Date of Birth: Born in New York on January 19, 1983
The same birth date as Yuming, a colleague in the same company; writer/poet Edgar Allan Poe whom I fell in love with in junior-high school; Ogai Mori, a writer of Japan's literary history; and dear Mr. Udo Suzuki, another person Japan is proud of. Please let me know if anyone you know is born on the same date.
Height: 158 cm It's my height, honest. It hasn't changed since my debut. I wonder if that means my growth is totally over?
Blood Type: A Well! True born type!, 'cause both of my parents are A. It's a common type among Japanese, isn't it?
Hobbies: Literature remains my eternal passion! I've been missing Japanese literature so much of late. I rushed into a bookstore which sells books in Japanese, and bought about 15 books in one swoop... I stay at home and have been grappling with the books like a hungry beast. Buying furniture, collecting furniture and interior goods Though I said I've been growing my hair long, I've had it cut. Ou, la, la. (Girls who had their hair short once would know this feeling?) Of course email is a tool indispensable for business and private life, but cruise the Net too. I learned about several sites from Toshiba EMI's engineer the other day. They are awesome -- quite interesting, Mesdames! I recommend first of all two of them, Modern Living and otogaiworld-------. Visit them late at night, then they'll be further to the point.
Specialties: To evade saying "I suppose it's OK"*To puzzle others*Independent action of my left little finger*Basketball*Cleaning. Really, I have confidence at it. I get strangely obsessed about the cleanliness of my house. If I suddenly disappear from the music world, you might see Hikaru Utada working as a helper at some inn in Atami.
Favorite Movies: Shawshank Redemption, Meet Joe Black, Godfather Part 2 (I like Robert De Niro), Good Will Hunting, Baghdad Cafe, The Jerk, Unbreakable, Orlando, Amadeus, Sleepy Hollow
Favorite Writers: Kenji Nakagami, "Izoku," "Kishuben"; Ryunosuke Akutagawa, "Rashomon," "Kappa"; Yasunari Kawabata ,"Kanjo Soshoku," "Yukiguni"; Ogai Mori, "Takasebune"; Soseki Natsume "Kokoro"; Kenji Miyazawa (poetry); Yukio Mishima"Kinkakuji"; Ryotaro Shiba "Sekigahara";
Hermann Hesse. Read "Siddhartha" and "Happiness" and "Steppenwolf" as finale, then you'll be fully satisfied! (I recommend the translation by Kenji Takahashi)
Roald Dahl, "Tales of the Unexpected"; Shel Silverstein, "Where the Sidewalk Ends," "A Light in the Attic";Edgar Allan Poe; Elie Wiesel, "Night"; John Berendt, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"; F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Great Gatsby.
Favorite Artists: I have many many more favorite artists than listed below. I have too many, in fact, and they are constantly increasing. Anyhow, here are some...
Freddie Mercury (Queen), Yutaka Ozaki, Bjork, Janet Jackson, Minnie Riperton, Slash (Guns 'n' Roses), Joe, Lauryn Hill, Maxwell, Craig David, Garbage, No Doubt, GLAY, Guru, Enigma, Blink182, Miles Davis, Mozart, Blue Man Group, At the Drive-in, Erykah Badu, Jimi Hendrix, Bela Bartok, Edith Piaf.
Places I Want to Go: Italy, Mexico, Machu Picchu, Sahara Desert, my ancestral home in Yamaguchi Pref. (I've never visited before, and would like to visit as soon as I can.)
Things Hooked on Recently:
*Hoop-shaped pierced earrings (again) and accessories with silver and gold mixed, though I used to focus on silver only before (does that mean that I've grown a bit?)
*Stimulant seasonings such as tabasco, sesame oil with chili peppers, vinegar and wasabi.
*I'm into long baths lately. Throughout the world, whether at home in New York, in Japan or in a hotel in Europe, I'm indebted to Japan's famous hot spring bath powder from Tsumura. My father said he likes it, too. Don't you think I have fairly composed daily schedule, though my looks may be quite far out....
