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/
Distance
宇多田ヒカル Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
泳ぎつかれて 君まで無口になる
会いたいのに 見えない波に押されて
また少し遠くなる
途切れないように keep it going, baby
同じ気持ちじゃないなら
Tell me 無理はしない主義でも
I wanna be with you now
二人で distance 縮めて
今なら間に合うから
We can start over ひとつにはなれない
I wanna be with you now
いつの日か distance も
抱きしめられるようになれるよ
We can start sooner
やっぱり I wanna be with you
ひとことでこんなにも傷つく君は
孤独を教えてくれる
守れない時 keep on trying, baby
約束通りじゃないけど
Trust me 無理はしない主義でも
君とならしてみてもいいよ
I wanna be with you now
二人で distance 見つめて
今なら間に合うから
We can start over 言葉で伝えたい
I wanna be with you now
そのうちに distance も
抱きしめられるようになれるよ
We should stay together
やっぱり I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you now
I wanna be with you and that is all I want, yeah
'Cause I know this can't be forever
We can start over just you and me
I wanna be with you now
Right now, baby, that is all I want, yeah
'Cause I know this can't be forever
We should stay together just you and me, I wanna be with you
You, nobody but you, all my life
Near or far, keep it going
I wanna be with you now, keep it going, don't stop
Don't you ever let me go
Near or far, keep it going, don't stop, keep it going
I wanna be with you now, baby
The lyrics to 宇多田ヒカル's song "DISTANCE" describe the struggle to maintain a relationship despite being physically apart. The persona is drawn to their partner but circumstances prevent them from expressing their feelings. The lines "気になるのに 聞けない" (I'm interested but I can't ask) and "会いたいのに 見えない波に押されて また少し遠くなる" (I want to see you but the waves of distance push us further apart) illustrate this feeling of helplessness.
Furthermore, the persona recognizes the challenges of the relationship and acknowledges that they may not share the same level of commitment. However, they implore their partner to try, even if it's just a little bit. The lines "同じ気持ちじゃないなら Tell me 無理はしない主義でも 少しならしてみてもいいよ" (If we don't share the same feelings, don't force yourself, but maybe try a little bit) show this sentiment.
The chorus reinforces the desire to close the distance and be with their partner. The lines "We can start over ひとつにはなれない" (We can start over, we can't be one) and "抱きしめられるようになれるよ" (We will be able to embrace each other) convey the hope and longing for physical connection.
Overall, the song artwork highlights the difficulties of long-distance relationships and the yearning for companionship. The persona recognizes the challenges and hopes to overcome them by working together.
Line by Line Meaning
気になるのに 聞けない
I want to ask, but I can't bring myself to do it.
泳ぎつかれて 君まで無口になる
I'm tired of swimming, and it makes you quiet too.
会いたいのに 見えない波に押されて また少し遠くなる
I want to see you, but I'm pushed away by invisible waves and become a little more distant again.
途切れないように keep it going, baby
I don't want this to stop, so let's keep going, baby.
同じ気持ちじゃないなら Tell me 無理はしない主義でも 少しならしてみてもいいよ
If you don't feel the same way, tell me. Even if you believe in not forcing things, it's okay to try a little bit.
I wanna be with you now 二人で distance 縮めて 今なら間に合うから We can start over ひとつにはなれない
I want to be with you now, let's shorten the distance between us. We can start over and become one, even though it's impossible.
いつの日か distance も 抱きしめられるようになれるよ We can start sooner やっぱり I wanna be with you
Someday we will be able to hold each other without distance. Let's start sooner, I still want to be with you.
ひとことでこんなにも傷つく君は 孤独を教えてくれる
You who get hurt with just one word teaches me about loneliness.
守れない時 keep on trying, baby 約束通りじゃないけど Trust me 無理はしない主義でも 君とならしてみてもいいよ
When I can't keep my promises, I'll keep trying, baby. Even if I go against my principle of not forcing things, I trust you and it's okay to try with you.
二人で distance 見つめて 今なら間に合うから We can start over 言葉で伝えたい
Let's look at each other's distance, we can make it if we start over. I want to communicate it in words.
そのうちに distance も 抱きしめられるようになれるよ We should stay together やっぱり I wanna be with you
Someday we will be able to hold each other without distance. We should stay together, I still want to be with you.
I wanna be with you now I wanna be with you and that is all I want, yeah 'Cause I know this can't be forever We can start over just you and me
I want to be with you now, that's all I want. I know we can't be like this forever, but we can start over just the two of us.
You, nobody but you, all my life Near or far, keep it going I wanna be with you now, keep it going, don't stop Don't you ever let me go Near or far, keep it going, don't stop, keep it going I wanna be with you now, baby
You, nobody but you, all my life. Whether near or far, let's keep going. I want to be with you now, don't ever let me go. Whether near or far, let's keep going, don't stop. I want to be with you now, baby.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Hikaru Utada
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
愛和田
「DISTANCE」本当に大好きです。可愛いし歌も上手で尊敬します。
文香 西野
作曲能力の高さをとても感じる楽曲です。
Kumiko Misaki
わはす
まぁみ💤🌟
この歌は すごく元気になるから好きです(*^^*)
ciba funabashi
この頃宇多田ヒカルさんが創る曲は誰からの影響も無くDISTANCEは特に好きな曲です。
素人ですがこの曲の表現やリズムのバリエーション全てが凄いと思いました。
オリジナルバージョンが一番いいですね。
mi mi
この曲は何度も聴いてる
1番好きな曲
xx mi
私もファイナルよりもこっちバージョンのが好きです❤︎
御田明彦
このバージョンのほうが好きです。
Mind Goblin
same
弘信 瀬尾
私も、このバージョンが好きですね😊