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/
One Night Magic
宇多田ヒカル Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
たまには違うものを
どんな歌彼女に車の中で聴かすの?
あげたい 君の知らないCD一枚
Wow, wow, wow どっちつかずの思わせぶりな人
Oh, we dance so slow 簡単な芸術 (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
友達の恋人と踊ってる (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
おれたちの一夜漬けの魔術 (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
もっともっともっと もっともっと会えたら
もっともっともっと oh もっともっと会えたら
もっともっともっと もっともっと会えたら
もっともっともっと oh もっともっと会えたら
海底に絨毯をしいて 喋ろう
人生短い 色とりどりの生物の舞い
Wow, wow, wow 大事にしなよ いつも側にいる人
もぎたての甘い甘い果実 (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
Hold me now or go 一度きりのチャンス (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
友達以上 まぎれもない事実 (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
こんなにもいい感じになってる (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
消えかかる音楽 乱れては揃う
言葉に託せぬ 思いがあふれる
揺らめいて光る ○ □ △
途中で席を起つ フィナーレは観ず
今夜ドウ? ワンナイトマジック (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
Oh, we dance so slow 簡単な芸術 (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
白鳥と 不思議社交ダンス (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
おれたちの一夜漬けの魔術 (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
もっともっともっと もっともっと会えたら
もっともっともっと oh もっともっと会えたら
もっともっともっと もっともっと会えたら
もっともっともっと oh もっともっと会えたら
The Japanese lyrics of "One Night Magic" by Utada Hikaru feat. Yamada Masashi explore topics such as love, longing, and the magic of a one-night stand. The opening lines ask, "Who is monopolizing all your time and days? Sometimes it's good to have something different." The singer then wonders what songs her lover would play for his girlfriend in the car and expresses a desire to give him a CD he has never heard before. The song continues with the refrain "Wow, wow, wow, you're an elusive person who wavers back and forth," underscoring the singer's uncertainty about the nature of their relationship.
The chorus, "Tonight, how about a one-night magic? Oh baby, give it up," emphasizes the temporary and fleeting nature of the romance, while also acknowledging the power and allure of a passionate encounter. The verse that follows celebrates the beauty and richness of life, as the singer suggests talking on a carpet laid on the ocean floor, watching the colorful dance of sea creatures. The second chorus builds on the first one, as the singer and her lover dance a slow, artful, and almost surreal dance with a swan, before returning to the magic of their one night together.
Overall, "One Night Magic" is both a celebration and a reflection on the transitory nature of romance, as it explores the magic and possibilities of a one-night stand with a deceptively simple melody and evocative lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
どんな子が All your time と all your days 独り占めしてるの?
What kind of person is monopolizing all your time and all your days?
たまには違うものを
Sometimes you need to try something different
どんな歌彼女に車の中で聴かすの?
What kind of song will you play for her in the car?
あげたい 君の知らないCD一枚
I want to give her a CD that you don't know
Wow, wow, wow どっちつかずの思わせぶりな人
Wow, wow, wow, she's a person who sends mixed signals
今夜ドウ? ワンナイトマジック
Where are we going tonight? One night magic
(Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up) Oh, we dance so slow 簡単な芸術 (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
(Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up) We dance slowly like it's an easy art form
友達の恋人と踊ってる (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
I'm dancing with my friend's lover (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
おれたちの一夜漬けの魔術 (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
It's our night of pickling magic (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
もっともっともっと もっともっと会えたら
If only we could meet more and more and more
もっともっともっと oh もっともっと会えたら
If only we could meet more and more and more
海底に絨毯をしいて 喋ろう
Let's lay a carpet on the ocean floor and have a talk
人生短い 色とりどりの生物の舞い
Life is short, so let's watch the dance of colorful sea creatures
Wow, wow, wow 大事にしなよ いつも側にいる人
Wow, wow, wow, treasure the person who's always by your side
(Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up) もぎたての甘い甘い果実
(Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up) Just like freshly picked sweet fruit
Hold me now or go 一度きりのチャンス
Hold me now or go, it's a once in a lifetime chance
友達以上 まぎれもない事実 (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
It's an undeniable fact that we're more than friends (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
こんなにもいい感じになってる (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
This feels so good (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
消えかかる音楽 乱れては揃う
As the fading music plays, we come together in chaos
言葉に託せぬ 思いがあふれる
Unspoken thoughts overflow within us
揺らめいて光る ○ □ △
The symbols ○ □ △ flicker and glow
途中で席を起つ フィナーレは観ず
Don't leave halfway through, don't miss the finale
白鳥と 不思議社交ダンス (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
A mysterious dance with a swan (Oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up, oh baby, give it up)
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Hikaru Utada
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Victory-in-YAHUSHA
I like this song. It's pretty good
@user-lz7pu7vk2n
UP
有難う御座いましす❤
@soft-minimalist
このくらい全然よ！
またUPしますね♪
@utubercouchvegetable2172
Fly like a bird