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/
Eternally
宇多田ヒカル Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
目の前にいる君が少し輝き
周りが見えない
私達はどこにいるの
ざわめき始めた背景の中に
まだ消えないでね
But I can feel you breathe
おどろく程気まぐれな展開に少しだけ
私らしくない期待を oh oh してる
I wanna be here eternally
このまま見つめ合っていたい
I can feel you close to me
いつまでも側にはいられない
この瞬間だけはずっと永遠に
戦いに出かける前の一休み
あなたと過ごしたい
約束は今度会えた時に
Can you hear me breathe?
おどろく程ではない展開にも
感動しちゃう時が誰にだって oh oh ある
I wanna be here eternally
誰にも見つからないところに
I can see you're all I need
明日まで助けはいらない
この瞬間さえもきっと just a fantasy
I can feel you close to me
あの場所に帰れなくなっても
今の気持ちだけはずっと永遠に
I wanna be here eternally
I can see you are all I need
この瞬間だけは永遠に
The song "Eternally" by Hikaru Utada is a heartfelt, emotional ballad about the desire to be with loved ones forever. The opening lines describe the person in front of the singer, shining brightly, while the world around them fades away, leaving them alone together. They question where they are and find solace in each other's presence, even as the background noise starts to grow louder. The singer can't hear anything except the sound of their loved one's breath, which serves as a reminder of their permanence.
The second verse of the song describes a momentary respite from a fight, and the singer's desire to spend it with their loved one. While they acknowledge that unexpected, surprising things happen in life, they continue to hope for a future where they can be together forever. The final chorus of the song repeats the desire to remain together in this moment, with the added realization that, even if they can't physically be together all the time, the emotional connection they share will endure beyond the present.
Overall, "Eternally" is a song about the unbreakable bond between two people, and the hope that their connection will last beyond the constraints of time and space.
Line by Line Meaning
目の前にいる君が少し輝き
You, who are standing before me, shine a little bit
周りが見えない
I cannot see anything else around us
私達はどこにいるの
Where are we exactly?
ざわめき始めた背景の中に
Amidst the commotion, in the background
まだ消えないでね
Please don't disappear yet
もうなんにも聞こえない
I cannot hear anything else anymore
But I can feel you breathe
But I can feel your breath
おどろく程気まぐれな展開に少しだけ
Just a little bit surprised by the whimsical development
私らしくない期待を oh oh してる
I'm hoping for something uncharacteristic of myself
I wanna be here eternally
I want to be here forever
このまま見つめ合っていたい
I want to keep gazing into each other's eyes like this
I can feel you close to me
I can feel you close by
いつまでも側にはいられない
I cannot be by your side forever
この瞬間だけはずっと永遠に
But for this moment, I want it to be eternal
戦いに出かける前の一休み
A break before going to battle
あなたと過ごしたい
I want to spend it with you
約束は今度会えた時に
Our promise is to meet again next time
Can you hear me breathe?
Can you hear me breathing?
おどろく程ではない展開にも
Even if it's not a very surprising development
感動しちゃう時が誰にだって oh oh ある
Everyone has a time when they're moved unexpectedly
誰にも見つからないところに
In a place where no one can find us
I can see you're all I need
I can see that you're all I need
明日まで助けはいらない
I don't need any help until tomorrow
この瞬間さえもきっと just a fantasy
Even this moment is surely just a fantasy
あの場所に帰れなくなっても
Even if I couldn't go back to that place anymore
今の気持ちだけはずっと永遠に
These current feelings will be eternal
I wanna be here eternally
I want to be here forever
I can see you are all I need
I can see that you're all I need
この瞬間だけは永遠に
But for this moment, I want it to be eternal
Contributed by Keira M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@rianbar8827
永遠にここに居たい
このまま見つめ合っていたい
いつまでも傍には居られない
この瞬間だけはずっと永遠に------
好きになってはいけない人に恋した時、たまたま一緒に居た時のあのシーンに重なってしまう
せめて今だけでいいから時間が止まってほしい
この人と二人きりの時間がずっとこのまま続いてほしい
自分だけに触れていてほしい
そんな叶いもしないわがままを願った事を思い出させる曲
昔から知ってた曲だったけど最近また再燃した😂
@PENNY-si7uy
こういう動画みると沢山の人が関わって支えてるんだなぁて思うよね。
スタッフの方々も編曲する方々もありがとうですよ。
@lovesolaakemin6317
この曲宇多田ちゃんの曲の中で1番好き🎶
@TV-zn7bc
昔からずっと一番好きな曲
@user-oz4ce1so9o
すごく心に染みる唄😌
@rie629
懐かしいなぁ
この曲を聴くとドラマを思い出します。
ドラマもこの曲も大好きでした。
録画してDVDにしてたので、もう一度見よう😊
@momowithu3985
色々な人たちの色々な人生がある。
涙が出るなー…
@user-gd3qi9cs3b
友達,家族,両親,恋人,のことを考えて聞くと涙がでてきます
@user-hx2vr3rr4j
隠れた名曲。ラブソング！
@aaaa12554
前も好きだったけど、めちゃくちゃ良い曲やん。サビはロマンティック
@user-uj2dr2ry7k
大好きな曲‼️