History Music / UtadaHikaru

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[floatboxright:Influences: Music/{{Aaliyah}}, Béla Bartók, Music/{{Bjork}}, Music/MaryJBlige, Music/TheBlueNile, Music/JeffBuckley, Chick Corea, Music/CocteauTwins, Music/JimiHendrix, Music/LennyKravitz, Hibari Misora, Music/NineInchNails, Yutaka Ozaki, Music/EdithPiaf, Music/{{Prince}}, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/TheCure
]
Utada Hikaru (宇多田ヒカル, or Hikaru Utada, if you're using the Western name order), born January 19 1983, is one of Japan's most prominent and successful music artists. Their debut album, ''First Love'' (1999), recorded when they were only 15 years old, is the best-selling album in Japan's history, selling at least 7.7 million copies in total (10.1 million copies worldwide), including over 2 million copies in its first week alone. Most of their following singles and albums went on to occupy the top ten spots on the same list.

They write and produce almost all of their music, differentiating them from the numerous {{Idol Singer}}s who don't hold much creative power over their work. Born and raised in New York, they are fluent in Japanese and English, and have released two English-language albums for the American market under the [[OneNameOnly mononym]], Utada.

In the west, they are perhaps most well-known for writing and singing the theme songs of the three main entries in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games -- both the Japanese and English versions. Their songs "Beautiful World", "Sakura Nagashi" and "One Last Kiss" are featured in the ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' series.

In late 2010, they held a pair of "goodbye" concerts before going on hiatus in 2011. The concert was streamed live on the web for the benefit of their foreign fans and others who wouldn't be able to see it in person.

During their hiatus, Utada reportedly focused on "human activities" such as personal development, expanding their horizons and building relationships in their life. Additionally, a number of major events took place in their life. In 2013, they lost their mother, renowned enka singer Fuji Keiko, to suicide, in 2014, they married their second husband, a bartender from Italy, and in 2015 they gave birth to their first son. During this time they also wrote music. In 2016, after 5 years of hiatus, they returned to the music industry with their sixth Japanese album (and ninth overall), ''Fantôme'', which was inspired in part by the events of their life during their hiatus, and dedicated to their late mother.

Mys. Utada came out as non-binary in 2021 [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CQQil30pg34/ on their Instagram]].

!!Japanese discography
* ''Music/FirstLove'' (1999)
* ''{{Music/Distance}}'' (2001)
* ''Music/DeepRiver'' (2002)
* ''Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1'' (2004) (compilation album)
* ''Music/UltraBlue'' (2006)
* ''Music/HeartStation'' (2008)
* ''Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2'' (2010) (compilation album)
* ''Fantôme'' (2016)
* ''Hatsukoi'' (2018) [[note]](初恋, [[ContinuityNod "First Love"]])[[/note]]
* ''One Last Kiss'' (2021) [[note]] serves as compilation album of all songs done for ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion''[[/note]]

!!English discography
* ''Precious'' (1998) (under the pseudonym "Cubic U")
* ''[[Music/ExodusUtadaHikaruAlbum Exodus]]'' (2004) (Utada)
* ''This is the One'' (2009) (Utada)
* ''Utada the Best'' (2010)(compilation album) (Utada)

