Utada's new single 'Prisoner Of Love', to be released on 5/21
 

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/6...ct40220tg7.jpg

NEW SINGLE
Prisoner Of Love
Utada Hikaru

2008.5.21 On Sale!
TOCT-40220（CD+DVD) \1,500- (TAX-IN)
(※8ページブックレット付き)

CD Tracklist
01. Prisoner Of Love
(フジテレビ系木曜ドラマ「ラスト・フレンズ」主題歌)
02. Prisoner Of Love -Quiet Version-
03. Prisoner Of Love (Original Karaoke)
04. Prisoner Of Love -Quiet Version- (Original Karaoke)

DVD Tracklist
01. Prisoner Of Love (Video Clip)

The only new thing in this single will be the PV (if it's good) and the quiet version (WTF!). She should release remixes with it or something like. :rolleyes

Source: Tokyo-Nights

OMG! I thought this was true, Cloud! :laugh

Hmmm.....I don't think Hikki will release a single after her HS. PoL would be a good single to release but after HE/SG, I just don't see it happening! It has a great incentive though.

Is she serious? LOL.

EH?! are you kidding me?
koda and then ayu and then ken and then hikki make a rip off single too?!?!?!
its a trend right now?

It's not a joke. See it in Toshiba-EMI page. xD

Wow. :shakehead I knew Prisoner of Love was a popular track from HS, but I didn't see this coming. Oh, well. Prisoner of Love is one of my favorite tracks from HS, and I'm glad that it's getting its own PV.

I'm a little skeptical about the tracklist, though. :shrug But Hikki will probably make a new, awesome track. :heart

Ken, Hikki and Koda did not add more to the songs that they rereleased.

Ayu made it into a full 5 min+ song.. :|~ Plus Mirror wasn't even a song, it was an introduction. :|

^yeah i agree, ayu did a different thing, she made short to full song...
even use a different title...
but this? OMG!!! i'm shocked that so many top JPOP artist do the same thing

Would this count as a recut single?

''-Quiet Version- '' >.<

I wish there's additonal of at least one song in this single. But prisoner of love is considered a hit song so maybe this single could sell well.

duh! It's what we called a re-cut single >_< Remember SURREAL? AUDIENCE? Daybreak?

At first i thought it's a April fool joke after seeing the cover...then i realized that it's not 1st April anymore... -_-

^ Dude, chill out.

You need to stop.

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/2...doincatuh1.jpg

:no

And FYI, recut singles are generally defined as recut straight from the album. :| The "same song" is 2-3 minutes longer than the "album cut" :|

lmao, agreed xDD I didn't really care for POL that much, but maybe the quiet version will change my mind :3 But wow, what a random single O_o

ALSO, has anyone noticed the FOL connection? xD Hikki's wearing hoodies in both and they're both taken from the same side view!

LOLCAT!!!!! :roflmao

:laugh

You guys are funny when you argue! XD

I hate this song so much ;_;

Why re-cut ANYTHING? It doesn't make sense ;_;

I'm happy to get more stuff from Hikki... but this was kinda stupid. Why didn't she just push back HS's release until like July?

Is that the cover? Absolutely NOT digging the yellow text. URGH.

But anyway, it's pretty cool she's doing a recut single. I would rather she included a version of Take 5 with a nice non-abrupt adding.

are you saying that to me or hikki? >_<

I think the reasons why she put out a single for Prisoner of Love are that first: it's a tie-up song for a drama. 2nd: She filmed a Pv of it and it need to be in somewhere! And thirdly, she mentioned she loved the song alot! ...

I think it's good cuz now we got at least 1 more decent PV in her UH5 Video Collection! :yes

:laugh (Sorry you little ";-;" is cute!)

Well, I think the only reason EMI is releasing PoL as a single is because of the Last Friends drama. I think its to promote the drama and the album more. She could have added something a little extra to it though. People don't buy Hikki's singles like they use to but rather dl her stuff.

