Hikaru Utada, who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter and producer. Born in the United States to Japanese parents, record producer Teruzane Utada and enka singer Keiko Fuji, Utada began to write music and lyrics at an early age and often traveled to Tokyo as a result of her father's job. Eventually, a recording contract with Toshiba-EMI was signed. Under the stage name Cubic U, she released an English-language debut album Precious in early 1998, but it was a commercial failure. In the following year, heavily influenced by R&B and dance-pop, a Japanese-language debut First Love was released and became an immediate success. Backed by the success of singles "Automatic", "Time Will Tell", and "Movin' On Without You", the album sold two million copies in its first week in Japan, topped the Oricon charts for six non-consecutive weeks and went on to sell six million more throughout the rest of 1999. First Love eventually became the country's best-selling album of all time.
"Can You Keep a Secret?" is a song by Hikaru Utada, released as their seventh Japanese-language single on February 16, 2001. It was the ending theme song for a Japanese television drama called Hero, in which Utada had their acting debut, appearing in a cameo as a waitress, and starring Takuya Kimura. "Can You Keep a Secret?" debuted at number one on the Oricon chart, selling 783,620 in its first week, and was their third single to be number one for two consecutive weeks. 1.31 million copies were shipped to stores in a single day. The single has sold 1,485,000 to date and became the number one single of 2001 in Japan. In the World Charts, "Can You Keep a Secret?" reached number 37 for single airplay and number 9 for sales. The most recent figures show that the single sold 1,484,940 units in total. It also remains one of Utada's fan favorites.
The discography of Japanese-American R&B and pop singer Hikaru Utada consists of nine 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.
"Flavor of Life" is Hikaru Utada's 18th Japanese single. The physical single was officially released on February 28, 2007.
"Beautiful World" is a song by Japanese 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 their 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.
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 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 " 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.
"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 musician Hikaru Utada. It was released as a double A-side single with the song "Letters" on May 9, 2002.
"Stay Gold" is a song by Japanese 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 recording artist 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 is a collection of tracks that emphasize acoustic and stripped-down instrumentation, 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.
"Chikai" is a song by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. Along with its English-language counterpart "Don't Think Twice", it serves as the ending theme song to the Square Enix video game, Kingdom Hearts III. "Chikai" first appeared on Utada's seventh Japanese-language studio album, Hatsukoi, and was also included on the setlist of their Laughter In The Dark Tour.
"Hatsukoi" is a song by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It is their fifth single under the label Epic Records Japan and was taken from their 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.
"Play a Love Song" is a song by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It is their fourth single under the label Epic Records Japan, from their seventh Japanese-language studio album Hatsukoi. The song was released as a digital download on April 25, 2018 and was being used as a tie-in for Tennensui Suntory Water.
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.
One Last Kiss is an extended play by Japanese-American musician Hikaru Utada, which was released in the US on March 9, 2021. 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. 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.
