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/
Hikari
宇多田ヒカル Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
運命忘れて生きてきたのに
突然の光の中 目が覚める 真夜中に
静かに 出口に立って
暗闇に光を撃て
今時約束なんて 不安にさせるだけかな
家族にも紹介するよ
きっとうまくいくよ
どんな時だって ずっと二人で
どんな時だって 側にいるから
君という光が私を見つける 真夜中に
うるさい通りに入って
運命の仮面をとれ
先読みのし過ぎなんて 意味の無いことは止めて
今日はおいしい物を食べようよ
未来はずっと先だよ
僕にも分からない
完成させないで もっと良くして
ワンシーンずつ撮っていけばいいから
君という光が 私のシナリオ映し出す
もっと話そうよ 目前の明日のことも
テレビ消して 私のことだけを見ていてよ
どんなに良くたって 信じきれないね
そんな時だって側にいるから
君という光が私を見つける 真夜中に
もっと話そうよ 目前の明日のことも
テレビ消して 私のことだけを見ていてよ
もっと話そうよ 目前の明日のことも
テレビ消して 私のことだけを見ていてよ
The lyrics of Hikari by 宇多田ヒカル speak of the sudden awakening to destiny and the recognition of a light that has been there all along. The singer confesses to forgetting about fate and living her life alone, but in the middle of the night, the sudden appearance of light causes her to wake up and take action. She stands quietly at the exit, shooting light into the darkness. The lyrics continue with a promise to introduce this new light to the family and the belief that everything will work out fine.
The second stanza of the song speaks of the two staying together through thick and thin, with the light of the other person finding the singer in the middle of the night. The singer asks the other person to take off the mask of destiny and live in the moment, enjoying the good things in life instead of worrying too much about the future. The song suggests that life can be taken scene by scene, and that by doing so, the light of the other person will shine on the singer’s script.
The lyrics of Hikari convey a message of hope, love, and the recognition of destiny. The song speaks to the importance of taking action, living in the moment, and believing that everything will work out for the best.
Line by Line Meaning
どんな時だって たった一人で
Even in difficult times, I have always been alone
運命忘れて生きてきたのに
And even though I forgot about destiny, I kept on living
突然の光の中 目が覚める 真夜中に
But then, suddenly, in the middle of the night, a bright light awakened me
静かに 出口に立って
I quietly stand at the exit
暗闇に光を撃て
And shoot light into the darkness
今時約束なんて 不安にさせるだけかな
I wonder if promises these days only make people feel anxious
願いを口にしたいだけさ
I just want to say my wish out loud
家族にも紹介するよ
I'll even introduce you to my family
きっとうまくいくよ
I'm sure everything will go well
どんな時だって ずっと二人で
In all times, I will always be with you
どんな時だって 側にいるから
I will always be by your side
君という光が私を見つける 真夜中に
And it's because of you, a light, that I was found in the darkness of the night
うるさい通りに入って
I go down the noisy street
運命の仮面をとれ
And I take off the mask of fate
先読みのし過ぎなんて 意味の無いことは止めて
I stop worrying too much about the future, as it's meaningless
今日はおいしい物を食べようよ
Let's eat something delicious today
未来はずっと先だよ
The future is still far away
僕にも分からない
I don't understand it either
完成させないで もっと良くして
Let's not finish it yet. Let's make it better
ワンシーンずつ撮っていけばいいから
We can take it one scene at a time
君という光が 私のシナリオ映し出す
And with you, this light, my scenario unfolds
もっと話そうよ 目前の明日のことも
Let's talk about tomorrow that's right in front of us
テレビ消して 私のことだけを見ていてよ
Turn off the TV and look at only me
どんなに良くたって 信じきれないね
Even if it's going really well, it's hard to believe, isn't it?
そんな時だって側にいるから
But I'll still be by your side even at times like that
君という光が私を見つける 真夜中に
Because of you, a light, I was found in the darkness of the night
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Hikaru Utada
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-jc8vq7oq9n
どんな時だって
たった一人で
運命忘れて
生きてきたのに
突然の光の中、目が覚める
真夜中に
静かに出口に立って
暗闇に光を撃て
今時約束なんて不安にさせるだけかな
願いを口にしたいだけさ
家族にも紹介するよ
きっとうまくいくよ
どんな時だって
ずっと二人で
どんな時だって
側にいるから
君という光が私を見つける
真夜中に
うるさい通りに入って
運命の仮面をとれ
先読みのし過ぎなんて意味の無いことは止めて
今日はおいしい物を食べようよ
未来はずっと先だよ
僕にも分からない
完成させないで
もっと良くして
ワンシーンずつ撮って
いけばいいから
君という光が私のシナリオ
映し出す
もっと話そうよ
目前の明日の事も
テレビ消して
私の事だけを見ていてよ
どんなに良くったって
信じきれないね
そんな時だって
側にいるから
君という光が私を見つける
真夜中に
もっと話そうよ
目前の明日の事も
テレビ消して
私の事だけを見ていてよ
@kkkmmm3233
宇多田さんの曲って、傷ついた人とか社会で孤独感や不安を感じてるような人に対して、肯定も否定もせずそっと寄り添ってくれるような歌詞が多くて、弱ってる時に聴くと本当に励まされる
@sadazumi1996
確かに。肯定も否定もないのに励まされるって、考えてみたら物凄いよな
@matuya12345
姉感
@grilled-shiitake
まさに!
パイセン感
@user-mw6js5gi3t
藤圭子の娘やからね
@user-hw4vu2td7s
「先読みのしすぎなんて
意味のない事はやめて
今日はおいしいものを食べようよ」
とか「もっと話そうよ」って歌詞とか
落ち着くし、元気でるよね
@user-yw3fq5fk9s
いきなり始まる感じがめちゃくちゃ良い…
@sugarbage
19年も前の曲なんだなぁ…
宇多田さんの作る曲を聴くと、どれもその完成度に圧倒されてしまう。
@user-lg2wl1hb2n
全然古さ感じないし。凄い。
@ponderion3mimu
よく聞いた。懐かしい