@ruixiong89: THE TEXT?!?!?! I'm not diggin' the picture. I mean I like but it doesn't fit as a cover. It looks like it was taken during the recording of the PV.

@Triple D: C'mon now! You and I both know that Hikki releases her albums only in March or June! :yes

lolcats are soooo 2007 =x

Utada may not have had any say in the decision to do this. Who knows really?

Anyway, Utada looks like a Prisoner in that Single Cover............a Prisoner of Love..........I'll rescue her and we can become a Prisoner of each other's love.

Hehe.

But yeah, disappointed in the Music Video. I'll be buying this though for the Quiet Version and the Instrumentals, which I've been really really feeling the need for, along with instrumentals for the rest of her other Album Only Tracks, being that I love singing Utada's songs with instrumentals, not to mention it's nice to hear just the instrumentals themselves. Especially for this song it'll be nice to hear the instrumental with no vocals and just the strings and everything else. I'm of course purchasing the Single for the Music Video as well.

But I say nay for the whole decision for pushing back the release of "HEART STATION". I'd be so pissed if "HEART STATION" hadn't come out yet and she's releasing yet another Single from the Album. That would have been just 4 new songs + "Gentle Beast Interlude".

And by the way, Utada has released DVDs with Music Videos on them before with Past Singles such as "Be My Last" (Which I have) and "Passion" (Which I have).

just watched the clips...

PV = Prisoner of Making music

Hikki doing push-ups!!! She's really slowly turning more manly recently...

The font is so boring ;-;

I wonder how well this single will do...

@UH+:*blinks* ....okay.....:shrug

I just saw the clip and I liked it! I liked it! ::spazzed Hikki seemed to be really into the PV. I just luv the pink/coral blue w/ the light blue jeans outfit and I absolutely luv the earrings. She has been wearing them a lot lately. She must like them alot. Hehehehe

I wonder if "Quiet Version" would be 4 minutes and 47 seconds of pure silence.

WTF, Shanny! Are you on drugs... again? :P You should request help otherwise you'll be ending up on the streets as me. :lmfao

I keep imagining something like the "After The Battle" Version of "Passion" or something very whispery and wavy like "Stay Gold" or something like the Verses in "Teiku 5" which have the preceeding effect to her actual vocals where you hear a bit of what she's going to sing before she sings it. Like a "Before Echo" or something. I really like that.

lol what a joke

maybe a more-Ballad version of Prisoner of Love...XD
like FoL...

How...strange. :shrug The cover is alright, but they need to do something about the text they have been using lately. :laugh
But I think what CoriKaru said is true. She might have not had any say in this sudden turn around. But I think it was rather a stupid idea. They could at least have had more tracks on it, like remixes or something. But I'm looking forward to listening to the quiet version, it sounds like it'll be nice on the ears xD I want to see the PV too. I don't know where to see the clips though =/

YAY! ^^ i love this song!!! ^^ w00t! thanks for the info! ^^

I'm not surprised; if Prisoner Of Love becomes the next Flavor Of Life, consumers will be more likely to purchase a single than a whole album, especially if they weren't Utada fans to begin with. The cover is completely unattractive, though. With a title like Prisoner Of Love, the cover could have been far more dramatic and "romantic." Something with a prison, or a heart, or something! Also, that yellow text is butt-ugly. Utada and/or Toshiba EMI, learn a thing or two about covers from Ayumi.

(The -Quiet Version- better be great, or I'm going to be irritated that no remixes were on the single. Now that I think about, a piano version might not be so bad.)

I wonder why some people get upset at this release. For real...

-Album cuts are normal. It's the american way of releasing singles. It works if an exclusive album song was actually quite succesful. If PoL was a succesful song, Hikki has every right to milk on it.
-There's no problem in Hikki doing an album cut. With or without album cut, her next single would only be here in 4-6 months anyway, there's no way she'd come up with new material so early, so it's not like this single is taking up our chance for listening to new material from her.
-Hikki is not forcing anyone to buy this. You only buy it if you want the single. Don't like it, don't buy it. Simple as that. If you're a collector, then that's not Hikki's problem but yours.

