One Last Kiss | ||||
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Released | March 9, 2021 | |||
Recorded | 2007; 2020 | |||
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Genre | J-pop | |||
Length | 38:56 | |||
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Label | ||||
Producer |
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Hikaru Utada chronology | ||||
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Singles from One Last Kiss | ||||
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One Last Kiss is an extended play by Japanese musician Hikaru Utada, which was released in the US on March 9, 2021. [1] It was released for promotion of the Japanese animated film Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time around the time of the film's release. It contains all the previously released theme songs that were made for the Rebuild of Evangelion film series. [2] It also contains the theme song "One Last Kiss", which was co-produced by A. G. Cook and released in conjunction with the film on March 10, 2021. [3]
Commercially, the EP debuted at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart, and at number one on the combined physical and digital Oricon albums chart as well as the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart.
"Beautiful World" debuted on the radio and was released as a ringtone on July 23, 2007, and after as a physical single on August 29, 2007. [4] In early September, Utada performed the song at many music entertainment programs in Japan: at Count Down TV on the night of September 1, [5] Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ on September 3, [6] Utaban on September 6, [7] and both Music Station and Music Fighter on September 7. [8] [9] "Beautiful World" was performed during Utada's two date concert series Wild Life in December 2010. [10]
In 2009, the song was rearranged by Russel McNamara for the second film of the Rebuild of Evangelion series, as "Beautiful World (Planitb Acoustica Mix)". It was released as a digital download on June 28, 2009. The song was commercially successful, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. [11] It first appeared as the final track of her second compilation album Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2 .
Utada wrote "Sakura Nagashi" at the express interest of the staff for the Evangelion movie series. Although on hiatus at the time, Utada wrote and composed the song due to her appreciation of the movie series; she had also composed the themes for the previous two Evangelion films. "Sakura Nagashi" is a J-pop/piano rock song, composed of piano and strings, and in the latter part of the song drums, guitar and synths. It was written by Utada and British songwriter Paul Carter. The song plays at the very end of the film Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.
"One Last Kiss" was written and composed by Utada, and produced by Utada and English PC Music producer A. G. Cook. [12] The music video of the song was directed by Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno, giving a glimpse of Utada's personal life in the United Kingdom. [13] Critics noted the bittersweet tone of the song resembles much of her earlier work such as Ultra Blue and Heart Station . [14]
On March 9, 2021, it was revealed "One Last Kiss" would receive a physical release internationally. This was organised due to large demand from overseas. The cover features the character Asuka from the film series. It was released in 4 versions: 3 North American versions released in August 20 and a European version released in October 22. [15] [16]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "One Last Kiss" | 4:12 |
2. | "Beautiful World" (Da Capo version) | 5:58 |
3. | "Beautiful World" (2021 remastered) | 5:17 |
4. | "Beautiful World" (Planitb Acoustica Mix; 2021 remastered) | 5:12 |
5. | "Sakura Nagashi" (桜流し, "Flowing Cherry Blossoms"; 2021 remastered) | 4:42 |
6. | "Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" (2007 mix; 2021 remastered) | 3:26 |
7. | "One Last Kiss" (instrumental) | 4:12 |
8. | "Beautiful World" (Da Capo version instrumental) | 5:57 |
Total length: | 38:56 |
Credits are adapted from the EP's liner notes. [17]
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Japan (RIAJ) [32] CD | Gold | 178,284 [33] |
Japan Digital | — | 41,958 [33] |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Ref. |
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Various | March 9, 2021 | ||
United States | August 20, 2021 | Vinyl | [34] |
Europe | October 22, 2021 |
Hikaru Utada, also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. Utada is one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan.
Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1 is the first compilation album by Hikaru Utada, released on March 31, 2004. It features all A-sides of her hit singles to that date, including 11 number-one hits and all 15 tracks reached the top 5. The album version was remastered by Ted Jensen. The album was released on iTunes in April 2004.
"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.
"Movin' On Without You" is a song recorded by Japanese–American singer and producer Hikaru Utada taken from their debut studio album First Love (1999). The song was written, arranged, and produced by Utada themselves, and it became their first ever hit. "Movin' On Without You" was written, produced and composed while Utada was attending college in Tokyo, Japan, during 1997. Utada, who received a record contract by Toshiba-EMI, had written an English-language version of the song, but the song remains unreleased.
The discography of Japanese-American R&B and pop singer Hikaru Utada consists of eleven studio albums, three 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.
"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.
