Hikaru Utada

I have never really had much of a chance to listen to Hikara, but from what I have heard she sounds great.
 
Hikara ? *frowns ^_-* Hikaru :D ...I liked Easy Breezy and the PV is great :-D she's such a beauty.... :-) I have to look for the rest of the album tho :).
I'm not one of those ppl who are like, "well let her sing japanese please...her english cd sucks!!" I love every one of her songs...she makes good music, even if some songs are not REALLY REALLY good...it doesn't mean all of her songs stink right ;-) !
 
True, when a song is average it can still be a good song. It just won't impress you as much as a really good song would.

"Devil Inside" is quite a good song. Above average i would say... but there's also a remix of that song out there, which is done by George Vission (i think that was his name, have to look it up to be sure), but that one is so totally brilliant, that it blows away the original. So it's all a bit relative... O_o
 
I listened to those two songs on her officiall website, Devil Inside was interesting, it wasn't bad at all.
Uh, I just don't know what easy breezy means like, does it mean like something you don't really feel, or something which isn't important?
Am I guessing right?

Thanks
 
Who knows. It rhymes with Japaneasy... so there. 🙂
 
Ha, Okay, as you said it is Japanesy.
One more question, did she get pregnant?
She looks like that in her music video, I mean she hasn't got a bigger stomack, but she looks a little bit fat now.
 
are u guys talking about Exodus . . . or am i like really behind right now . . . i thought exodus sucked . . . no offense
 
utada and her nose

Utada Hikaru's new song called easy breezy is really a pathetic attempt at "conquering" the U.S of A. First all the the lyrics sux. "you're easy breezy and I'm ja-pan-ni-si". Whats that? Your translator got that mixed up? Other thing that suxs about utada is that she sings through her nose. That might have worked in Japan where her teeny bopper fans like artistes based on "cute" looks. You SING through your freaking nose! Just like my neighbours in the shower but they actually sound way better than her. YUCK look do yourself a favour from excruciating torture and don't buy this lousy album. Donate the money to the World Wild Fund organization or just buy mom something whatever the occasion. I guarantee you it'll make you a happier and better person at the end of the day than buying this cd. Peace out. And no I'm not a hater. Just hate nose singing singers.
 
Hikki's U.S. Release: A Review....of Sorts!

Well, I bought Hikaru Utada's U.S. release, "Exodus" over the weekend and gave it a listen.

For starters, she's marketed over here as simply "Utada", there was no mention anywhere in the liner notes or credits of either her first name, or her unintentionally comical nickname (say "Hikki" out loud and you'll know what I mean!), which I guess is a good thing if she wants to be taken seriously over here.

Although I'm not an expert, Hikki's English was pretty flawless from what I heard, and her low, sultry voice was quite remarkable in its power when she sang. I've never heard her music before, neither in English or Japanese, so it made for a pleasant surprise, easily worlds away from the typical helium enhanced voices of most female Japanese singers.

As for the music itself, I'm sorry to say it was something of a disappointment as the tenor of the songs Hikki sang were no different from the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguliera, the Simpson sisters and the rest of the annoying crowd I personally refer to as "The Legion of Overexposed Bimbos". I expected something different but didn't get it.

The market's already flooded with teenyboppers turned tarts and their trampish brand of music, and I'm afraid Hikki's album falls into that glutted field. Don't get me wrong, Hikki's album wasn't awful, but it wasn't sensational either. With that in mind, I doubt it'll garner much in the way of genuine success. But that's just my opinion.
:-)
 
To paraphrase your extrapolation good sir: Her voice is wonderful, but that album is terrible.

She was born in NY, and is actually an American, as well as a Japanese citizen. That might explain her flawless English.
 
Winter said:
To paraphrase your extrapolation good sir: Her voice is wonderful, but that album is terrible.

She was born in NY, and is actually an American, as well as a Japanese citizen. That might explain her flawless English.
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Well, I didn't know Hikki was born in the U.S. You learn something new every day. As for her album, I buy CD's with this simple but important premise in mind:

"Is it good enough to upload on my iPod and take with me on the road or play regularly at home?"

The answer to that is a resounding NO! There were no songs on Hikki's CD (all but two of its 15 tracks she wrote) that I found at all memorable or stuck in my mind as something I liked. Perhaps it's too soon brand Hikki's first U.S. effort a flop, but I just don't think it's gonna be a success.

:eek:
 
flashjeff said:
"Is it good enough to upload on my iPod and take with me on the road or play regularly at home?"