:P

I'm really in love with this song!!!
thanks for the info!! =)

I can't imagine a -quiet version-... hopefully it's as good as Flavor of Life. and they feature it in Last Friends. :)

Wasn't SURREAL released on like the same day as Duty though? Does that even make it a recut single?

And anyways, I don't care for the song, so I don't care about the release either. I don't see it being successful after HEART STATION already releasing though. Blah...

Actually, "Last Friends", the drama which will feature this song, is (IMO) the powerhouse of the Spring. Artistes like Ueno Juri (Nodame), Nagasawa Masami (Proposal Daisakusen), Eita (Orange Days, WATER BOYS, Atsu-Hime), and Nishikido Ryo (1 Litre, vocalist for NEWS) really kill, to be honest. So many big names starring in one drama is bound to bring A LOT of attention. So those that didn't purchase HEART STATION will (or the single), and if the -quiet version- is featured, then that'll boost sales, chaku-uta or otherwise.

OMG one of my favorite song from heart station just became a single!!

I really like this song and I'm ready for a good MV right now !!! Go Hikki !

no new material huh?! i bet the quiet version is the actual song without the beat just like BoA's LOVE LETTER (winter acoustic mix). plus the cover is soo cheap.

but i'm looking forward for the PV.

so fast????
hikki is hard-working...

Well now I know. I had no idea it would be in a drama. I still don't care for the song though. It being in a drama doesn't influence my opinion on it. And I still don't see it being huge, because I think someone would be more likely to purchase the album since it has Flavor of Life and the other singles as well.

You know she probably didn't have to do anything for this to be released. The song was already on the album.

I definitely think this might be big with people who liked Flavor of Life but didn't feel like shelling out the money for Hikki's full album. Hikki doesn't have the hardcore fanbase that a lot of other artists have, and she relies heavily on casual fans. I think the tie-in may help this single do pretty well, especially for a re-cut single. It may help the album too.

Of course ;)

Anyway, I'm really hyped about this. We get a PV and the instrumentals!!!!!! :love

Kinda disappointed really, I would have prefered a new song... But at least we get a PV, if that turnns out to be good. Anyway it's not the first time Hikki's done this.

official? r u sure???

ehh...cover sucks, sorry :(
but I luv the song :D

I'm surprised Prisoner Of Love's gonna be released as a recut single .

I guess record labels like EMI & Sony BMG want to cash in the fact both Prisoner Of Love & Ken Hirai's Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo are gonna be used as theme songs for a drama & movie respectively which's why they don't hesitate to jump into the wagon in a bid way to earn more $

honestly I wonder how both songs are gonna fare , in terms of chart & sales wise hmm

YES, prisoner of LOVe is one of my favorite song.
glad to hear she realese recut single again

Thank you.. I was just about to say the same thing, lol. :yes And, it's an awesome song I must say. I might buy the other versions on iTunes... I still have a good amount of ¥ on that account, :laugh

Here's the CDJapan link: http://cdjapan.jp/d.html?KEY=TOCT-40220

It was pretty obvious she was going to release Prisioner of Love as a single since she said in her blog she was filming a PV and looking to all the promotion the song has received, but I ever thought it would be a digital single ^^U

I don't like the colors of the picture, the cropping of the picture, the color of the text and the font of the text. The song doesn't also strike me as being overly single-worthy.
If Toshiba-EMI are going to pimp out the drama tie-in, why wouldn't they just let the customer get the more expensive album than the cheaper single? :/
I sure hope this isn't going to fall flat, though. If it could sell around HEART STATION / Stay Gold, then that'd be OK.

