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Music review: Utada Hikaru finds her sweet spot in 'Hatsukoi'

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Karen Flores Layno, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/07/04/20180704-utada-hikaru-cover.jpg"/><figcaption>Album cover for Utada Hikaru’s “Hatsukoi”</figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA – At the tender age of 16, Utada Hikaru released “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1sUaVJUeB0">First Love</a>,” a song about heartbreak that still brings tears to many people’s eyes to this day.</p><p>“First Love” is also the title track of her debut album which remains Japan’s top-selling album of all time, a feat that today’s J-pop acts can only dream about. </p><p>Nearly 20 years have passed, and Utada, now a single mother after emerging from her second divorce, comes full circle. Her seventh Japanese studio album (and 10th overall) is titled “Hatsukoi” which, when translated to English, means “first love.”</p><p>But unlike the R&amp;B-influenced 1999 album, “Hatsukoi” captures Utada’s purest essence, a result of years of experimentation with different genres (from ethereal wave and electronica to jazz and even rock). </p><p>It carries over the new-found confidence and sophistication of her comeback album “<a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/life/10/05/16/review-fantome-is-utada-hikarus-best-album-yet">Fantome</a>” (2016), putting Utada’s voice front and center, but it does away with the lingering heaviness. </p><p>Here, she is more self-assured as she closes certain chapters in her life (from the tragic death of her mother to another failed marriage) and begins new ones (raising her son as a single woman in London). </p><p>It’s as if Utada has finally found her sweet spot when it comes to her music, and she is marking this milestone by releasing this album.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/life/07/04/20180704-utada-hikaru.jpg"/><figcaption>Utada Hikaru in a promotional photo for “Hatsukoi”</figcaption></figure></div><p>It is interesting to note that eight of the 12 tracks in “Hatsukoi” are tie-ins: “Play A Love Song” and “Oozora de Dakishimete” are featured in ads for the Japanese beverage brand Suntory, which Utada endorses; “Anata” is for the movie “Destiny Kamakura Monogatari” and is also used in a commercial for Sony earphones; “Hatsukoi” is for the series “Hana Nochi Nare – Hanadan Next Season”; “Chikai” is for the video game “Kingdom Hearts 3”; “Forevermore” is for the TV drama “Gomen, Aishiteru”; “Good Night” is for the anime film “Penguin Highway”; and “Pakuchii No Uta” is a collaboration with Buzzfeed’s Tasty Japan.</p><p>Despite this, none of the songs feel like they’re made-to-order. Each track is polished yet still raw, rich with emotion and brimming with warmth.</p><p>In “Anata” (You), for instance, Utada sings about someone so important, not even the fires of hell can stop her from protecting that person. </p><p>It’s easy to assume that the subject is her then-husband, because “anata” is a Japanese word normally used by married women as a term of endearment. </p><p>But following the news of her divorce, it would seem that the song is Utada’s way of professing her love for her child, whom she now raises single-handedly. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A37bu5BFaWs?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>“The world I walk with you is breathtakingly beautiful. Even in the middle of the desolate wilds, the one who squeezed my hand back was you,” she sings in Japanese.</p><p>This notion of strong, pure love can also be felt in the title track “Hatsukoi,” where Utada reimagines “First Love” after years of relationship experience. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uULHI-soUOk?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>“All people fall in love, that’s what I always thought. And yet if I had never met you, I do not think that anyone else would have led me to one day have these feelings,” she sings in Japanese, with the piano and strings heard prominently in the background. </p><p>“If I had never met you, I think I’d probably be still living my life without knowing why I had been born.”</p><p>The momentum continues with the jazz-infused track “Forevermore,” where Utada sings of love that extends beyond this life: “I’m not afraid of how I may end. For even if, perhaps I’m somehow reborn, I still will not forget.” </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RQG2kRd9SpE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>But perhaps the most powerful song in the album is “Chikai” (Oath), Utada’s third contribution to the “Kingdom Hearts” video game series. Here, she took a big creative risk as she sang to an intriguingly offbeat arrangement, sometimes forcing too many words in one line.