----
!!Provides examples of:
* [[AccentOnTheWrongSyllable AcCENT Upon the Wrong SylLABle]]: In "About Me":
-->Although we have known eacho'''ther''' for quite '''a''' while...
-->[...]
-->Who knows it if '''could''' be good '''for''' you af'''ter''' all
* AdamAndEvePlot: In the video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvviETUQsIs You Make Me Want to be a Man]] has a modern, robotic twist, where Utada plays a feminine robot constructed around a masculine robot's rib. Also, there is a reference to the snake.
* AdvertisedExtra: Masashi Yamada's feature on "One Night Magic". He and Utada sing the pre- and post-chorus and bridge together, but his vocals aren't very prominent, and he doesn't have any solo parts.
* AlbumTitleDrop:
** "This One (Crying Like a Child)" from ''This is the One'':
--->You got me crying like a child
--->And the crowd is going wild
--->This one, '''this is the one'''
--->Come on and give it up
* BareYourMidriff: Downplayed in the music videos for "Can You Keep a Secret?" and "Wait and See (Risk)"
* BilingualBonus: They make frequent use of English in their lyrics, and [[GratuitousEnglish unlike in a lot of J-pop]] they are both [[SurprisinglyGoodEnglish grammatically correct]] and relevant and meaningful to the songs they appear on; in some cases integral to understanding them fully.
** Their [[MeaningfulName given name]] provides one too: They're a pop '''star''' named '''Hikaru''' (the verb "to shine" in Japanese).
* BoastfulRap: Somehow manages a rare sung variant in "Animato".
-->Somebody out there better get this
-->Not many people can do it like this
-->How about some speakers to amplify me?
-->How about a rhyme to fortify me?
-->Life's messy so I clarify it
-->Simplifying things for everybody
* BreakupSong: "Taking My Money Back", oh so very much. Also "Come Back to Me" and "This One (Crying Like a Child)" (all three from ''This Is The One'').
* BrokenBird: The character described in "Hotel Lobby" seems to be one:
-->She doesn't want to be respected
-->Reality's her best friend
-->She needs the extra money
-->In the city, the town, and the household
-->So many things go unreported
-->[[DarkAndTroubledPast So many things her eyes have seen]]
* ChildPopStar: Became a superstar at the age of 15, started their solo career when they were 13, and prior to that performed with their parents in the group U3 from when they were only 10.
* ChristmasSongs: "Can't Wait 'Til Christmas" is a pretty straight example, though with some melancholy elements. [[UsefulNotes/ChristmasInJapan In the Japanese tradition]], it's a [[SillyLoveSongs romantic]] rather than festive, religious or family-oriented song.
* ContinuityNod: This is present in two of their music videos from different eras in their career. The first is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0p4V5DLxKU "Keep Tryin"]] which has references to their past MV's that were all directed by their then husband, Kazuaki Kiriya. Naturally, avid fans had fun pointing these out. The second, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfpX8lkaSdk "Goodbye Happiness"]] also has references to some of their past videos.
** The title of their 7th Japanese album, ''Hatsukoi'', is one to their debut ''First Love'' ("Hatsukoi" (初恋)　means "First Love" in Japanese.)
* CoverVersion: Covered "Close to You" by the Music/{{Carpenters}} in their Cubic U days. They've also done covers of Music/{{Aha}}, Music/FrankSinatra, and Music/{{Placebo}} in various live concerts.
** On Music/ShiinaRingo's tribute album, they cover "Marunouchi Sadistic".
* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Fantôme'' is noticeably darker than any of their previous albums. Understandably, as it [[CreatorBreakdown is inspired by their mother's death.]]
* DeliberatelyMonochrome:
** The cover and liner notes of ''Deep River'', as well as the cover of ''Fantôme'' (other than the title).
** The music videos for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYE_YmXSFu0 "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCZFof7Y0tQ "Hanataba wo Kimi ni"]] are also in black-and white.
* DoubleEntendre: From "Easy Breezy":
-->I should have never ever [[IntercourseWithYou let you inside]]
* EchoingAcoustics: For ''Beautiful World'''s Planitb remix.
* EmbarrassingNickname: Their classmates in New York nicknamed them Hikki. They were a bit flustered when they found out what a hickey was a few years later.
* EpicInstrumentalOpener: The first minute and a half of "Boukyaku" is a very ambient-sounding one.
* FaceOnTheCover: All of their studio albums except ''Precious''. Other than ''Exodus'', all are close-ups.
* FirstLove: [[Music/FirstLove Made an entire album]] revolving around the subject, with its title track "First Love" being one of their best-known songs. Surprisingly though, the words "first love" (in English or Japanese) [[NonAppearingTitle never appear on any of the songs]].
* ForeignLanguageTitle: All of their Japanese albums, and most of the songs on them. Outside of ''Fantôme'', this can be justified by them featuring English lyrics prominently in all of them and apparently often writing their lyrics in English first before translating them to Japanese.
** ''Fantôme'' averts this (other than with [[GratuitousFrench its title]]), as all of the tracks have Japanese titles.
** ''Hatsukoi'' is their first Japanese album to avert this, with a Japanese title. However, some of the tracks have English titles.
* GenreSavvy: Has invoked {{Retcon}} ("Come Back to Me").
* GenreShift: Their early albums were mainly R&B; starting with ''Deep River'' they've moved towards pop music with a more electronic, experimental sound, often with orchestral elements.
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: They have a massive teddy bear named Kuma Chang who features heavily in their career ranging from promotional photos, tweets/blog entries involving conversations with him and to top it all, they've written a single song from his point of his view called "Boku wa Kuma".
* GratuitousEnglish: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] - see BilingualBonus entry above - understandably, as they are a native English speaker.
** ''Fantôme'' in particular is notable for using far less English than their previous albums. 7 of the 11 songs feature no English, while of the remaining 4 that do, only "Michi" has a significant amount.
* GratuitousFrench: In "Ore no Kanojo". It wouldn't be nearly so egregious if the pronunciation weren't so terrible, as what is sung makes grammatical sense.
