This Could Be The One For Utada

[RSS_Robot]

It looks like J-pop princess Utada Hikaru (26) has named her latest album well. Released on the iTunes Music Store on March 25, "This Is The One" has entered the store's rankings at No.19, becoming the first album by a Japanese artist to break into the Top 100 in its five-year history. Utada has spent the last month making appearances across the U.S. promoting her second release there. Her management say they have chosen to focus on the U.S. market rather than at home, where the album was released on March 14. Utada is a well established star in Japan, with the five albums under her full name selling over 17 million. She put out the 2004 release "Exodus" both at home and overseas under just her family name and, though it was predictably a million seller in Japan, efforts to promote it in the U.S. made barely a ripple. The new album goes on sale on CD in May, but the latest iTunes ranking may earn it a place in the April 9 Billboard Chart.


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[smrebornme]

She's had a lot of time to develop her popularity here in the U.S. and honestly I'm happy for her, but too bad those numbers don't show the statistics of who's been buying her albums. She has a lot of fans here in the U.S. but as for making a splash in the overall U.S. music business... idk.
When she was at Sephora in NY, there were a lot of her fans (Japanese and other Asians) but as we all lined up and stood outside the stores for hours, almost every non-Asian person who passed by asked us who it was we were all waiting for... I personally told 20-30 people that it was "Utada, a Japanese Pop-star coming to the U.S." even though she lived here and has released an album here before. I kind of felt like an upcoming artist trying to promote my own cd on the streets than a fan waiting for the big star to arrive It was cool though, because I finally heard her on one of the local radio stations because of the appearance so i guess the promotions might be working.

[altaisenimpact]

her song "Come back to Me" flow somewhat remind me of Beyonce in her song "To the Left." However, distinctively, she had mad it very far and shown she can do just as well as many of the western hemisphere's artists.

I congratulate/wish her the best with all my heart, she just could be that one that REALLY succeed!

[abandonnez]

She has had five years to 'develop' this sound into whatever she would like and I really hope that this pleases the US audience even more. I believe that the album has more of a US Pop feel so I hope that it gets accepted that way. They were briefly talking about her promotion of this album, but I have yet to see any of TV, in malls/stores, online, etc. I would have to say that they are doing a bad job at promoting again.

Anyway I wish Utada luck her album (in my mind) was a success. Let's just see if the rest of the US thinks so too.

[Yaomang]

I think they're doing a better job promoting than last time, but I don't get why the physical cd is being released at a later time...I think people will buy it and want autographs at her promoting events. As for the album as a whole, I like it, most of the songs have a good beat and is very enjoyable. I hope she decides to do a tour...I would so go

[Yuri]

if any of u guys knew utada was here in the usa on the "early show". she sang come back to me and another one of her new songs. she didnt do that bad .. i believe she could have done way better but hey she was on a show which ppl watch and hopefully she will be recognized more .

[september1879]

I saw that on youtube, it wasn't so bad, I just wished she could've warmed-up her voice a little more, considering it was an opportunity for more exposure on her part. But as Yuri said, atleast she was on a show people watch, and atleast she's getting more airtime.

[nyosam]

Hmm I was wondering. I think Hikki doesn't do good with live performance. I'm a big fans of her music since her first album, but then I remembered watching her live performance at Music Station singing Prisoner of Love, I was like... dissapointed! I thought her voice was better at her early career than nowadays.

I wonder if this has anything to do with her divorce and her cancer (am i right?), coz her musics sounded a little different afterwards..

[Benmatey]

She getting older, that's all. It's like people were saying about Mariah Carey, that she can't sing any more. But truth is, she is still one of the best, her voice is obviously going to change and degrade with age and Utada is the same (although she is much younger than Mariah, hehe).

Her vocals on Come back to me and Apple and Cinamon are superb!

[akai_tsubomi]

really hope that she can break into the US market with this album. its like five times better than Exodus in my opinion so it should get the attention and sales that it deserves! as she states herself on her website comparing both albums: "I was trying too hard, it wasn’t natural. But on This Is The One, there’s a maturity, a more free-flowing and natural confidence." the songs on the new album do have a more Americanized feel to them, yet they are still distinctively Hikki. hope she succeeds!

[seilen]

Her sound really has a more western feel to it now than I would like, but if it gets the US market, then I guess it's a success for her, and that definitely gets my support . I still remember some of the older stuff like the opening for Kingdom Hearts lol.

[mackey]

The album this time around is more relate-able and geared more to the mainstream market. She stayed away from the experimental stuff on the album, which seemed to turn out to be a good move. I'll be buying the album when it hit stores in May. She definitely deserves it after all that hard work!