*It's a fairly recent thing but I've become very fond of making drinks myself. I bought an espresso maker and coffee maker and make them myself every day. I also discovered a cute teacup set at DKNY and I make Japanese tea often and drink it. I squeeze oranges every morning to make juice... Are these things so common that everybody does them? For me who doesn't cook, it's great progress!
My Favorite Words:
kinomi kinomama (with only the clothes one happens to be wearing); shogyo mujo (All things are in flux and nothing is permanent); kechon kechon (completely); charappoko (no sweat); gakeppuchi (cliff edge); ikkaku senkinn (quick money, fortune at a stroke) (--laugh);
February; maybe; love;
"Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be" - Abraham Lincoln;
"Instead of tug o'war, let's play hug o' war" - Shel Silverstein;
"Turn a negative into a positive picture" - Lauryn Hill
Utada Hikaru, born in New York in 1983, grew up immersed in music. Recently she's earned much praise for her musical sense and for her talent as singer-songwriter. Everything started with the single "time will tell," which registered
She dominates the charts in Japan whenever she releases a single or album, but to call her a J-pop singer ignores Utada's American roots and her desire to break all the rules of the genre. Born January 19, 1983, in New York City to a traditional Japanese-style singer mother and a musician/producer father, Hikaru Utada grew up in the recording studio. Her father's production job bounced her between New York City and Tokyo, with the only constant being naps and homework in the studio. She was bilingual at an early age and soon came to understand both American and Japanese cultures.
She had composed and recorded her first Japanese-language song by the age of 11 and her first album in English by 13. What stood out to the few who heard the album was what an accomplished composer Utada was. A Toshiba-EMI executive approached the singer to see if she could write her pop songs in Japanese. She could, of course, and her Japanese-language debut album, First Love, hit number one on the Japanese charts during its first week of release, breaking the record for first-week sales of a debut album, and has sold nine million copies since its release in 1999.
One Japanese-language platinum-selling album after another followed and the Japanese press took note of Utada's unique style, influenced by the alternative rock from America. Academics kept her away from doing many interviews, and her mystique grew as a result. In 2004 she announced she was moving to the Island-Universal Music Japan label and recording an English-language album. Her single "Exodus 04" became a heartbreaker for her solid fan base when her lyrics were taken as a goodbye to Japan.
The album Exodus was released in Japan on September 8, 2004, and Utada now held the record for largest-ever one-day shipment of an English-language album by doubling Mariah Carey's previous record of 500,000. The album mixed wistful pop and sparkling dance music and featured producer Timbaland and Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore. American J-pop fans were aware of her for years, but Utada got her first mainstream U.S. exposure when the "Devil Inside" single appeared in September 2004 with Rjd2, the Scumfrog, and Richard Vission handling the remixes. Exodus received its American release on Island in October of the same year.
Utada Hikaru (宇多田ヒカル, Utada Hikaru?) (born January 19 1983), also known as Utada, is a J-Pop star. She is one of the most popular and successful Japanese artists today, given her personality, singing, songwriting and producing abilities, looks, lifestyle, and upbringing.
Utada's Names
Utada's name variations have been a source of some minor confusions in the past. Her legal Japanese name is currently Hikaru Iwashita (岩下光, Iwashita Hikaru?), born Hikaru Utada (宇多田光, Utada Hikaru?). The current status of her legal US name as well as the status of her US citizenship is unclear. She debuted as Cubic U in the States, but went mostly unknown during this era in her career. When she moved from the US to Japan, she made big under her homonymic stage name Hikaru Utada (宇多田ヒカル, Utada Hikaru?), which she is still popularly known as in Japan even after her marriage. In Japan, it was known to her fans that her nickname in the US was "Hikki." However, due to her immense popularity in Japan, she became better known under this nickname in Japan than in the States. Unlike most Japanese artists, she became well known in the English speaking world under the surname-first name ordering ("Utada Hikaru"), since her name has been romanized only in that order for the Japanese domestic market. After her successes in Japan, she re-entered the US market simply as Utada. On a few rare occasions, she has been credited in full on US domestic albums as either "Hikaru Utada" or "Utada Hikaru".
