart and stayed there for four consecutive weeks, the most of any Utada studio album since First Love. It was awarded Album of the Year at the Japan Record Awards and received positive reviews from media outlets. Musically, Fantôme is a collection of tracks that emphasize acoustic and stripped-down instrumentation, alongside influences of pop, electronic, and R&B music. The lyrical content delves into themes of grief, sadness, love, and death, mostly influenced by the death of her mother, her second marriage, and the birth of her son in 2015.
Hikaru's seventh album, "初恋", was released on June 27, 2018. The release coincided with the commemoration of her 20th anniversary as an artist in Japan. A national tour was announced to support the album in November 2018, "Laughter in the Dark 2018", her first Japan concert tour in 12 years. It is currently available on iTunes for digital download and Netflix for streaming.
Hikaru released her eighth album, "BADモード" on January 19, 2022. It features production from musicians such as Skrillex and A. G. Cook.
Official sites:
www.emimusic.jp/hikki
http://www.u3music.com/
タイム・リミット
宇多田ヒカル Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I ain't the one to comfort you
But I do cuz I need it too
タイム・リミットに怯えているようじゃ
頼れないよ
焦り Oh 感じさせたら決まり
さあ はじまりはじまり
仮に今しか言えない言葉があるとしたら
それを聞かせる声が私かもよ
新しいものが大好きな私達は
飽き易いから
この気持ちも早く君が食べないと
冷めてしまう
賞味期限の過ぎた後の
恋の味を知りたいなら
他の誰かと二人でオーダーしてよ
Because I'm not paying
遅れずに来て
そして迷わずに居て
次の電車が通る前に
Ta La Ta Ta Ta
電話が来なかったら…
Ah
仮に何事にも終わりが訪れるとしたら
尚更"今"を愛せる気がするよ
新しいものが大好きな私達は
飽き易いから
そろそろ成果が現れ始めなきゃ
やめてしまう
賞味期限の過ぎた後の
夢の味は苦めですか
そうなる前に投げ出そうとはしないで
That's not what I'm saying
I know what you're going through
And I ain't the one to comfort you
But I do cuz I need it too
タイム・リミットに怯えているようじゃ
頼れないよ
傷つき易いまま
オトナになったっていいじゃないか
タイム・リミットの無いがんばりなんて
続かないよ
Uh
In the song タイム・リミット (Time Limit), 宇多田ヒカル sings about the pressure of time and the fear of not being able to rely on oneself. She acknowledges that even though she may not be the one to comfort the listener, she empathizes with their struggle as she also needs comfort. The song encourages the listener to take action and face their fears head-on instead of being overcome by the pressure.
The lyrics explore various themes such as the fear of not being good enough, the importance of living in the present moment, and the value of self-reliance. She speaks about the human tendency to become quickly bored with new experiences, but this fear should not prohibit us from pursuing them. 宇多田ヒカル also mentions the idea that trying and failing is better than not trying at all.
Overall, 宇多田ヒカル's タイム・リミット is a song that encourages people to face the fear of not being good enough head-on and to take risks even if it means stepping out of their comfort zone. Through the song, she stresses the importance of living in the present moment and cherishing the time we have.
Line by Line Meaning
I know what you're going through
I understand your situation
And I ain't the one to comfort you
I'm not the best person to console you
But I do cuz I need it too
But I try to comfort you because I also need comfort
タイム・リミットに怯えているようじゃ 頼れないよ
If you're afraid of the time limit, then I can't rely on you
焦り Oh 感じさせたら決まり さあ はじまりはじまり
If you feel impatient, then let's get started
仮に今しか言えない言葉があるとしたら それを聞かせる声が私かもよ
If there are words you can only say right now, then I might be the one to hear them
新しいものが大好きな私達は 飽き易いから この気持ちも早く君が食べないと 冷めてしまう
We love new things, but we get tired of them easily, so if you don't taste these feelings soon, they will cool off
賞味期限の過ぎた後の 恋の味を知りたいなら 他の誰かと二人でオーダーしてよ Because I'm not paying
If you want to know how love tastes after the expiration date, order it with someone else, because I'm not paying
遅れずに来て そして迷わずに居て 次の電車が通る前に Ta La Ta Ta Ta 電話が来なかったら… Ah
Come without delay and stay without hesitation, before the next train arrives; if the phone doesn't ring... Ah
仮に何事にも終わりが訪れるとしたら 尚更"今"を愛せる気がするよ
If everything eventually comes to an end, then I feel even more strongly about loving the 'now'
そろそろ成果が現れ始めなきゃ やめてしまう
If the results don't start showing soon, I'll give up
賞味期限の過ぎた後の 夢の味は苦めですか そうなる前に投げ出そうとはしないで That's not what I'm saying
Is the taste of a dream bitter after its expiration date? Don't give up before that happens. That's not what I'm saying.
