^ Yeah...Let's compare a woman who has been in the industry for ten years to legends who have been around for decades, yes, very practical there, genius. I love how condescending everything you write is, you claim to be a "true" fan, but take every chance you can to swipe at someone who made no promise to you whatsoever. Sure criticizing is essential in being a fan, but what you are doing is far from it -- more like an angry child who didn't get pizza for dinner. There's a clear difference between criticism and mindless babbling, and I don't think calling her a lazy fatso fits in the former now, does it?

This actually reminds me of when hardcore fans of Jewel backlashed when she developed a new sound in 2003. The same meaningful lyrics, but a new image and new sound had somehow made her a sell-out (Even though she stated that most of it was for satirical matter). So what if the sound of her [Utada] songs sound less exciting and explosive? So she could write about sex and drugs, but as it sounded like something from DEEP RIVER, then it'd be okay, right? Even though this is her career, oh well...Let's go knock on her door, tell her to get the hell off her lazy, boring fat ass and spend more time in the studio, and regress back to her old style. Mmmm...Sounds like a plan.

One last thing, you act as if I scathed you and shunned others for disliking the album; not really, I just pointed out your immaturity in word choice, that's all. Cheers .

Communism from decades ago and communism today are still similar. (And please, don't reply back slamming about how stupid it is to use this as an example.) Artists that have production teams from decades ago are similar to artists with production teams now.

btw Your second paragraph is obsolete. I am all for it when a artist takes a chance. I am complaining that Hikki is still stuck in her UB era and keeping it safe. Why are you making up lies? don't tell me I asked for songs about sex and drugs, because I didn't. I said I didn't want her to be a manufactured loser, I just said she seems lazy. geez

One last thing, stop avoiding my main points and attacking my sarcastic meaningless parts I don't really give a rat's ass about. What's wrong with you people? Half of you always do that when I post detailed posts. (not just you) I post about the Take 5 info, how it's a shame Hikaru seems to purposely create fillers, (of course you say I posted this for satirical matter rofl. Stop trying to pronounce me as some disguised hater) but you reply back about me calling her a fatso? nice.

Obviously you can't read between the lines; you were indirectly referring to me and many other people as "biased, blind" fans who praise all her crap, when in fact, we did not. This whole point came about because YOU immaturely posted a senseless comment about the album, and then tried to make yourself the victim by saying that it was "okay to criticize and not kiss an artist's ass." You want to make yourself all high and mighty, then good for you, but don't try to bypass the fact that you were a crude commentator and then bring up another topic. Maybe if you were mature and intellectual from the beginning, then nothing would have even been brought up.

Also, yes, your analogy is quite irrelevant, but I won't comment on that too much.
I didn't say that production teams were any different than they are today, I was simply pointing out that you were comparing the status of such previous big-name stars to someone who has not been around for a long enough time to really "change the world," per se ("Utada has NOTHING on them...". Give her a good ten-fifteen more years and it might be a different story, not worldwide, but in Japan definitely. Look at you, taking my examples and saying that I put them in your mouth...Geez, someone here needs a second lesson in English . Again, who said anything about you writing your paragraphs for satirical matter? Read the paragraph again and then maybe you'd comprehend it because 'you' and 'satirical' did not even go in the same sentence, it was in reference to JEWEL.

I did not acknowledge your whole take on "Take 5" because it was nonsense. What artist doesn't decide to go back and use a demo they didn't like before? Sure, they don't all admit it, but I'm sure every artist has done that once or twice before. Maybe she didn't like it at the time and wanted it for something else, a different, more appropriate production? So what if she doesn't spend five days on one track, it is her decision not to do so, and she writes/produces/composes songs at her own pace because it is her choice, her comfortability, her career, her life. She has been doing the same thing for ten years, give the woman a break. Regardless of what career anyone has, he/she is bound to not put in as much effort as he/she did at the beginning when the hype of something new was still there. It is normal human behavior; many other artists who have been around for about the same time have put out less effort as well. I am not saying that following the bandwagon is for the better, but to scold her for doing so is not moral either.

I agree that "HEART STATION" is missing in more originality and dramatic development than what we are used to, but to brush off everything she has put into the album as laziness (You did not say she "seemed" lazy, you stated it explicitly), and just trying to put out an album for the sake of doing so is extremely ignorant. All I know is that I am willing to bet my money that she still works harder than any of the other female jpop artists out there who rely heavily on their record label for a good production team and publicity (Do you really expect a good album from an artist who pushes out a new one every year?). The fact that you neglect that is what bothers me; you expect her to be this goddess who can keep pushing out amazing, new material, but when she doesn't, she becomes this scheming, money-hungry lazy woman. Contradicting, no? To wrap things up: again, this whole debate did not even start with anything in particular about the album other than the fact that you did not present yourself in an appropriate manner. Enough said.

