Utada Hikaru - Flavor of Life [single]

What can I say? I'm not a fan of J-drama...but I'm a fan of Hikki. Hana-Yori Dango will not be mentioned again in this entry.


Flavor of Life - I like this version the best. It's not too fast, and not too slow. The more I listened to it the more it grew on me. The layering with backup vocals added so much more solidarity to the song. It definitely felt more fuller and became a stronger track.

Flavor of Life (Ballad Version) - This was used as the insert song, and I found it to be rather draggy. I loved the simple composition of the piano, and the strings, but the tune didn't move fast enough. I often find myself skipping this track.

Flavor of Life -Antidote Mix- I do enjoy this R&B feel of this mix, but again I thought it was extremely too slow. If the tempo were upted just a bit I think it would have made such an impact on the listeners.

Despite two versions, I really like the song, and really the photography that went with single. The images are fun, and are consistent in even in the packaging. Who can ignore the yummy Onigiri seen throught the packaging?

Utada Hikaru - Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry [single]

When I heard that Hikki was going to provide the song for the revival of Evangelion Project. I was a little worried. Although her previous songs had a tie in with another project, I always felt that she was writing for that project and not for herself.

Well, when Keep Tryin' was released, I finally felt Hikki was back to herself. She was writing songs for herself.

This single completely took me by surprise. Beautiful World felt familiar the first time I listened to it. It was rather calming and I wanted to listen to it again after it finished. To accurately described the song, I have to say it's has the atmosphere of Passion, the feel of the Deep River era, and the playfulness from her First Love days. I've been listening to this single everyday for the past week.

Kiss & Cry, the other A-side, was released earlier in the summer. I loved it the first time I heard it. Only Hikki can sample herself and still have a completely different song. The sample of Hotel Lobby (one of my favorites from the Exodus album) grabbed my attention like a boxer knocking out his/her opponent. I love the beat, because I was reminded of the days she worked with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words) - 2007 mix - aside from the added strings..this song isn't different the from the recording from back in 1999 (or around that time). The string definitely gave me an EVANGELION feeling, but it was a nice reminiscing song for me.


Overall, I was really happy with this purchase. I had this single on repeat all day, so I guess it means I'm really enjoying it.

Utada Hikaru - First Love [album]

Look at how young she was when she debuted in the J-pop scene.

She had a different voice! She had a different sound! She provided music that was new and defied the standards of the J-pop scene of the day!

Meet Utada Hikaru.

My older sister spent a semester studying abroad at Kansai Gaidai Unviersity and came back to the America bringing gifts of musical discoveries. Her host sister was a street team promoter and gave my sister a copy of this album as well as the Wait & See -risk-, Addicted To You singles. I was hooked when I heard her sing. she's a couple of months older than I am and I think I had received my very first celebrity crush.

I love this CD and often play it to cheer myself up. So many memorable tracks, but B&C -album version- is my favorite!

I'll never forget karaoke a few years later in college where my sisters, our Japanese exchange friend and roommates sang these songs late into the night! So many good memories are associate with this album. I can't hate it.

True it's not her strongest CD, but she was 16, you can't hold that against her.

Utada Hikaru - Distance [album]

Hikki's second album.

not much to say about this ablum except, it was a good seller.

Hikki remained in her R&B roots as she continued to grow and experiment with different sounds.

This isn't my favorite, but I still like this one.

Noteworthy tracks: Wait & See ~risk~, Can You Keep A Secret?, Distance, HAYATOCHI-REMIX

Utada Hikaru - Deep River [album]

I think that this is Hikki's strongest album. The entire CD flows from the beginning to the end.

Many of the fan favorites are on this album, and it's no surprise many call this effort their favorite of her releases.


A slew popular singles (Sakura Drops, traveling, Deep River, Final Distance, and Hikari) helped make this album a best seller.

The booklet contained some of the most beautiful photographs of Hikki we've seen yet! Ultra Blue photographs don't hold a candle to the artistic fine art portraits of Deep River. The images are so stoic and strong...they are just breathtakingly beautiful.

Everything that I complain about other artists and albums are not found in this one. Although some tracks are as polished as those released as singles, they hold their own to make this album a worthy listen.

Utada - Exodus [album]

When I first heard Hikki was recording an English album I was extremely thrilled. I was excited because I seriously thought she had a great shot at having a great career in the North American market.

Just like many others, I was surprised when Exodus finally hit stores. The sound that was Exodus was completely unexpected! I didn't at first find a nice niche for me to grab a hold of.