Biography
She was born in New York City, New York 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"). She made her first professional recording at the age of twelve, and recorded her first album, Precious, in 1996 under the pseudonym Cubic U. The album led to her career overseas. In a recent MTV interview (MTV's You Hear It First, October 2004), Utada 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."
She is currently married to Kazuaki Kiriya, a photographer and movie director. He has directed several of her music videos, including "Final Distance", "Traveling", "Hikari", "Sakura Drops", "Deep River", "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro", "You Make Me Want to Be a Man", "Be My Last", "Passion", and "Keep Tryin'". Also, "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro" was played during the credits of Kiriya's directorial debut, Casshern.
"First Love"
She moved to Tokyo later that year and attended The American School in Japan, while continuing to record on a new contract with Toshiba/EMI. She soon made her mark on Japanese music with her successful single "Automatic", soon followed by the album First Love, which sold over five million copies in a month during March and April of 1999, and placed Utada among the 100 wealthiest people in Japan. She also broke the record of units sold on a single album in Japan; she still holds the record (in 2006).
The album has sold more than ten million copies in Asia.
Rivalry
Also, Utada Hikaru is commonly considered to be the direct rival of (also J-Pop star) Ayumi Hamasaki, which caused intense debate between fans of both artists.
On March 28, 2001, Utada Hikaru and Ayumi Hamasaki came in direct competition. Utada's album Distance and Hamasaki's album A BEST were released on the same day. Distance topped the charts for the first week while A BEST was #2. The following week A BEST hit #1 and Distance dropped to #3. At the end of the year, Distance and A BEST were the top 2 highest selling albums of the year.
However, on Utada's most recent TV-appearance on MUSIC STATION in December 2005, both Hamasaki and Utada appeared together and got along very well. Utada even commented that she sang some of Hamasaki's songs when she went to the KTV.
The Hamasaki-Utada rivalry has been regarded as one of the biggest rivalries in the Japanese music industry.
Music into the 2000s
Utada returned to New York in 2000 to attend Columbia University as a freshman, but took leave from it within the year to continue her activities within the Japanese music industry. Her two subsequent albums, Distance (2001) and Deep River (2002), both went multi-platinum.
The video for Utada's 2001 song "Can You Keep a Secret" received some attention as part of International Week, which coincided with the 2001 EMAs, on the American channel MTV2. That video's airplay was likely Utada's first chance at exposure in the United States.
In May of 2002, she became sick right before the release of her third album Deep River. She was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor, and then underwent surgery. During this period, she had to put on hold her TV appearances and other promotional activities. In June of 2002, the album was released. While there were no TV appearances, she promoted her album on magazine and radio interviews. Oricon count of the album was 2.35 million sold for the first week, or 1.89 million by Planet's count. Oricon reports that sales eventually surpassed 3.60 million. Shortly afterwards, in September 2002, she announced her marriage to Kazuaki Kiriya, a photographer and film director fifteen years her senior.
So far she is best known in the western hemisphere for singing "Simple and Clean", the theme to the video game Kingdom Hearts and its sequel "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories", which is an English version of her popular song "Hikari", combined with elements from another of her songs, "Uso Mitai na I Love You". She also performed a well-received duet with Foxy Brown, "Blow My Whistle", which was featured on the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack. Her most successful singles include "Can You Keep a Secret?", "Addicted to You", and "First Love".
As well as singing "Simple and Clean" for Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, she sings "Passion", the theme for the Japanese Kingdom Hearts 2. Oddly, "Passion" is the Japanese version of the English song "Sanctuary," which she wrote first and appears in the English release of Kingdom Hearts 2.
Breaking into the English market
On October 5 2004, Hikaru Utada released her North American debut album, Exodus, under the name "Utada" (for fear of fans mutilating her Japanese nickname, Hikki). It was released nearly a month earlier, on September 9 in Japan, with a special booklet and housed in a cardboard slipcase. In an MTV interview, Utada said: "There really aren't any completely Asian people singing right now. For me, it's an experiment to see what people are gonna think of it".
