Utada Hikaru (Japanese: 宇多田ヒカル), born January 19, 1983, in New York City, U… Read Full Bio ↴Utada Hikaru (Japanese: 宇多田ヒカル), born January 19, 1983, in New York City, United States, also known by her fan-nickname "ヒッキー" (Hikki), is a third culture singer, composer, arranger, and record producer in Japan and the United States. Hikaru's music is primarily pop and R&B and sometimes incorporates other musical elements such as rock and electronica among others.
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/
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/
大空で抱きしめて
宇多田ヒカル Lyrics
晴れた日曜日の
改札口は
誰かを待つ人たちで色づき始め
今日はどこか遠くへ行きたい気分
空の見える場所へ
雲の中 飛んでいけたら
大空で抱きしめて
君はまだ怒ってるかな
意地を張らずにいられなくて
いつの日かまた 会えたとしたら
最後と言わずにキスをして
もし夢の中でしか会えないなら
朝まで私を抱きしめて
涙で目が覚めた 月曜日の朝
急いで支度をした
僕はまだあの頃のまま
青空で待ち惚け
夏の花が散る頃には
笑顔で僕を迎えに来て
純なあなたが 誤解するから
おしゃべりな私を黙らせて
傷ついたのはお互い様だから
四の五の言わずに抱き寄せて
いつの日かまた会えたとしたら
もう一度私を困らせて
もし夢の中でしか会えないなら
朝まで私を抱きしめて
わかっているわ 欲張りなのは
でも最後と言わずにキスをして
もし夢の中でしか会えないなら
天翔る星よ 消えないで
消えないで (消えないで)
改札口は
誰かを待つ人たちで色づき始め
今日はどこか遠くへ行きたい気分
空の見える場所へ
雲の中 飛んでいけたら
大空で抱きしめて
君はまだ怒ってるかな
いつの日かまた 会えたとしたら
最後と言わずにキスをして
もし夢の中でしか会えないなら
朝まで私を抱きしめて
涙で目が覚めた 月曜日の朝
急いで支度をした
僕はまだあの頃のまま
青空で待ち惚け
夏の花が散る頃には
笑顔で僕を迎えに来て
純なあなたが 誤解するから
おしゃべりな私を黙らせて
傷ついたのはお互い様だから
四の五の言わずに抱き寄せて
いつの日かまた会えたとしたら
もう一度私を困らせて
もし夢の中でしか会えないなら
朝まで私を抱きしめて
わかっているわ 欲張りなのは
でも最後と言わずにキスをして
もし夢の中でしか会えないなら
天翔る星よ 消えないで
消えないで (消えないで)
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Hikaru Utada
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@user-bd2ie9mf8t
晴れた日曜日の改札口は
誰かを待つ人たちで色づき始め
今日はどこか遠くへ行きたい気分
空の見える場所へ
雲の中 飛んでいけたら
大空で抱きしめて
君はまだ怒ってるかな
意地を張らずにいられなくて
いつの日かまた会えたとしたら
最後と言わずにキスをして
もし夢の中でしか会えないなら
朝まで私を抱きしめて
涙で目が覚めた月曜日の朝
急いで支度をした
僕はまだあの頃のまま
青空で待ち惚け
夏の花が散る頃には
笑顔で僕を迎えに来て
純なあなたが誤解するから
おしゃべりな私を黙らせて
傷ついたのはお互い様だから
四の五の言わずに抱き寄せて
いつの日かまた会えたとしたら
もう一度私を困らせて
もし夢の中でしか会えないなら
朝まで私を抱きしめて
わかっているわ、欲張りなのは
でも最後と言わずにキスをして
もし夢の中でしか会えないなら
天翔る星よ 消えないで
@Yu-St.thunderstorm
ポップでコミカルな音と、切なさを含む歌詞が絶妙に合わさってて好き
@user-yl4sm8cl2w
もう夢の中でしか会えないから、天翔る星よ消えないで。って歌詞どんな人生を歩んでいたら思いつくんだろう。切なくて美しくて1番好きな曲🥲
@popcorn7659
昨年夫を亡くしました。宇多田ヒカルさんの曲はどうしていつも大事な人が亡くなった人に響くような歌詞なんだろう。失恋と大事な人の死は似ているからだろうか。同じ経験をしているのかと錯覚するぐらい私の気持ちをいつも代弁してくれる彼女の歌にありがとう。
@kanako8098
夢にたくさんご主人が出てきて朝まで抱きしめてくれますように。
@user-mb4cw3nu2m
こちらのコメントを読んだからか、聴いてたら涙が止まらなくなりました…
@mushamakaze99101004
宇多田ヒカルさんはお母様が亡くなられてからこういう歌が多くなった気がします
私の近しい人で亡くなった方はまだいませんが、とても切ない気分になります
好きな曲です
@battoshindo7806
歌の神に愛されすぎやろ
@user-ey8rk7co6m
軽快なリズムなのに
なぜか苦しい気持ちになる
@user-to2zs2xw3k
じわじわ忍び寄り、最後には強く鳴り響くバイオリンの物悲しさよ
@user-tb9ul9fk4x
｢もし夢の中でしかあえないなら朝まで私を抱きしめて｣っていう部分も大好きです