* GriefSong: "Manatsu no Tooriame" and "Ningyo", about the death of Utada's mother.
* HeartbeatSoundtrack: Used to ''very'' different effect in [[IntercourseWithYou "The Workout"]] and [[GriefSong "Boukyaku"]].
* HotterAndSexier: ''Exodus'' and ''This is the One'' have much more sexual content than their Japanese albums.
* {{Hypocrite}}: The third chorus of "About Me" has Utada calling their partner out for keeping secrets from them, with the line "You say you're sure that you love me, how could that be when you keep so much from me?" However the entire song up to this point has been about how ''they'' haven't been honest with them.
* IdolSinger: Defied; though most female singers around their age were idols when they debuted, they opted not to go this route, preferring to be a more straightforward singer-songwriter since idols rarely have any creative control over their music.
* ImprobableAge: Wrote and recorded the best-selling Japanese album ''of all time'' when they were only 15 years old, and released two more of the top-ten best sellers while they were still a teenager.
* IntercourseWithYou:
** "The Workout", "Let Me Give You My Love", "Dirty Desire"... There's a fair bit of this on their English-language albums. A Japanese song, "Traveling", might also count.
** The chorus of "Ore no Kanojo" is the most direct example out of their Japanese albums.
--->I want to invite you all the way inside, deeper than my body [[note]]体よりずっと奥に招きたい[[/note]]
--->I want to touch you, deeper than your body [[note]]体よりもっと奥に触りたい[[/note]]
* LocationSong: "Tokyo Nights" from ''Deep River'' is one, for Tokyo. The lyrics deal with loneliness and seeking fulfillment, which they find in the city lights.
* LoveIsADrug: "Addicted to You", [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as the name suggests]].
* LyricalColdOpen:
** "Can You Keep a Secret?" and "Kettobase!" from ''Distance''.
** "Hikari" from ''Deep River'', as well as [[TranslatedCoverVersion "Simple and Clean"]].
** "Be my Last" from ''Ultra Blue''.
** "Prisoner of Love" and both versions of "Flavor of Life", from ''Heart Station''.
** "Ore no Kanojo", "Hanataba wo Kimi ni", "Manatsu to Tooriame", "Jinsei Saikou no Hi", all from ''Fantôme''.
* LyricalDissonance: "Me Muero" is a breezy, relaxing R&B song with a tropical atmosphere... and lyrics that reference a lost love and isolation, depression, suicide, drug/alcohol abuse, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and staying in your pyjamas all day]]. Of course the song's title is a little bit of a giveaway [[BilingualBonus for listeners who know Spanish]].[[note]]"Me muero" means "I die / I'm dying"[[/note]]
* MelismaticVocals: Had a fair bit of this on their R&B albums, and generally downplayed or averted since.
* MeLoveYouLongTime: From "Dirty Desire":
-->When I'm alone at night, I sit and fantasize
-->And in my fantasies I love you long time
* MoodWhiplash:
** The whiplash from the lamentation of a neighbor's death to IntercourseWithYou in "Let Me Give You My Love".
** On ''Heart Station'', "Take 5", a rather haunting song about dying and being separated from one's body, cuts abruptly into "Boku wa Kuma" which is a cute, children's song about, uh, a bear.
** ''Fantôme'' follows "Michi", an upbeat dance-pop track dedicated to their mother's memory, with "Ore no Kanojo", a downbeat, jazzy/orchestral song about a troubled AllTakeAndNoGive relationship with some of the most overt IntercourseWithYou lyrics of their career.
** Also from ''Fantôme'', "Boukyaku", with ambient instrumentation and despondent lyrics contemplating suicide, is followed directly by "Jinsei Saikou no Hi", which is an upbeat song about anticipation and new love.
* NoEnding:
** The aforementioned "Take 5" ends abruptly, which highlights the morbid lyrics.
** Lyrically speaking, "Can You Keep a Secret?" - it's implied that Utada tells their love interest the secret, but the audience never finds out what it is.
* NotStayingForBreakfast: "Easy Breezy" is about Utada's lover doing this to them.
-->You came and went and left my house like a breeze just passing by
-->Hello, goodbye, you left a note saying "It was nice stopping by"
* ObsessionSong: "Addicted to You". The chorus' lyrics are an example of the Passive type:
-->But it's so painful that way [not being with you][[note]]だけどそれじゃ苦しくて[[/note]]
-->I want to see you everyday[[note]]毎日会いたくて[[/note]]
-->What should I do about this feeling?[[note]]この気持ちどうすればいいの？[[/note]]
-->[...]
-->The longing for you when you're gone, and the love I feel when I'm with you[[note]]合えない日の恋しさも側にいる愛しさも[[/note]]
-->Are both equally becoming a pattern for me[[note]]同じくらいくせになるんだ[[/note]]
-->Hold me instead of just kissing me, and don't just stop so suddenly[[note]]キスより抱締めて、いきなり止めないで[[/note]]
* TheOldestProfession: "Hotel Lobby" is a fairly dark portrayal of this:
-->She rises with the sunset
-->She wonders "when will this end?"
-->The world is full of money
-->She goes out unprotected
-->She doesn't listen to her best friend
-->It's only for the money
* OneNameOnly: For their English-language music they went by just Utada, though as of their new global deal with EMI, they will release all their music under the name Utada Hikaru regardless of language.
* OutOfGenreExperience: Almost all their music is pop, R&B or electronic, but they've also recorded a handful of rock songs.
** ''Music/DeepRiver'' has "Uso Mitai na I Love You".
** ''Exodus'' has "Kremlin Dusk".
** ''Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2'' has "Show Me Love (Not a Dream)".
** ''{{Music/Distance}}'' actually does this twice, with "Drama" and "Kettobase!".
* TheOner:
** The aforementioned "Goodbye Happiness" music video, with a still faux-web cam in a bedroom.
** Their "Hikari" music video is a continuous shot of them washing the dishes and at one point they even go out of frame. The video could be considered as having {{minimalism}} in its execution.
* PerformanceVideo: "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro" features a performance more heavily than their other videos, but also features an implied plot about a broken-up family.
* PopStarComposer: Most famously, the theme songs to the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games, as mentioned above.