傷つき易いまま オトナになったっていいじゃないか タイム・リミットの無いがんばりなんて 続かないよ Uh
It's okay to stay easily hurt as you become an adult. A struggle without a time limit cannot continue. Uh
Contributed by Nathaniel G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@AI-py6tt
I know what you're going through
And I ain't the one to comfort you
But I do cuz I need it too
タイム・リミットに怯えているようじゃ
頼れないよ
焦り感じさせたら決まり
さあ はじまりはじまり
仮に今しか言えない言葉があるとしたら
それを聞かせる声が私かもよ
新しいものが大好きな私達は
飽き易いから
この気持ちも早く君が食べないと
冷めてしまう
賞味期限の過ぎた後の
恋の味を知りたいなら
他の誰かと二人でオーダーしてよ
Because I'm not paying
遅れずに来て
そして迷わずに居て
次の電車が通る前に
電話が来なかったら…
仮に何事にも終わりが訪れるとしたら
尚更「今」を愛せる気がするよ
新しいものが大好きな私達は
飽き易いから
そろそろ成果が現れ始めなきゃ
やめてしまう
賞味期限の過ぎた後の
夢の味は苦めですか
そうなる前に投げ出そうとはしないで
That's not what I'm saying
I know what you're going through
And I ain't the one to comfort you
But I do cuz I need it too
タイム・リミットに怯えているようじゃ
頼れないよ
傷つき易いまま
オトナになったっていいじゃないか
タイム・リミットの無いがんばりなんて
続かないよ
@kurogane99gou
I know what you're going through
And I ain't the one to comfort you
But I do, 'cause I need it too.
タイム・リミットに怯えているようじゃ
頼れないよ
焦り感じさせたら決まり
さあ はじまりはじまり
仮に今しか言えない言葉があるとしたら
それを聞かせる声が私かもよ
新しいものが大好きな私達は
飽き易いから
この気持ちも早く君が食べないと
冷めてしまう
賞味期限の過ぎた後の
恋の味を知りたいなら
他の誰かと二人でオーダーしてよ
Because I'm not paying.
遅れずに来て そして迷わずに居て
次の電車が通る前に電話が来なかったら･･･
仮に何事にも終わりが訪れるとしたら
尚更「今」を愛せる気がするよ
新しいものが大好きな私達は
飽き易いから
そろそろ成果が現れ始めなきゃ
やめてしまう
賞味期限の過ぎた後の
夢の味は苦めですか
そうなる前に投げ出そうとはしないで
That's not what I'm saying.
☆ repeat
傷つき易いまま
オトナになったっていいじゃないか
タイム・リミットの無いがんばりなんて
続かないよ
@wakearishichibutake
歌：宇多田ヒカル
作詞：宇多田ヒカル
作曲：久保琢郎
※I know what you're going through
And I ain't the one to comfort You
But I do cuz I need it too
タイム・リミットに怯えているようじゃ
頼れないよ※
焦り感じさせたら決まり
さあ はじまりはじまり
仮に今しか言えない言葉があるとしたら
それを聞かせる声が私かもよ
新しいものが大好きな私達は
飽き易いから
この気持ちも早く君が食べないと
冷めてしまう
賞味期限の過ぎた後の
恋の味を知りたいなら
他の誰かと二人でオーダーしてよ
Because I'm not paying
遅れずに来て そして迷わずに居て
次の電車が通る前に電話が来なかったら…
仮に何事にも終わりが訪れるとしたら
尚更「今」を愛せる気がするよ
新しいものが大好きな私達は
飽き易いから
そろそろ成果が現れ始めなきゃ
やめてしまう
賞味期限の過ぎた後の
夢の味は苦めですか
そうなる前に投げ出そうとはしないで
That's not what I'm saying
(※くり返し)
傷つき易いまま
オトナになったっていいじゃないか
タイム・リミットの無いがんばりなんて
続かないよ
@user-od6zo1sw5h
いつまでも賞味期限のきれない名曲。
@user-zv6fd5ez6s
そして一人でもオーダーしたくなる名曲。
@erizaohmori7497
同感！！
@usertia
高校生の時に死ぬほどリピートして聴いてた
今でも延々聴ける曲
何だろうね・・・全く色褪せない
@ioritfoa1213
フォー ユーとタイムリミットは 毎日聞ける
飽きがこないよな～
@i_Magical
For youとこれは必ずセットで聴くには欠かせない
@user-px2ji7rb5b
両A面って響きが懐かしいですね。
@user-et4kf3nl2r
マジそれな
@user-dt8qk8mz2s
ホントそれ！
@koto7408
次の曲に出てきてる笑