But her American debut as an Island Def Jam Music Group artist was met with indifference by the American market, perhaps due in part to poor promotion on her record label's part. Despite the failure in the international markets, this album topped the charts in Japan, though it sold less than her releases as Utada Hikaru. Also, "Devil Inside" became a club hit in the U.S. and topped the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Airplay charts.
"Easy Breezy" was released as the lead single in early August 2004, followed up by the dance blockbuster "Devil Inside" a month and two weeks later. "Exodus '04" was released at the end of June 2005. The fourth single from her "Exodus" album was released in October 2005: "You Make Me Want To Be A Man". "Devil Inside" reached the number one spot on Billboards US Dance charts. "Exodus '04" also charted. Maxi singles featuring remixes from The Scum Frog, Richard Vission, JJ Flores, and Peter Bailey were also released.
There is a rumor of an unreleased remix to "Hotel Lobby."
Future plans
She has recently completed recording her 4th Japanese album, called "ULTRA BLUE," set to be released on June 14, 2006. The single "This Is Love" aired on radio Sunday and can be found floating around the Internet. Utada Hikaru is also planning for her national tour in Japan in the summer, called "UTADA UNITED 2006," which will feature both her Japanese work and her English tracks from "EXODUS." The dates have all been announced, the tickets can be ordered starting May 28, 2006.
Discography
Albums
[1999.03.10] First Love
[2001.03.28] Distance
[2002.06.19] DEEP RIVER
[2004.03.31] Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL.1
[2004.09.08] Utada - EXODUS
[2006.06.14] ULTRA BLUE
[edit]Singles
[1998.12.09] Automatic / time will tell
[1999.02.17] Movin' on without you
[1999.04.28] First Love
[1999.11.10] Addicted To You
[2000.04.19] Wait & See ~Risk~ (Wait & See ~リスク~)
[2000.06.30] For You / Time Limit (For You / タイム・リミット)
[2001.02.16] Can You Keep A Secret?
[2001.07.25] FINAL DISTANCE
[2001.11.28] traveling
[2002.03.20] Hikari (光)
[2002.05.09] SAKURA Drops / Letters (SAKURAドロップス / Letters)
[2003.01.29] COLORS
[2004.04.21] Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro (誰かの願いが叶うころ)
[2004.08.03] Utada - Easy Breezy
[2004.09.14] Utada - Devil Inside
[2005.06.21] Utada - Exodus '04
[2005.09.28] Be My Last
[2005.10.17] Utada - You Make Me Want to Be a Man
[2005.12.14] Passion
[2006.02.22] Keep Tryin'
Download Exclusive
[2004.08.03] Utada - Easy Breezy
[2004.08.03] Utada - Devil Inside (The Richard Vission Radio Edit / The Scum Frog Radio Edit mixes)
[2006.05.31] This Is Love
DVD/Videos
[1999.12.16] Utada Hikaru Single Clip Collection Vol.1
[2000.06.30] Wait & See ~Risk~ (DVD Single)
[2000.12.09] Bohemian Summer 2000
[2001.09.27] Utada Hikaru Single Clip Collection Vol.2
[2001.11.28] Utada Hikaru Unplugged
[2002.01.30] traveling (DVD Single)
[2002.09.30] Utada Hikaru Single Clip Collection Vol.3
[2003.03.12] COLORS (DVD Single)
[2003.08.29] UH Live Streaming 20 Dai wa Ikeike!
