First Love is the debut Japanese-language studio album by Japanese-American recording artist Hikaru Utada, released on March 10, 1999, by Toshiba-EMI.
"Be My Last" is Hikaru Utada's 14th Japanese single, released on September 28, 2005. It was used for the 2005 film Spring Snow, an adaptation of the 1966 Yukio Mishima novel of the same name.
"First Love" is a song by the Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It was released on April 28, 1999, as the third Japanese language single from her second studio album, First Love, which was issued a month previously. It was certified double platinum for 800,000 copies shipped to stores in Japan.
"Keep Tryin'" is a song recorded by Japanese American recording artist Hikaru Utada for her sixth studio and fourth Japanese album, Ultra Blue (2006). It premiered on February 22, 2006 as the fifth single from the album in Japan. It was written and composed by Utada, whilst production was handled by Utada, her father Teruzane Utada, and Miyake Akira. It included the B-side track "Wings", which also appeared on the parent album. Musically, "Keep Tryin'" is a pop song with lyrics that contain self-empowerment themes. Upon its release, the track received generally mixed reviews from music critics.
Ultra Blue is the sixth album by Japanese–American singer Hikaru Utada, released on June 14, 2006, by EMI Music Japan. It is the first original Japanese language album under Hikaru Utada's name in four years since her third album Deep River (2002). While the arrangements for her album Deep River were done collaboratively, all but one of the songs on Ultra Blue were written, composed, and arranged solely by Utada, who also did the programming herself.
The discography of Japanese-American R&B and pop singer Hikaru Utada consists of eleven studio albums, four compilation albums, eleven video albums and numerous singles and promotional singles. Utada began as a musician in the early 1990s as a member of U3, a family unit made up of her, her mother Junko Utada, also known as 1970s enka singer Keiko Fuji, and her father, musical producer Teruzane Utada. U3 released their debut album Star in 1993, with the hope to debut in America. In 1996, the group was rebranded as Cubic U, an R&B project focusing on Hikaru Utada, resulting in the English language album Precious in 1998 with record label Toshiba EMI.
"Final Distance" is a song by Japanese recording artist Hikaru Utada for her third studio album Deep River (2002). Written by Utada herself, the song was produced and composed by long-time collaborators Akira Miyake, Utada's father Teruzane Utada and herself. "Final Distance" was originally recorded as "Distance" which was taken from the album with the same name, despite not being a single. The song was re-recorded, re-arranged, and dedicated to Rena Yamashita, a six-year-old victim of the Osaka school massacre who had written an essay about being inspired by Utada.
"This Is Love" is Hikaru Utada's first Japanese digital single. It was released on May 31, 2006 as a promotional single for her fourth Japanese studio album. "This Is Love" was tied-in as the CM song for a Nissin cup noodle campaign and the opening theme for an anime "Freedom," which was also tied into the Nippon campaign. The digital single reached number one in virtually every online music store in Japan prior to the ULTRA BLUE album's release, including the most used store in Japan, iTunes Japan, as well as OnGen, among others. Utada herself is quoted to have said that this song is about expressing that "Love is like a mix of extremes: anxiety and peace."
"Boku wa Kuma" is a song by Japanese American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada, serving as their 17th Japanese single and 24th single overall. The single was released on November 22, 2006, following the release of their previous studio album, Ultra Blue (2006). It came two months after the conclusion of Utada's United 2006 tour.
"Beautiful World" is a song by Japanese American musician Hikaru Utada. It served as the theme song for Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, the 2007 film reboot of the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. It was released as a double A-side single on August 29, 2007 along with her song "Kiss & Cry", which had been released digitally three months earlier. In 2009, a remix of the song, "Beautiful World " served as the theme song of the second film in the series, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.
"Heart Station" is a song by Japanese musician Hikaru Utada, which was released as a double A-side single alongside her song "Stay Gold" on February 20, 2008. The title track for her album Heart Station, the song was heavily promoted on radio stations, for three weeks it was the number one song on the newly established Billboard Hot Top Airplay chart, despite only managing to reach number two on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.
"Prisoner of Love" is Hikaru Utada's 21st Japanese single and 30th single overall, released on May 21, 2008. This was her first Japanese recut single in nine years, after the first one "First Love" in 1999. It is also her first single to be released only in CD+DVD format. "Prisoner of Love" serves as the insert song for the Japanese television drama, Last Friends, while the original version is used in the opening theme. It won the Best Theme Song Award in the 57th Drama Academy Awards. "Prisoner of Love" was the 3rd most downloaded song in Japan during 2008.
"Eternally" is a song by Japanese musician Hikaru Utada, from their 2001 album Distance. It was re-arranged in 2008 as "Eternally (Drama Mix)" for use in the Maki Horikita starring Fuji TV drama Innocent Love. It was released as a digital single on October 31, 2008, and eventually released onto CD in March 2009, on an EMI compilation album I: Zutto, Zutto, Aishiteru (i(アイ)～ずっと、ずっと、愛してる～).
SoulJa is a Japanese hip-hop musician and songwriter best known for his collaborations with singer Thelma Aoyama, "Koko ni Iru yo" and "Soba ni Iru ne" – the latter of which was the former Guinness World Records holder for the best selling digital single of all-time in Japan.
Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2 is Japanese pop singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada's second compilation album, released on November 24, 2010, by EMI Music Japan, the same day as her Universal-released English language compilation album, Utada the Best. The album includes two discs, with the first being a 13-track greatest hits album spanning 2004–2009, while the second is an extended play featuring new material. Along with Utada the Best, this remained Utada's last album release for six years, until 2016's Fantôme, due to an announced hiatus. Several of the new songs achieved commercial success, with "Goodbye Happiness" reaching number one on Billboard's Japan Hot 100 chart, and "Can't Wait 'Til Christmas" reaching number one on the Recording Industry Association of Japan's digital track chart. Both songs have been certified by the association as gold records for full-length cellphone downloads.
"Goodbye Happiness" is a song by Japanese American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It was released as the lead track from Utada's second Japanese compilation album, Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2, in November 2010. The song was commercially successful, topping Billboard's Japan Hot 100 chart in December 2010, and in January 2011 was certified gold by the RIAJ for more than 100,000 full-length downloads to cellphones.
"Show Me Love (Not a Dream)" is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. Used as the theme song for the film Tomorrow's Joe (2011), it was released as a digital download preceding Utada's second Japanese compilation album, Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2, on November 17, 2010.
"Ai o Komete Hanataba o" is a song by Japanese pop-rock act Superfly. Used as Edison no Haha's theme song, "Ai o Komete Hanataba o" was released as the band's fourth single on February 27, 2008. The song was Superfly's break-through single, breaking into the Oricon physical singles chart's top 20. As of 2011, it is Superfly's most successful single, being certified as a million ringtone download, triple platinum as a cellphone download, and single platinum for digital sales.
"Sakura Drops" is a song by Japanese-American musician Hikaru Utada. It was released as a double A-side single with the song "Letters" on May 9, 2002.
"Stay Gold" is a pop song by Japanese American musician Hikaru Utada. Used in a high-profile campaign for Kao Corporation's Asience shampoo commercials in 2007, the song was released as a double A-side single with Utada's song "Heart Station" on February 20, 2008.