I don't want to say I was disappointed, because I knew this album would be different.

As an experimentation, I found the album interesting. Hikki explored new sounds and new subjects. I was happy with the growth the album showed in her musical career. But would the American public appreciate it as well?


Many people blame the marketing, but I don't think that's the entire problem as to why this album didn't sell in America. The music on this album was not radio friendly. Singers in North America have to have a strong foundation of fans in the states before they can produce an album that's not radio friendly, especially if the artist is trying to break into the pop scene. Hikki's fan base in America isn't as large as we would like to believe. Yes, lack of promotion didn't help, but the music itself needed to be more American friendly. (my opinion)


Do I think that Hikki lost her chance of making big in the North American market? No, not at all. I think that a second go would be a great opportunity to really dive into the American Music scene. She's made a ripple....all she needs to do is make some waves.

Utada Hikaru - Ultra Blue [album]

Ultra Blue is the fourth Japanese album from this mega star. I think I was among the few who felt Hikki had been struggling with producing songs.

Several of her more recent singles felt completedy different. Whether they were for the better or worse then was not known.

At my first listen, I was kinda left thinking whether or not I enjoyed it. The feel of the album is different. The song selections have some real gems, but the over all collection feels like the Distance album. Some tracks shine brightly, while others seem to fill in space. Some songs just didn't feel right being together....namely the tracks Colors, 誰かの願いが叶うころ (Dare Ka No Negai Ga Kanau Koro), and Be My Last seemed out of place with the new sound set by the newer tracks. The flow of the album was not as cohesive as the flow in her First Love and Deep River albums.

Then I started to listen to it more, and the strangest thing happened. I started really enjoying it. (except for 海路 (kairo) this track just doesn't go anywhere) The tracks I find myself repeating are Keep Tryin', This Is Love, Making Love, Wings, and Eclipse.


Many may disagree with me, but Passion (although a great theme for the Kingdom Hearts II game) is not her best song. I appreciate that she likes to experiment, but I thought that the song was lacking musical structure evident in other songs. (my opinion) The drums were the most consistent aspect of the arrangement and composition. Without that constant drum beat, the song would have fallen apart. I still like it, but it doesn't hold together enough for me to make it a favorite.


Over all, the quality of this CD is on the high end. I just wished that the songs flowed into each other more and didn't feel like they were thrown onto this album. The difference between the older songs and the newer ones is terribly evident in how they sound, but never the less it's still a good CD.

Utada Hikaru - Colors [single]

Definitely one of my favorites songs from Hikki. She was my first favorite Japanese singer/songwriter (she's still in the top of my faves though), and I was totalling in love with this song when it was released.

Colors - This song was a long awaited release after a pretty lengthy break from the music scene. I love the atmospheric sound created within the layers of this track. The strong melody and entrancing chorus makes for a highly polished and professional product. I loved the PV as well as I think it's one of the few I believe is almost bordering conceptual video fine art. Truly amazing.


Simple and Clean - The English song used as the theme song for the international release of the game Kingdom Hearts. It's funny because I have been listening to Hikki since the First Love album days and as soon as I heard a clip of this song in the Kingdom Hearts commercial on my TV 4 or 5 years ago, I knew it was her. I immediate looked up the game and found out she wrote the song and sang it! I was excited not only because I recognized her voice, but also many of my friends were able to hear it also. Good song. Sharing the musical composition with the Japanese song, Hikari (Japanese theme to Kingdom Hearts) is just great.


Simple and Clean -PLANITb Remix- For all you dance club people. This remixed version of the song is perfect for you crazy ravers. A strong beat is the backbone of the song, and the enhanced speed of the singing helps keep up the energy...excellent for dancing. not a bad remix...this is coming from a guy who doesn't really like dance mixes.

Utada Hikaru - ぼくはくま (Boku Wa Kuma) [single]

This single probably surprised a lot of people. Hardcore Hikki fans probably threw a fit as it was the follow up to Passion and Keep Tryin'. I could have heard them saying,"what the hell is she thinking? It's a children's song! This isn't at all like Passion! Has she lost her mind?"

I find it humorous to realize that this single out sold both Passion and Keep Tryin'.

Anyways, putting the children's song aspect aside, this song has got to be one of her most catchy tunes yet. After listening to the melody and watching the PV, I often found myself singing the chorus over and over again without getting annoyed. I like this song. It's a perfect song for children and it's good enough for adults to enjoy, if they can let go of their overly inflated adult egos and enjoy a fun tune.