* PunnyName: "Utada" sounds like "''uta da''", Japanese for "''It's a song''".
* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: Inverted in the spoken section of "Poppin'", where Utada actually wants to know if you want them to share the stars in the sky with you.
-->But I can share if you like...[{{beat}}] Would you like that?
* TheRival: Media outlets tried to invoke this between them and Music/AyumiHamasaki when ''Distance'' was scheduled for release on the same day as Hamasaki's ''A Best'', though both singers denied this.
* {{Robosexual}}: Subverted in the music video of "Can You Keep A Secret", where Utada is having a romantic relationship with a robot [[spoiler:but by the last scene is revealed to be a robot themself]].
* {{Sampling}}:
** "Give Me a Reason" samples the famous drum break from Music/JamesBrown's "Funky Drummer". Hearing it in a slow ballad is... weird.
** "Never Let Go" interpolates the melody from Music/{{Sting}}'s "Shape of My Heart".
** The violin-sounding instrument from "Exodus '04", produced by Timbaland, is lifted from the song "Meshkeltek" by an Arabian artist named Aitha al-Menhali.
** "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (FYI)", as [[ShoutOut the name]] suggests, prominently samples Music/YellowMagicOrchestra's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence".
* SceneryPorn: Their video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWoJLdXJt0E Passion]] is just breath-takingly beautiful.
* SelfBackingVocalist: They've done this on all their albums. In fact, "Goodbye Happiness" is the first song to feature female background vocals other than their own.
* SequelSong: "Automatic", their 1998 debut single, and "Automatic Pt.2" from 2009's ''This Is The One''. Interesting in that part one is in Japanese and part two is in English.
* ShoutOut:
** To Creator/EdgarAllanPoe in "Kremlin Dusk". Utada even uses his full name in the lyrics.
** To Music/ElvisPresley, Music/LedZeppelin, and Music/FreddieMercury in "Animato". Again, Utada mentions them directly in the lyrics.
** To Music/SimonAndGarfunkel in "This One (Crying Like a Child)". [[OverlyLongGag Again]], they are mentioned by name.
** Music/{{KOHH}} shouts out the classic Japanese short story "Run, Melos!" [[note]]「走れメロス」[[/note]] in "Boukyaku".
* SillyLoveSongs: "Automatic" is their most upbeat and straightforward.
* SingerNamedrop:
** Did this as Cubic U in "Ticket 4 Two".
** "Automatic Pt. 2" is another example:
---> Hello, my name is Utada, like [[{{Scatting}} la-di-da-di-da-di-da]]
* SlutShaming: The first verse of "Easy Breezy" deals with being on the receiving end of this:
-->You look stupid, telling all your friends that you got the best of me
-->I intended to share the pleasure only
-->Now I look stupid, we're living in a world with a lot of pressure
-->It's quite unneeded to put more pressure on me
* SofterAndSlowerCover: "Final Distance" (''Deep River'') is one of "Distance" (''Distance'').
* SoloDuet: "Ore no Kanojo" has Utada singing from the male and female perspectives of a couple.
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Japanese name, Japanese career, Japanese-language albums. To the casual observer, they look about as J-poppy as you can get, but their first album was entirely in English. ([[NoExportForYou The US never got it]] [[ExecutiveMeddling because Capitol Records was restructuring.]]) As noted above, they're actually Japanese-American, and speaks both Japanese and English fluently.
* SurrealMusicVideo: Many, "Traveling" and "Sakura Drops" being some examples.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: In "Wonder 'Bout":
-->Late at night, I think about you sometimes \ I don't cry, I wonder if you're alright
* TeenPregnancy: "Kettobase!", written when they were 16 or 17, has the repeated line "I want your baby".
* TextlessAlbumCover: Their first four Japanese studio albums, as well as ''Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2''.
* TitleTrack: Five of their seven Japanese albums have one. ''Ultra Blue'' has a partial one in "Blue" while ''Fantôme'' doesn't have one.
** All three of their English albums have partial examples: "Precious Love" from ''Precious'', "Exodus '04" from ''Exodus'', and "This One (Crying like a Child)" from ''This is the One''.
* TranslatedCoverVersion:
** Most famously, for the international releases of various ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games, they recorded English versions of the theme songs they contributed to the games. Specifically:
*** "Simple and Clean" (''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'') is the English version of "Hikari".
*** "Sanctuary" (''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'') is the English version of "Passion".
*** "Don't Think Twice" (''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'') is the English version of "Chikai".
*** "Face My Fears" (''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'') has an English and Japanese version, with the same title.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q7Pt58Mbig dub mix]] of "Time Will Tell" is a partial version of this. Not all of the lyrics are included (dub mixes tend to take out at least some of the lyrics or vocals of the original song), but the ones that are translated into English.
** Their cover of "Hyme a l'amour (Ai no Anthem)" is a partial example. The first part of the song is in the original French while the second part is in Japanese.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour: "First Love" mentions a kiss having the flavor of cigarettes, which attracted some controversy as Utada was only 15 when they wrote the song, though they've stated the line wasn't meant literally.
* TheUnpronouncable: Allegedly the reason that they went by [[OneNameOnly just Utada]] for their English releases was that "Hikaru" is difficult to pronounce for English-speakers. This also probably inspired their childhood nickname "Hikki".
* VaporWear: Implied for {{fanservice}} in "Poppin'":
-->[[PaintedOnPants Tight jeans]], [[GoingCommando no panties on]]
* VocalEvolution: Their singing voice has gotten deeper and more restrained (less [[MelismaticVocals melisma]] and belting) in their newer work, especially ''Fantôme''. They've also gradually reduced the American affect in their pronunciation while singing.
* WaxingLyrical: "Come Back To Me".
----