[2004.07.28] Utada Hikaru in Budokan 2004 - Hikaru no 5
[2004.07.28] Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro (DVD Single)
[2004.10.06] Utada - Easy Breezy (DVD Single)
[2005.09.28] Be My Last (Single includes DVD)
[2005.12.14] Passion (Single includes DVD)
[2006.09.27] Utada Hikaru Single Clip Collection Vol.4
Cubic U/U3
[1993.09.17] U3 - Star
[1996.09.25] Fuji Keiko with Cubic U - Tsumetai Tsuki -Nakanaide-
[1997.01.28] Cubic U - Close to You
[1997.xx.xx] Cubic U - I'll Be Stronger
[1997.07.18] Balanced Output (Featured original version of I'll Be Stronger)
[1998.01.28] Cubic U - Precious
[1999.05.01] U3 - Thank You
[1999.05.05] Fuji Keiko with Cubic U - Golden Era
[2002.07.21] U3 - Kodomotachi no Uta ga Kikoeru
Vinyls
[1999.02.17] Automatic / time will tell
[1999.06.30] First Love
[2000.05.10] Fly Me To The Moon
[2001.07.25] Distance
[2002.xx.xx] SAKURA Drops (Sonic Sprout Mix)
[2002.09.30] Deep River
[2004.09.13] Utada - Devil Inside
[2005.05.17] Utada - Exodus '04
[2005.09.05] Utada - You Make Me Want to Be a Man (Promo)
[2005.09.17] Utada - You Make Me Want to Be a Man
Unique Compilation/Other
(Songs that feature on an album that are not found anywhere else or in Utada's releases)
[1999.06.09] Majo no Jouken OST (Variations on First Love)
[2001.03.07] Hero Original Soundtrack (Can You Keep A Secret? -Instrumental-)
[2001.07.31] Rush Hour 2 Soundtrack (Utada Hikaru feat. Foxy Brown - Blow My Whistle)
[2001.12.12] Ohguro Maki - "O" (Promise "I Do" featuring Utada Hikaru)
[2002.03.11] Kingdom Hearts Soundtrack (Four versions of Hikari)
[2002.05.27] Shiina Ringo - "Utaite Myoli ~Vol. I~" (Shiina Ringo with Utada Hikaru - I Won't Last a Day Without You)
[2003.03.26] Kuzu - "Kuzu Album" (Kuzu feat. Utada Hikaru - Kaze Ga Fuiteru)
[2003.11.06] Beautiful Drivin' Classic - Wish (Colors -Orchestra Version-)
[2004.04.24] Blue ~ A Tribute to Yutaka Ozaki (I Love You)
[2004.07.14] Unity (Timbaland, Kiley Dean, Utada - By Your Side)
[2004.09.13] Ultimix 108 (Easy Breezy (Ultimix Remix))
[2005.02.xx] DJ Fatal - "Remixes Feburary 2005" (CD promo) (Utada feat. Nas, 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G. - Exodus '04 (Remix))
[2005.10.11] 1998-2005 All For You: UH Premium Single Box Set
[2006.01.25] Kingdom Hearts II Original Soundtrack (Three Versions of Passion / Sanctuary)
Compilation/Other
[1999.11.26] Now 10 (Cubic U - Close To You)
[1999.12.18] Now Japan Best: Greatest Hits Of The Millennium (Automatic)
[2000.02.01] 1999 Japanese TV Series Champion Theme Songs (First Love feat. David Sanborn)
[2000.02.01] The 41th Japan Record Awards (Automatic, First Love)
[2000.03.01] Japan Love Songs Collection 2 (First Love feat. David Sanborn)
[2000.04.01] Japan R&B Pop Music II (Addicted To You, Automatic, First Love)
[2000.12.06] NOW 11 (Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words))
[2000.12.20] Dancemania DIAMOND COMPLETE EDITION (Fly Me To The Moon (VC2's Club Mix))
[2001.01.01] NOW J-POP 2001 (Movin' On Without You)
[2001.01.17] Dancemania X8 (Fly Me To The Moon (VC2's Club Mix))
[2001.02.09] Tokyo Love Scenes 2001Endless Love (First Love)
[2001.10.17] Original Songs (Automatic)
[2002.05.29] The Japan Gold Disc Award 2002 (Can You Keep a Secret?)