I had no idea Last Friends had so many high-profile actors. I'm sure Prisoner Of Love can sell at least near HEART STATION/Stay Gold levels, though it probably won't hit Flavor Of Love status (but only because consumers will purchase more HEART STATION albums than Prisoner Of Love singles).

i really didn't expect this ^^ i like this song though

Like has been said already, some people may not want to purchase an entire Album of someone they don't listen to when they can just purchase 1 song that they like as a Single so it makes sense. Not to mention....the album doesn't have the instrumentals which I'm sure will draw people to the single as well.

LOL, a recut XD wasn't it obvious that even HS single flopped, and the album wasn't even released XD

Perfect example. I'm only interested in this for the instrumental, lol. So it does work XD

Looks like this 'Quiet version' will be very different. The original one will be used for opening and ending of 'xxx Friends' dorama, and the 'quiet' one will be used on the scenes. So, probably, this is a ballad ver. (?)

I wonder how it's gonna sound like , please don't tell me in the quiet version of Prisoner Of Love , Utada will mumble in there ? :S

^maybe she will do a little prayer...LOL

Well, IMO, I get heavily influenced by the drama it was in. I never paid attention to PEACH when it came out until I saw Hanazakari no Kimitachi he. I never heard of Ashita Hareru Kana until I watched Proposal Daisakusen six months later, over seven years for Chiisana Koi no Uta. I'm pretty sure there's a number of Japanese people with the same mindset.

IMO, a drama is like an extra long PV. You get to hear the song in a better context, making it sound better.

A re-cut single!
I hope that the quite version will be good.

:roflmao

I hope not

I :( at the cover.

This song is good~ am sure it will do quite well as a single. Most of my friends (they are Johnny's Ent. fans) who watched LAST FRIENDS CM were attracted to this song, very much, it really goes well with the theme of the dorama.

i remember mika has a quiet or silent or something like that for yuki no hana
and i hate it to death...hahaha

I'm guessing the -Quiet Version- will be more ballad-like than the original version, maybe will some piano thrown in. I can't imagine a prayer, but maybe Utada will say a few words at the beginning?

Someone who has actually seen the first episode of the Drama said that another version of the song did play. It was just Piano and Strings. No Vocals. So maybe this is the "Quiet Version", although I wouldn't see the point for a Karaoke of such a version if it is indeed the "Quiet Version". Maybe if it is the "Quiet Version" they just take out the Piano and let the Strings play for the Karaoke version. Hmmm...

Hopefully what was played in the drama was the instrumental version, or else Utada would be ripping us off. :)

Indeed. I was thinking the same thing about it just being the instrumental version.

hi...new UTADA HIKARU'S "BEAUTIFUL WORLD" DANCE REMIX:

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showth...49#post1413849

see ya! ;)

Her covers are getting worse and worse. :tipsy

But her music is getting better and better~! (Well, in my opinion. :)) I finally realized that the fruit on the cover is significant in the drama, so perhaps Utada looking sadly at the fruit represents the theme of Last Friends.

(On a semi-unrelated note, Last Friends is amazing. Although the domestic violence looks a tad fake in one short scene, all the actors pull off the characters really well. Ryo is convincing as a nice-but-violent boyfriend, Masami does innocent-girly-girl-whose-world-is-shattered without being annoying, and Juri is able to show her personality and inner conflict without being stereotypical. I'm glad Prisoner Of Love is the theme for this show - it fits perfectly, and it's a great drama.)

so cute the cat^^

I absolutely loved the song on the album! So I have high hopes on this weird quiet version... and I can't wait to see the pv :D

hehe cdjapan sent me an email immediately after it was listed about this single
im planning to collect utada's discography after im done with ayumi's which im 90% there =D
sooo im gonna start collecting her new ones
before i cbf and attempt to look for it elsewhere coz i nvr find it hahas
since there ain't first press
im not going to order it until later on around 2 weeks before its release, i'll order some other stuff along as well =D

Its released on my bday !but im not gonna buy it cos i have HS album alr

i fell in love with this song as soon as i heard it on Last Friends <3
i was like....OMG