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/utadahikaru_820.bmp]]

* {{Robosexual}}: Subverted in the music video of "Can You Keep A Secret", where Utada is having a romantic relationship with a robot [[spoiler:but by the last scene is revealed to be a robot themself]].

* {{Robosexual}}: Subverted in the music video of "Can You Keep A Secret", where Utada is having a romantic relationship with a robot [[spoiler:but by the last scene is revealed to be a robot themself]].

[floatboxright:Influences: Music/{{Aaliyah}}, Béla Bartók, Music/{{Bjork}}, Music/MaryJBlige, Music/TheBlueNile, Music/JeffBuckley, Chick Corea, Music/CocteauTwins, Music/JimiHendrix, Music/LennyKravitz, Hibari Misora, Music/NineInchNails, Yutaka Ozaki, Music/EdithPiaf, Music/{{Prince}}, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/{{TheCure}}

[floatboxright:Influences: Music/{{Aaliyah}}, Béla Bartók, Music/{{Bjork}}, Music/MaryJBlige, Music/TheBlueNile, Music/JeffBuckley, Chick Corea, Music/CocteauTwins, Music/JimiHendrix, Music/LennyKravitz, Hibari Misora, Music/NineInchNails, Yutaka Ozaki, Music/EdithPiaf, Music/{{Prince}}, Music/{{Queen}}

%%Mx. Utada came out as non-binary in 2021 [[https://www.instagram.com/p/CQQil30pg34/ on their Instagram]].

They write and produce almost all of their music, differentiating them from the numerous {{Idol Singer}}s who don't hold much creative power over their work. Born and raised in New York, they are fluent in Japanese and English, and has released two English-language albums for the American market under the [[OneNameOnly mononym]], Utada.

In the west, they are perhaps most well-known for writing and singing the theme songs of the three main entries in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games -- both Japanese and the English versions. Their songs "Beautiful World", "Sakura Nagashi" and "One Last Kiss" are featured in the ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' series.