Hikki is such a great artist and her successes have proven so, and to me this album is up there with First Love and Distance. I always anticipate her album no matter how long it takes for her to do one. It doesn't matter if she put one out every year or not people still love her and appreciate her music. The fact that she write, compose, arrange, and produce her own music put her way above any other artists. She is not a flashy artist. She doesn't need tons of promotion just to sell albums. Even with lack of promotions her album still do well. She is not lazy but whether want to focus on the music not image. She is a very private person and I respect that.

As for the album itself, I don't think it lack originality or was just put out w/ no consideration. I listen to this album every day since I received it and I absolutely love every songs including Boku wa Kuma (cute song). To me this album should be named Flavor of Life because it has so many flavors, everyone can listen to it and feel pump up about life. She has grown up a lot in her music and her views on life has dramatically matured. I especially love Celebrate, Stay Gold and Prisoner of Love. Overall she is a great artist that put out album that has meanings to her.

^ I wholeheartedly agree with your post, and I wish more fans would not be so neglectful. They expect a dramatic new sound for each new single/album now; she is just one person, she is her own team, so let her do it at her own pace and make music that she likes and approves of. If she were to suddenly get all glam and put her face on every product, I'm sure very many fans would call her a sell-out as well, she just can't win wanting to be a musician and not a full-blown multi-entertainer :/.

I thoroughly enjoy HEART STATION as well, even if it is not as sweeping or full of epic songs like DEEP RIVER or ULTRA BLUE. Sure the songs pretty much follow the same style, and can get quite monotonous, but that doesn't take away from the content and intention of each track. She stated that she was going for a softer, more simple concept for this album, and she worked that perfectly.

----

Why is there still no word on the upcoming English album?
I don't like how all this Hikki-ness is pretty much going to die down within a few weeks. It's been a trend of hers, to promote new material for a few weeks, and then virtually disappear until a new production comes up lol. I don't think we saw her for like...Five months after promotions wrapped up for Beautiful World/ Kiss & Cry.

lol i'm just waiting for her new PV to be out. xD
I have a feeling it's going to be Rainbow Bus instead of PoL. But i could be wrong haha

Have you guys seen these already?
Hikki performs Fight the Blues, Celebrate, and FoL ^^

Fight the Blues
Celebrate
Flavor of Life

Lack of promotion in the USA? If it is, it's understandable because she hasn't fully grown as an international artist. From what I saw in Japan last week (I went there for vacation and got her album there), HMV advertised the release of her CD in a lot of places. I could really tell she is very, very loved and respected (which is quite obvious, haha). I am extremely glad I bought the CD. Sure I don't like all the songs, but I appreciate her work and find her an inspiration.

Ahh, I haven't seen/herd of Utada in awhile, shame on me. >< I love her new hair though~ she can pull of so many different looks.

I don't really post in here cuz I forget my pw a lot haha but I just want to say thanks for the updates! It helps me keep up with Hikki's releases

What is considered a "good" sale in Japan now? I'm asking because sales are down these days as we all know and plus, the population there is much smaller so I've always wondered what number a respectable, popular artist would sell.

btw, it sucks that her vocal chords were injured...her live performances aren't as good anymore (in my opinion). I didn't notice at first, but I watched her 20th birthday special performances and then the recent performances and it didn't have the same magic. Well, whatever...I still love her music! I really think she makes great music because you can feel the emotions in her singing and it really draws me in...not many artists can do that. It's very genuine!


And I'm also afraid of the day she announces retirement from the music industry! AHHH it makes me sad just thinking about it...

Thank you very much. Utada Hikaru is one of the best of all time. She always make great music. Do you all agree?

Here's her performance of Prison of Love ^^
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MnQwm0UiLKk

^ Yeah...I think she was still sick during that performance. It was a bit shaky at the beginning, but it got much better near the end. I listen to that song the most in 'HEART STATION'. The little convo she had with Ayu was cute, I love seeing interaction between such big stars! There's always fabricated tension between the two, and you'd expect divas to clash all the time in the entertainment industry, but seeing the more normal human side is a very nice change.



"Good" in Japan would basically be just 500,000 copies for an album now, and probably 75-100k for a single. So Hikki is still doing GREAT in the industry right now, and that's just physical sales, think about her phenomenally high digital sales! Boybands still manage to sell more than that, but ehhhhh...Respect over sales for me overall lol. Boybands can sell five million albums and they still wouldn't garner the respect that Hikki gains from just one single .

