You may remember Utada Hikaru from one of my previous “currently listening” posts featuring Beautiful World.
Utada is a Japanese-American singer/songwriter that has been writing songs and performing with her musician parents since she was 13. Her brief debut in the states but wasn’t particularly successful, but caught the attention of the Japanese branch of her record company who invited her to start writing songs in Japanese and recording for them.
All in all, Utada has produced eight studio albums, five in Japan and three in English. Her Japanese debut was hugely successful and established her as a household name there. Saying that someone is “huge in Japan” may be a little tongue in cheek, but really, millions of albums sold is nothing to sneeze at. 
If Amazon reviewers are to be believed, Utada’s first couple albums (First Love and Distance) were her best, but personally, Heart Station is my favorite of what I’ve heard. Good stuff!
P.S. I also appreciate the fact that the random English in her songs (as in SO many other Asian songs) sound like she might actually know what she’s saying–considering that she grew up partially in the states, I’m sure that helps.
Listen to the whole album after the jump!
Utada Hikaru – Heart Station
| Fight the Blues |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Heart Station |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Beautiful World |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Flavor of Life (Ballad version) |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Stay Gold |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Kiss & Cry |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Gentle Beast Interlude |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Celebrate |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Prisoner of Life |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Take 5 |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Boku Ha Kuma |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Nijiro Bus |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
| Flavor of Life |
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. |
Leave a Reply