"Kiss & Cry" is a song recorded by Japanese American recording artist Hikaru Utada for their seventh studio and fifth Japanese album, Heart Station (2007). It was written, composed, and arranged by Utada, whilst production was handled by Utada, their father Teruzane Utada, and Akira Miyake. The single premiered on May 31, 2007 as the third single from the album in Japan. It was re-released as a double A-side single with "Beautiful World", which also appeared on the parent album on August 29 in Japan, and digitally worldwide. Musically, "Kiss & Cry" is an R&B song, influenced by pop and hip-hop music. Lyrically, it discusses both Utada's upbringing and social beliefs between both Western and oriental regions.
Heart Station is the seventh studio and fifth Japanese-language album by Japanese–American recording artist Hikaru Utada. It was released on March 19, 2008, by EMI Music in Japan, and globally on March 26, 2008. It is Utada's eighth consecutive studio album to be fully written and produced by her, with the help of her father Teruzane Utada and long-time collaborator Miyake Akira through the production. Recorded between 2006 and 2008, it was worked on whilst she was recording her ninth studio and second English-language studio album, This Is the One (2009). With the album artwork photographed by Japanese photographer Mitsuo, Heart Station was released in two formats: a physical CD, and as a digital download.
"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.
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.
"Sakura Nagashi" is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It was released by EMI Music Japan digitally on November 17, 2012, with a DVD single released December 26, 2012. The song is the theme to the third film of the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, and was later included on their sixth Japanese-language studio album Fantôme, released in 2016. The single also marked Utada's last release under the then EMI-controlled EMI Music Japan as the label was absorbed into Universal Music Japan as EMI Records Japan in April 2013.
"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.
Fantôme is the sixth Japanese studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. Although Utada announced an indefinite hiatus from the public eye in August 2010, she continued writing and composing material with her father, Utada Teruzane, and long-term collaborator, Miyake Akira. Musically, Fantôme contains a collection of tracks that utilizes acoustic and stripped-down instrumentations, alongside influences of pop, electronic, and R&B music. The lyrical content delves into themes of grief, sadness, love, and death—mostly influenced by the death of her mother, her second marriage, and the birth of her son in 2015.
"Anata" is a song by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It is their third single under the label Epic Records Japan, from their seventh Japanese-language studio album Hatsukoi. The song was used as a tie-in for movie Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura, and was released as a digital download on December 8. The song is their first movie tie-in in 5 years, since "Sakura Nagashi" was released in 2012 for Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. The song was written with a Buddhist's view to show both the real and fantasy mixed world shown in the movie. Besides the movie, the song is also featured in a Sony campaign to promote a wireless headphone line, in which they themself also appears.
"Hatsukoi" is a song by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It is her fifth single under the label Epic Records Japan and was taken from her upcoming seventh Japanese-language studio album Hatsukoi. The song was released as a digital download on May 30 and was used as a tie-in for the Japanese television drama Hana Nochi Hare - Hanadan Next Season. It's the second song that Utada delivers to the series, after Flavor of Life in 2007.
Hatsukoi is the seventh Japanese-language studio album by Japanese–American recording artist Hikaru Utada. It was released on June 27, 2018, as her first album under Sony Music Japan sublabel Epic Records Japan. The release coincided with the commemoration of her 20th Anniversary as an artist in Japan. A national tour was announced to support the album in November 2018. The five previously released songs were confirmed in the album track list, for a total of twelve songs, including the title track "Hatsukoi" and the Kingdom Hearts III theme song "Chikai".
"Face My Fears" is a song by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada and American record producer Skrillex, released on January 18, 2019, by Epic Records Japan. Along with its English-language counterpart, it serves as the opening theme song to the Square Enix video game Kingdom Hearts III. It was written as a collaboration between Utada, producer Skrillex, and R&B songwriter Poo Bear.
Bad Mode is the eighth Japanese-language studio album by Japanese-American singer Hikaru Utada. It is the singer's first bilingual album release, with songs recorded in both Japanese and English. The album was released on the Sony Music Japan sublabel Epic Records Japan digitally on January 19, 2022, the day of Utada's 39th birthday, and was released physically on CD and limited CD-DVD-BD format bundle on February 23. It marked her first album release in four years since Hatsukoi (2018).
"Kimi ni Muchū" is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer Hikaru Utada. It was released via Epic Records Japan and Sony Music Japan on November 26, 2021, as one of the several singles for her eighth Japanese studio-album Bad Mode (2022). The track serves as the main theme for the TBS Friday night drama Saiai. It's co-produced by Utada and the British music producer A. G. Cook.