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Posted July 13, 2006 by Mike Mineo in Features
 
 

Utada Hikaru… becoming indie?

I am no expert on Asian pop music, but I do know of Utada Hikaru‘s worldwide fame and respect. Many of these modern pop stars get some aging bald guy to write their songs while they flaunt their fake sex appeal with their faces covered in make-up that weighs more than them. While Utada does have naturally good looks, she would have reached this point even if she was hideous. First off, she writes many of the songs by herself. She is responsible for most of the writing and production in her new album, ULTRA BLUE. Utada is one of the most successful Japanese artists of all time and her material tops the charts all over Asia whenever the slightest thing from her is released. She was born in a musical family, and has been followed by record label executives ever since she was 10. She made her American debut with Exodus in 2004, featuring production by Timbaland and drumming by Jon Theodore (The Mars Volta). The majority of the album was in English, and it did very well considering that she is an artist with a different style than traditional American pop music, which is horrible most of the time though MTV attempts to make us think otherwise.

Her new album ULTRA BLUE returns to her Japanese roots, as most of the album is in Japanese. She is destined to attract Western Indie fans though, as her sound is significantly darker with more technological effects. It even reminds me of artists such as Imogen Heap a bit. The single ‘COLORS’ is one of the most successful songs of all time in Japan already, and listening to it, it is easy to see why. This song is one of the catchiest of the year, and it takes a lot for me to post a song in this genre. I truly cannot stop listening to it. ‘BLUE’ has an aggressively tight chorus after a beautifully sung verse, over nicely arranged pads and keys. ‘Keep Tryin” is a cool single as well. It is reliant on the general beauty and atmosphere plus a killer chorus, which would describe her new album best. This is a step in the right direction, and the move to try something new in the genre of conventional pop music is daring and will eventually be rewarding.

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Utada Hikaru – COLORS

[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/uta-col.mp3]

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Utada Hikaru – BLUE

[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/uta-blu.mp3]

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Utada Hikaru – Keep Tryin’

[audio:https://obscuresound.com/mp3/uta-kee.mp3]

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Mike Mineo

 
I'm the founder/editor of Obscure Sound, which was formed in 2006. Previously, I wrote for PopMatters and Stylus Magazine. Send your music to [email protected].