Hmmmmm...20th birthday bash? That was...Five years ago lol, but yeah...She *did* damage her vocal chords during UTADA UNITED '06 because of the long concerts and allergies she faced with the cedar wood :/. Her voice was getting so much stronger during 'ULTRA BLUE' (the infamous vibrato was barely present), too, so it was sad that her voice became less powerful and delicate throughout 'HEART STATION'. Although I love how feminine and soft her voice is now, the vibrato got more prominent again .

Nooooo...Don't talk about her retirement lol, that'll be a sad day for fans worldwide. Plus, she has stated that she would like to perform throught Asia within the next ten years, so we can still expect to see her for a bit longer. I wouldn't want her to keep making music if she didn't have passion for it anymore though. If she really wanted to retire, then she should not feel obligated to make music just to please people.

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Updates for this week, her album pushed a further 135k this week for the #2 spot. Bringing the total so far to 615k, and solidifying it as the best selling female album so far (outselling Koda Kumi and Ayumi Hamasaki's total respective album sales in just two short weeks) and probably the highest for the year. It will definitely make it to the top ten albums of the year already because of declining physical sales (Last year's #10 album sold 644,231 copies). EXILE, unsurprisingly already outsold the total sales of 'HEART STATION' in just one week with 680k, but in all fairness, it was a compilation album, and they're an extremely hot-at-the-moment boyband. It is lagging behind 'ULTRA BLUE', but it is still making a good round in this day and age. It is expected to project about 50-60k next week.

There will only be TWO more promotional appearances for 'HEART STATION' and they'll both air this week T_T.
Get ready to see less of Hikki again for the next few months. I'm so impatient though, I NEED to hear something about the English album! Edit: The SMAP show will air on Arpil 14th actually.

---

Waaaah~ Thanks to sweetsmile for all the Hikki goodies ^^
It's been a while since I've seen her perform ^___^
Would really looooove to see her perform Prisoner of Love live~~~

OMG
I know I need to hear
some new on her new English.
I just hope this one is going to be
better promoted
then the previous one.

thanks! i think it wasn't bad, but utada could have sung it better. she's probbably still gettting over that cold she mentioned in her blog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS_UlTc-Arg

this performance was much better. x]

^ It was better, but there were still a few flat notes ...I'm starting to worry now because her "HEART STATION/Stay Gold" performances were pretty much flawless . Anyway, I'm still waiting to hear more news about the music video!!!!

gonna watch now. thanks for the link!

Thanks for the link she sound great there...poor Hikki still sick. I love her outfit here especially those red earrings and red shoes.

I really liked her new album [Heart Station] that was just released a month ago.
My favorite song is definitely prisoner of love. ^^

She sold 59k in the past week and came in at #7 on the Oricon weekly album's chart, pushing the total so far for HEART STATION to 675,000 in just three weeks. Well, well, well ahead of the other two high-profile female albums released earlier this year.

Her official site has also revealed that "Prisoner of Love" will be her next single, her first re-cut single in nine years! A la UBLOG:



It includes a sneak peak at the music video...Which was very disappointing (I'm kind of used to it now...), and I'll just re-post what I wrote at UBLOG regarding the single and video:

"Ahhh...Yes, this was totally expected. It'll probably affect sales of the album then since it was the most popular track. Honestly, I don't think it will sell that well with that as the music video...It's just slightly better than the 'FoL' music video (because it looks more theatrical) and nowadays it's very much about "good" music videos and flashiness (especially if it's a DVD version, check out '60s 70s 80s'). I'm sure the tie-up will still boost its sales though. Even though I'm glad Hikki is not like a "typical" Jpop artist who uses elaborate cover jackets and flashy music videos to sell cds ('Mirrorcle World', anyone?), I'm feeling a bit selfish and needy now xD. The entire album's lead-in singles did not have a single outstanding music video ('Boku wa Kuma' was the most entertaining music video, how sad...). I felt that this was the best non-single track as well, and deserved a "proper," melodramatic video to accompany it. I guess I'll stop crossing my fingers for a spectacular video like 'Sakura DROPS' or 'traveling'. It'll be interesting to see how her first re-cut single in nine years will perform on the charts. Just my two cents '."

GO HIKKI~

'Prisoner of Love' is doing really well at the moment, it has propelled to #1 on the Chaku-uta charts, just like 'Flavor of Life' did before it's official single release. Meaning, that the digital numbers should be coming out soon revealing how many digital downloads the song has amassed so far. I haven't heard the 'Quiet Version' yet, but others have said that the instrumental was played in an episode of the show. Stating that it was "Unbelievably beautiful and moving," so I am very anxious about hearing it! I might even conjure up the guts to watch the dorama lol, just for Hikki.