The answer to that is a resounding NO! There were no songs on Hikki's CD (all but two of its 15 tracks she wrote) that I found at all memorable or stuck in my mind as something I liked. Perhaps it's too soon brand Hikki's first U.S. effort a flop, but I just don't think it's gonna be a success.
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Speaking personally, I've been on the fence about the album. As for my background, I do have her three Japanese albums as well as the more recent singles "COLORS" and "Dareka no negai ga kanau koro"... so I'm pretty familiar with her previous work.

Generally speaking, I wasn't too pleased with the album, but I have enjoyed a couple of the tracks so I can't say it's a complete negative review. Although lyrically simple, I've had "Devil Inside" stuck in my head a few times since my first listen... I hope I can get the single, since by all reports there's a remix of the song which tops the album mix. By far, though, my favorite track is "Kremlin Dusk"... to me, that song is the closest/most faithful to the sound she's been developing in the J-Pop world.

That's pretty much it, though... none of the other songs really sticks with me at all. I have a tough time making comparisons with the American pop singers like Britney, Christina and the like since I go out of my way not to listen to them. For some reason, there are styles of music I find completely acceptable within the J-Pop context that I can't stand from a USA-Pop context... but I'm weird that way.

:p

For those with better understanding of her music on a lyrical basis, do you feel that the songwriting on "Exodus" is worse than, better than, or equal to the lyrical quality of her Japanese releases? It might be nice to gain a little perspective here...

Flashjeff, I'm a little surprised you tried this out, though... you seem much more interested in the J-idols of the '70s and '80s like Pink Lady. What made you decide to check out "Exodus"? Just the ease of getting the U.S. release?

I also agree that "Exodus" is probably not going to succeed, at least not succeed in a way that a major label like Island/Def Jam would expect... a label like Tofu, on the other hand, would probably consider the sales she's generated in only these last three weeks as a *huge* success. So it depends on who you talk to...
 
What i noticed about this album is that everything before the interlude pretty much sucks. The producers of those tracks just didn't know how to get the best out of Hikaru's voice. This results in her voice going places where it shouldn't go.

The songs after the interlude are actually more in line with what you would find on her Japanese releases. She would have been better off if she just would have released those songs on a mini-album.

This is quite a missed opportunity. Defjam probably owed someone in Japan a favour, as i don't have the feeling they took this release very seriously. Quality control lacked and from what i've read in another thread on this forum, the marketing for this album wasn't too well done either.
 
Stevie: To answer your question, admittedly, I'm something of a newcomer to Hikaru Utada, but I had heard about how popular her music is in Japan. Also, I've listened to several of her J-Pop songs on Japan-A-Radio and thought she sounded pretty damn good, worlds apart from her helium-enhanced contemporaries.

Basically, it was out of curiosity that I decided to buy "Exodus" and find out what all the fuss was about. Hell, getting J-Pop is easy, thanks to websites like CDJapan, plus, I'm only a two hour train ride from New York City and the east coast branch of Kinokuniya Bookstore which sells imported music from Japan.

Aside: I love ALL music from the 70's and 80's, not just old school J-Pop! :D

Getting back to Hikki, I wouldn't be shocked if her endeavor to strike it rich in the States winds up being one and done. Ironically enough, Pink Lady got a hell of a lot more exposure for their ill-timed U.S. Disco release in 1979 than Hikki's album is getting today, for whatever that's worth. "Exodus" will simply fly under the radar for a few weeks, then fade away with little to no recognition.

Furthermore, without a video (Is there one in the works? It wouldn't surprise me if there's not, and that's death for singers these days!), her album has no shot in hell of gaining ANY press. I agree with Twisted that this was a missed opportunity for Hikki.
 
Well if she wants to, she can pack up her shat, pull in her funds, and crank out something with more quality and impact on her own.

I'm sure she could do that, if she really wanted to.
 
flashjeff said:
Basically, it was out of curiosity that I decided to buy "Exodus" and find out what all the fuss was about. Hell, getting J-Pop is easy, thanks to websites like CDJapan, plus, I'm only a two hour train ride from New York City and the east coast branch of Kinokuniya Bookstore which sells imported music from Japan.
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I'm about three hours away from that same area... we're probably shopping the same stores looking for J-Pop!

:D

Getting back to Hikki, I wouldn't be shocked if her endeavor to strike it rich in the States winds up being one and done. Ironically enough, Pink Lady got a hell of a lot more exposure for their ill-timed U.S. Disco release in 1979 than Hikki's album is getting today, for whatever that's worth. "Exodus" will simply fly under the radar for a few weeks, then fade away with little to no recognition.
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Well, this is what I've been predicting since we first started talking about this... I would have been much more shocked if this album had taken off, no matter what the quality. In certain cases, I wish these artists wouldn't give in to the idea of repackaging themselves to try and fit the "expected" mold of an American pop artist... I would assume she tried to put together songs she thought would appeal to the Britney/Christina/Jessica fanbase rather than stick to her J-Pop guns, which always ends up falling flat. Then again, her first U.S. break-in attempt (under the name CUBIC U) was soundly panned as well.

