Singles are not big to-dos as they are in Japan — they tend to be much simpler and different than anything found in the actual album art. Just look at Easy Breezy. YMMWTBAM was related to the video, and Devil Inside was formed off the promo pic.
Yet, you could certainly argue for a different type of cover in terms of concept (something more colorful, etc.) and a better font. Sure. Fine.

Please, crawl around Wiki and do some American single (or singles outside the J-Music World) research. You'd all save yourselves the pain.

But I forgot Hikki fans/a lot of j-pop fans were some of the biggest complainers ever (IMHO). Just remember that this is not the J-Music Industry.

And yes, Sundae, it's quite sad. Yet hilarious. I didn't know we could see single covers while listening to the radio! (This post will probably be buried, but whatever...)

^ I've seen American single covers look better than what's being provided.

Her album covers better not be close to single cover's cheapness :O Are 6th graders on her production staff?
I seriously hope this is one of the few mistakes IDJ will make and learn to put a winning image out there. Hikki isn't really known and the chance do better is now but they keep on messing up.

LOL, I remember the Devil Inside Cover, her hair was so cool in that pic!! ^^

sure, but it doesn't mean they have to look like unprofessional crap.

There are a lot of American artists that have bad single covers, but at least they try to be stylish.

Which is actually something that would seriously help her, and she needs every last bit.

The album probably will be better. Let's hope at least.


btw...dreamcrushed, random question do you live in Wellesley? or do you go to the university?

OH... MY... GOD....

WORST COVER EVER!!!

Please Hikki, where have you gone? (cries like a girl xD)

Sure, that's your opinion. And I've actually seen worse. And it probably would help her if it were "stylish" (whatever that means to anyone). I think people should save their outrage for the cover... Knowing the "j-pop community", it'll be a complete crapstorm anyway (as it always is when covers are revealed). EDIT: :yes Like the post above mine. :rolleyes

But I don't see what's so horrible about it that someone would decide not to buy any of her upcoming English releases because they have concluded that this one single cover is supposedly demonstrative of how not seriously IDJ is taking this. :thud

I don't have any ideas on what it should look like... What do other people think?

And yeah, I go to the college. I'm going back in a week... End of Vacation = :dead2

:roflmao

somehow the colour of the hoodie she's wearing scares me :dead2

I'm not totally spazzing over the cover, because I agree with dreamcrushed. American single covers are usually fugly. The only way they look good is if whoever made it got lucky by choosing a random font or something.

David Archuleta's "Crush" single had a horrid cover. And it was his debut single. Katy Perry's "Hot N' Cold" had a really bad cover for the US, same with Kevin Rudolf and Lil' Wayne's "Let It Rock." Both of those songs got pretty decent - good covers when they were physically released in the UK though.

No one ever sees single covers in the US, unless they download it off iTunes. And, I, for one... If I heard a song and was interested in it enough to run over to iTunes and buy it, the single cover isn't going to make or break my decision. XD

American singles are a whole different ballgame than Japanese ones. I'll admit, the covers are whether or not I decide to buy a single most of the time with Japanese ones, cause I'll physically own it. But with American ones? Not at all.

Also, if you guys really want them to change the font/the entire cover, go over to her MySpace and leave a message (other people have -- they even complained about the font and the song itself. :P). She'll be writing there soon, so she'll probably see it. Or go to one of IDJ's pages for her (I'm sure there's one titled "upcoming single/album") and leave a message. Or e-mail the artist herself (RJ over at U.Blog has instructions here: http://blog.utada2.net/?p=37 (the Japanese text does not show up in my browser, Firefox. Maybe it'll show up in yours. Or maybe RJ translated the fields in order so there won't be a problem) and leave a message. If you really care and feel that IDJ is not getting it right, complain! Take a page from the crazed BoA fans: if they see that many people think they are going down the wrong road, they will probably respond. Copy this down on other forums where there are other people who don't like the cover. Tell them to do the same thing. If you won't/don't write to them and still complain, you are tacitly telling them that you approve. This is a chance to influence the promotion. The Internet is a wonderful thing -- use it! :yes

frankly Utada doesn't have some of the nicest singles/album covers around but she still can sell so I don't think it matters so much is it not ?

I've probably posted too much already, but ^^THIS^^. Seriously.

YEAH.

Have you seen First Love's cover? Or even HS's? But still Utada sells like crazy even though almost all her album/single covers are boring.

So chill down people. I'd also prefer to see smth interesting and beautiful, but i've realized Utada will stay Utada.

And maybe she even will suprise us :lech

Yes, but where people don't care is IN JAPAN, where her debut album was the highest selling in Japan's history. :innocent People don't care in Japan because she has a long history of selling well and making awesome music. In America, no one knows who she is.

Though I don't really think people here generally care about CD covers... But the cover IS really ugly.

yeah that's the unfortunate thing :(

Why did they try to make her look so stereotypically Asian?

In what way is that cover stereotypically Asian?? I have an idea of what an Asian stereotype is but what is yours?

Thank you, dreamcrushed and others for changing the mood of this thread. :luv2 The direction of this thread so wasn't making any sense. Bad covers=Bad sales conclusion just didn't make sense. Not logical at all.:no

^ I was thinking the same thing too, about how the cover is stereotypically asian?

It's just her eyes, they just look so American Asian it's not even funny. They shouldn't play it up, yes she's Asian, but they don't have make her eyes into a billboard for that, people'd see it anyway, they didn't need to be done up so much.

At least the clothing she is wearing in the pic is very American - Urbanish (a little bit).

Her eyes? I guess me and you have different ideas of typical asian eyes.