Also, thanks in part to the success of 'Prisoner of Love', the album has rebounded back to #3 on the daily album's chart. Which makes me VERY happy, I was hoping that this would be the song that provided 'HEART STATION' with longevity on the charts, and now it's happening. At least...Until next month when people can just buy the full single lol. I wonder if it will be the second re-cut single in history to reach #1 (the first being Ayumi Hamasaki's 'Karinaya')? Although it is unlikely since it only comes in one version (CD+DVD) and the video doesn't really...Ummmm...Provide more motivation to buy the single lol. I'm still sure it'll sell pretty well for a re-cut single, it might even outsellf 'HEART STATION / Stay Gold'.

---

^ Thanks for the updates ^^
It's good to hear Prisoner of Love is doing well! The rating for the first episode of Last Friends, which was about 14%, isn't bad either If the dorama does well, doesn't that mean her song will be even more popular?

I was just thinking about Hikki's videos and the flashiest/most dramatic ones (with the exception of Hikari) seem to be directed by Kiriya Kazuaki, no?

Prisoner of Love is really good song for a single! I hope it does well on the charts

utada hikau on SMAPxSMAP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFyFHpkBYPU

Hikki's expression during Boku Wa Kuma is just great. xD
Iono if it's me but SMAP vocals aren't that great. Hikki was alright, I thought she was great performing PoL. The stage setting was cool haha

^ haha they were never really great singers.
But Hikki did sound pretty good ^^

I was watching that before and didn't know if I should post it since SMAP kind of ruined some of the songs for me. They killed Boku wa Kuma. D:
But her performance of PoL was great!

I saw that a few days ago and the guys were dreadful. Hikki was great at usual but I couldn't even finish watching it b/c those guys were so painful to watch and their voices are horrible. They kill it big time.

love her!... love her 1st love song and hear me cry!

Really liked her from when she sang First Love. It was beautiful.
And her Hana Yori Dango OST . Flavor of Life. AHH I was so addicted to that song.
But its recently, im loving her much more, much more than ever before
i love her new album. and the song Stay Gold is stuck in my head.
OMG i just love it

yaya...she has to be my favorite artist...then ai otsuka second...she's just great with her voice...love her new album too...i loved fight the blues and niji-iro basu as soon as i listened to it...then of course her songs like heart station, beautiful world, etc. just made the cd even better...it made my day when i listened to it...

omg I've become so distracted with other artists I kinda forgot about that Prisoner of Love single coming out on the 21st....

I think her PV is already out.... but I can't seem to find it anywhere T^T

_+oh! i just love her!
_+specially the Flavor of Life!
_+and First love!
_+i even sang that song
_+in my debut!
_+and people was so @.@
_+c()z they donT understand!
_+=))

love her new album..i love celebrate and prisoner of love..i love all songs..arrgh..i can't make up my mind..

her songs are keep repeating in my ipod..24/7

-------------------removed

I used to skip Prisoner of Love on the album, but now I love it! Last Friends made me appreciate what a great song it is. It actually reminds me of Hikki's older songs... There's a Deep River album-ish kinda feel to it. <3

prisoner of love already got over 1 million downloads, i think. and the single also comes out next wednesday, too. hope it sells well.

full Prisoner Of Love PV:

http://www.imeem.com/batongal/video/DxgeAY...ve_music_video/

-------------------removed

Finally~
I was wondering when her PV would finally be on youtube.
Thanks for the link!

uwaa<3333 thanks for sharing, been waiting like forever XDD~ i love her earrings! i want one<333 XD~ and she draw kuma in her lyric book kyaaa~ so kawaii<3333 \('o')/ Hikki ganbatte!

I miss Hikki's ex-husband's fancy PVs, but I'm getting used to these tamer ones. ^^;
The PoL PV is interesting. I like the song composing idea. x)
UGHHH LOL @ the Kuma Chang cameo

Thanks for posting.

Her PVs are getting more and more simple. Hikki, stop being lazy while playing with Kuma-chang all the time!

talking about Hikki's simple video i really love simple & clean XDD~ it suits the song name very much! it's really simple and she is cleaning something, lol~ but heart station is too simple! i love the song very much, it makes me feel floating in the air~<3 ^^ haato suteision<33333

puahaha! i dunno but i found you funny.
yeah, simple and clean's MV is so much simple.
and she's actually washing the dishes.
i like her hair there too.
her currently hair reminds me of Yoshika. lol

anyway, i heard she'll release a new album?

yeah~and i love her kitchen XDD~
i'm not sure if she'll release a new album but the prisoner of love cd released today<3
and from Hikki's website there's a prisoner of love-Quiet version-???

-edit-
the preview is available at new release section. silly me!
umm...it's just so-so......

^lol...when I first saw Hikki's Simple and Clean PV, I was like " .....that was it?!?!?!" It was so simple but I got used to it after a while...it's cute XD

Ahuhuhu...I still dont have her Heart Station album....too lazy to buy it....Im getting behind on Hikki music, I should buy soon