I finally saw the album cover for Seiko Matsuda's U.S. release (under the name SEIKO)... YIKES! They really did try to make her into "the Madonna of Japan" as she looks like she just stepped out of the "Lucky Star" music video... again, trying too hard to pander IMHO.

Furthermore, without a video (Is there one in the works? It wouldn't surprise me if there's not, and that's death for singers these days!), her album has no shot in hell of gaining ANY press. I agree with Twisted that this was a missed opportunity for Hikki.
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I believe there is a video out already for "Easy Breezy"... IIRC it was shown on one of MTV's shows for up-and-coming artists. She also made some TV appearances in support of the album... just not very much.

I don't know about "missed opportunities"... it just doesn't seem like there's any room for J-Pop artists in the major label U.S. market, be they good or bad quality releases. Any J-Pop artist looking for American exposure should probably hook up with a smaller record label like Tofu or Matador and just release their Japanese CDs here. The reports I hear have "Exodus" at about 12,000 units sold, while Tofu's top-selling release (L'arc~en~ciel's "SMILE") has about 9,000 units sold... doesn't seem like that much difference to me. Could be wrong on those figures, though...
 
MHtrStevie said:
I'm about three hours away from that same area... we're probably shopping the same stores looking for J-Pop!
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Walt Disney was right, it IS a small world after all! :D

MHtrStevie said:
In certain cases, I wish these artists wouldn't give in to the idea of repackaging themselves to try and fit the "expected" mold of an American pop artist... I would assume she tried to put together songs she thought would appeal to the Britney/Christina/Jessica fanbase rather than stick to her J-Pop guns, which always ends up falling flat.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert on the music biz, but I suppose there's a modicum of logic in trying to fit into that "mold" of American pop artists, thinking that the best and fastest way to make a killing and gain some level of popularity in the U.S. is to pander to what everyone is currently listening to.

The entire history of J-Pop stars trying to hit the big time in the States has been spotty at best in my opinion. Pink Lady came closest to big time fame in 1979 when "Kiss in the Dark" cracked the Billboard top 40, but no one else has came within a light year of getting that close. Seiko Matsuda, Shonen Knife and Puffy have been fringe acts at best, earning cult status, but nothing seriously mainstream. I could be wrong about that, so I'm sure someone will educate me on that.

With that in mind, Hikki's chances of success are slim and none, and slim's back home in Texas rooting for the Cowboys. I didn't know there was a video for "Easy Breezy" (is that the one where Hikki sings "He's easy breezy and I'm Japanesesy?" God! Hearing that made me cringe!). Perhaps I'll look for that the next time I surf by MTV!
 
I think part of the reason that Matsuda, Shonen Knife, and Puffy didn't do so well in the States is that they're not THAT big in Japan. Yes, their names are well-known, but the impression I got when I was in Japan was that singers like them didn't have THAT large of fanbases, versus L'arc-en-Ciel or Utada, whom everybody knows AND listen to.

Now, Exodus. I have about half the album. (Haven't really bothered with more than that because I've never really been a fan of Hikki anyway. ^^'v Sorry, don't really like her singing. Everything sounds the same.) From what I've heard of it I don't really like it.

Exodus was actually a huge disappoitment for me because I'd hoped that a mega-popular J-Pop artist who is fluent in English would lead to more exposure to Japanese music. So far, from what I've read, it's been only a small deal, and it REALLY isn't anything like her previous style, which was what gained her popularity in the first place. In fact, I think L'arc-en-Ciel did more in Baltimore in terms of reaching out to the US.

Blah, Utada, even if Exodus is an American CD, why the hell did you have to go and try to cater to fans of EWWWWWW oversexed, overexposed, undertalented American singers like Britney? Where has my respect for Eastern pop music gone?
 
LovableTenshi said:
I think part of the reason that Matsuda, Shonen Knife, and Puffy didn't do so well in the States is that they're not THAT big in Japan. Yes, their names are well-known, but the impression I got when I was in Japan was that singers like them didn't have THAT large of fanbases, versus L'arc-en-Ciel or Utada, whom everybody knows AND listen to.
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Matsuda Seiko NOT big in Japan? Sorry, but that has got to be one of the most ignorant things I've heard in this forum in oh, about 2 days. Seiko is as much a Japanese ICON as Godzilla, Ultraman and Doraemon.

Swallow the bitterpill!
 

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