Continuing where we left off with Ayumi Hamasaki’s “You”, we will now go into talking about Hikaru Utada; Japan’s highest-selling musician of all time at the age of 36.
Utada Hikaru also called Hikki by some of her fans, started with the stage name “Cubic U” when she released her first English album, Precious back in 1998. However, due to some complications with her label EMI at that time, Precious was never released in the U.S. and it didn’t sell well in Japan. So she did what a badass would do and entered into the Japanese music scene with her original name and released her first Japanese single, Automatic a year later. Hikaru was a breath of fresh air. She had a fresh hip R&B vibe to her that was simple and clean, catching everybody’s attention in Japan. Hence, her debut Japanese album First Love, was released in 1999 and became a major success. It’s the best selling Japanese album of all time with almost 11 million copies sold worldwide.
When I first listened to Ayumi Hamasaki at 17 years old, I assumed all Asian singers were the same. They most likely all acted the same, dressed the same, and sounded the same. But when I came across Utada after Hamasaki, I was proven wrong. Now…what can be said about Utada that hasn’t already been said by those who know her? She was born in New York and speaks both Japanese and English fluently. She’s talented, authentic, and just gorgeous. Her mother, Junko Abe (under the stage name Keiko Fuji) was a popular Enka singer during the 1960s and 70s. Yet Hikaru doesn’t sing Enka at all. Utada’s style is purely experimental pop, with a dash of R&B and hip-hop here and there. I don’t remember what the first song I heard from her had to be but I’ll make a sure guess and say it was Automatic. Mainly because that is the song that caught my attention and the song that I play on repeat all the time to this day.
And while most people from the west are familiar with Utada Hikaru through the popular video game series Kingdom Hearts, I know nothing of that subject matter and came across Hikaru through YouTube (yet again) just because she was Utada Hikaru. However, this was around the year 2007 for me so the first album of hers that I listened to was Ultra Blue, her fourth album released in 2006. I replayed the songs on Ultra Blue until I decided that I wanted to study Japanese so I could understand what she was singing about. Hikaru Utada was the one who finalized my decision to study the Japanese language wholeheartedly. That’s how influential her music is to me.
Compared to Hamasaki, Utada’s vocals are deeper but still beautiful and mysterious. Because music runs in her family history, when Hikaru sings, there are a lot of messages that are being unmasked and being put to the surface that have never been before. Being born into the music industry is not easy I assume, but Hikaru does her best to live a normal life as much as possible and doesn’t flaunt her wealth or popularity. She is not pompous about it at all. Her songs while so lyrically complex convey a message of her isolated experience growing up as a musician at an early age. But listeners can relate to her words at the same time with all the emotions that come along with being a human. You can see how she connects with everybody through her song and MV Deep River released in 2002, up to her song and MV Manatsu no Tōriame (Midsummer Shower) released in 2016 from her sixth studio album Fantôme (which means ghost in French). The art of the music, herself, and the connection of all humans just blend in together so effortlessly. Her vocals get lost and become transparent within the artistry of her music videos, and I feel that is the effect she wishes to achieve as a music artist.
Though I have listened to Hikaru Utada for almost 15 years, the same as Ayumi Hamasaki, I don’t have a favorite album of hers. With Hikaru, it depends on my mood. But if I were to pick an album that new fans can start with, it would probably be Ultra Blue. That is the album that caught my attention and made me an avid fan of Hikaru. The songs are vibrant yet relaxing, with the genres ranging from electronica to ballad. Overall, the album is enjoyable regardless of what genre you are into. She also masters her vocals very well in Ultra Blue (compared to earlier releases), and sings very maturely, thus making each song sound so alive and magical. While I did enjoy Fantôme, it is very dark, and might only resonate with fans who have followed her from the beginning.
Utada is known to be very experimental when she crafts her music. You’ll always get a fresh feel from both her Japanese and English catalog. Her lyrics aren’t that complex either, allowing listeners to relate to her through her music. And that’s what music is supposed to do; to get people to relate to one another. As far as I know, she remains distant from the celebrity scene. This makes her life a unique life as well, especially for someone who is so well known and revered. That’s what I feel when I listen to her most recent album, Hatsukoi (Japanese for First Love), and her most recent single, Face My Fears released again for the video game Kingdom Hearts III. I can connect to her on a human level and not think of her as someone higher above me just because she’s a popular singer. She doesn’t create music purely for entertainment. Just like her mother, music is Utada’s life and she lives it well and keeps it balanced. It was with Utada Hikaru that lead me on a long journey to enjoying all types of Japanese music. She will always be the pioneer of Japanese pop music. The one other musicians will forever be inspired by. Looking forward, I’m excited to hear what Hikaru has in store next.