[2002.07.03] EARTH BEAT (Distance (PLANITb Remix))
[2003.03.05] Sweet -for emotional memories- (First Love)
[2003.04.23] 31 Hits -The Japan Gold Disc Award 2003- (Sakura Drops)
[2004.04.23] Our Last Days -Casshern OST- (Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro)
[2004.09.xx] Radioactive Rhythm and Top 40 - September 2004 (Devil Inside)
[2004.10.xx] Radioactive Rhythm and Top 40 - October 2004 (Easy Breezy)
[2005.03.09] The Japan Gold Disc Award 2005 (Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro, Easy Breezy)
[2005.03.30] VENUS JAPAN (Traveling)
[2005.05.18] Superstar Jazz (Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words))
[2005.07.13] Prime Cuts - Issue #7 (Exodus '04 (Double J Radio Mix))
[2006.03.01] The Japan Gold Disc Award 2006 (Be My Last)
Instrumental Albums
(Not official albums, but these were inspired by Utada songs)
[1999.09.01] Piano Sings Utada Hikaru Melodies
[1999.11.01] Crystal Melody Utada Hikaru Collection
[2000.xx.xx] Works on Music Box
[2000.09.01] Miffy Orgel Collection first love - Wait and See
[2001.xx.xx] Works on Music Box Vol. 2
[2001.07.18] Piano Sings Utada Hikaru Melodies Vol. 2 - Can You Keep A Secret?
[2002.xx.xx] Hikaru Utada Works - Relaxing Orgel - Letters
[2002.07.22] Crystal Melody Hikaru Utada
[1999.09.22] Kenny James Trio - Utada Hikaru Songs (Jazz)
[2000.11.22] Kenny James Trio - Utada Hikaru Songs II (Jazz)
[xxxx.xx.xx] Kenny James Trio - Utada Hikaru Songs III (Jazz)
Awards
[1999] (Yusen Awards) Top Award "Special Prize"
[1999] (Yusen Awards) Top Award "Best New Artist"
[1999] (Record Awards) Best Album (First Love)
[1999] (Record Awards) Best Song (Automatic)
[2000] (Golden Disc) Artist of the Year
[2000] (Golden Disc) Song of the Year (Automatic, Movin' on without you, Addicted To You)
[2000] (Golden Disc) Pop Album of the Year (First Love)
[2000] (Golden Disc) Music Video of the Year (SINGLE CLIP COLLECTION VOL.1)
[2000] (World Music Awards) Best-Selling Japanese Artist
[2000] (JASRAC) Gold Award (Automatic)
[2000] (JASRAC) Silver Award (time will tell)
[2001] (Golden Disc) Song of the Year (Wait & See ~Risk~, For You / Time Limit)
[2002] SSTV Best Art Direction Video (Traveling)
[2002] SSTV Best Female Video (Traveling)
[2002] SSTV Best Video of the Year (Traveling)
[2002] SSTV Best Music Video (Traveling)
[2002] (Golden Disc) Song of the Year (Can You Keep A Secret?)
[2002] (Golden Disc) Song of the Year (Traveling)
[2002] (Golden Disc) Pop Album of the Year (Distance)
[2002] JASRAC Silver Award (Can You Keep A Secret?)
[2003] (World Music Awards) Best-Selling Japanese Artist
[2003] J-WAVE Best Female Artist
[2003] SSTV Best Female Video (SAKURA Drops)
[2003] MTV JAPAN Best Female Video (SAKURA Drops)
[2003] (Golden Disc) Artist of the Year
[2003] (Golden Disc) Song of the Year (Hikari)
[2003] (Golden Disc) Song of the Year (SAKURA Drops)
[2003] (Golden Disc) Song of the Year (COLORS)
[2003] (Golden Disc) Rock & Pop Album of the Year (Deep River)
[2003] (Golden Disc) Music Video of the Year (Traveling)
[2003] JASRAC Silver Award (Traveling)
[2003] JASRAC Silver Award (Foreign Production) (Hikari)
[2004] AMD Award for Best Music Composer (UH LIVE STREAMING 20 Dai wa Ikeike!)
[2005] (Golden Disc) Song of the Year (Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro)
[2005] (Golden Disc) Rock & Pop Album of the Year (Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL. 1)
[2005] (Golden Disc) Music Video of the Year (Utada Hikaru in Budokan 2004 'Hikaru no 5')
[2006] (Golden Disc) Song of the Year (Be My Last)