</p><p>“Chikai” initially drew mixed reactions during previews, but the full version unfolded gorgeously, with many fans declaring that it is easily the best track in the album.</p><p>“This is a perfect day for our oaths. I do not need pretty flowers or witnesses, let’s just wear rings of the same color,” she sings in Japanese. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LuSh4-cbAOc?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Utada has been known to not only write all of her music, but also record every vocal in her songs. But in “Play A Love Song,” a choir can be heard toward the end, adding warmth to an upbeat track with sad lyrics.</p><p>Tired of all the bickering, Utada pleads in Japanese: “Let’s just try to calm down for a minute, it’s not like none of it really matters… So please, let’s just eat, and laugh, and go to bed. Can we play a love song?”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XJ_JugKreGU?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>The second half of the album highlights Utada’s dorky side and fixation on mortality. In “Too Proud,” which features up and coming Brazilian-British rapper Jevon, Utada sings about being in a stagnant relationship against the backdrop of video game-like blips.</p><p>“What if we pretend that one of us will die tomorrow? Or that we’re strangers? Will that change things?” she casually murmurs throughout the bouncy track.</p><p>“Good Night” soars as a soft rock song with Utada effortlessly switching from low to high notes, while “Pakuchii No Uta” (Coriander Song) is her second attempt at writing a children’s song. The first was “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_UdprUxEZw">Boku Wa Kuma</a>” (I am a Bear), which is about her homosexual stuffed teddy bear. </p><p>In the downtempo-tinged “Pakuchii No Uta,” Utada describes the herb as “gentle, green, and a terrible liar,” and even talks about making curry with coriander to celebrate the sun’s birthday. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9X9TJEiKfT0?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>The rest of the tracks show Utada longing for something: a final moment together in “Oozora de Dakishimete” (Hold Me in the Vast Sky), a familiar touch in “Nokoriga” (Lingering Scent), a peaceful sending of souls in “Yuunagi” (Evening Calm), and a supreme kind of love in “Shittosareubeki Jinsei” (A Life to Be Envied).</p><p>“Just kiss me without saying it’s our last. Perhaps we can only meet again in our dreams,” she sings in Japanese in “Oozora de Dakishimete,” another example of a happy tune with heart-wrenching lyrics. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oyAwtE4i1Uk?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>“The waves roll back, then fade to nothing,” Utada narrates in “Yuunagi,” which features a slow “seiya” festival chant in the end to depict the scene of sending a soul into the sea. </p><p>The last track, “Shittosarerubeki Jinsei,” shows Utada talking about coming to terms with her mother’s demise, and eventually her own. </p><p>“I’m going to stop devoting my life to the satisfaction of others. While changing the flowers for my mother’s burial portrait, I’m thinking: ‘If you’re the first to go, I’ll still remain faithful to you. But if I die first, I’ll smile in my final moments,’” she sings in Japanese, as if reminding herself to make the most out of every moment.</p><p>Overall, “Hatsukoi” beautifully encapsulates Utada’s artistry, reflecting a specific moment in her life – as a mother and a daughter who strives to move forward. </p><p>With her music full of optimism and her voice better than ever, Utada has yet to lose her touch. 10/10</p><div><em>(Residents in the Philippines can get a copy of “Hatsukoi” via iTunes or through Amazon Japan.)</em></div>

<p>At the tender age of 16, Utada Hikaru released “First Love,” a song about heartbreak that still brings tears to many people’s eyes to this day. Nearly twenty years have passed, and Utada, now a single mother after emerging from her second divorce, comes full circle. </p>

At the tender age of 16, Utada Hikaru released “First Love,” a song about heartbreak that still brings tears to many people’s eyes to this day. Nearly twenty years have passed, and Utada, now a single mother after emerging from her second divorce, comes full circle.

Music review: Utada Hikaru finds her sweet spot in 'Hatsukoi'

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Music review: Utada Hikaru finds her sweet spot in 'Hatsukoi'

Karen Flores Layno,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 04, 2018 10:01 PM PHT

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