[Utada Hikaru] ʕ•̫͡•ʔ A Vacation for Only Two Hours in the 55th thread ʕ•̫͡•ʔ

[dreamalley]

I don't know about that. I remember Hikki's label in the US treated her like a VIP. I remember a post she made about them flying her on a private jet. I think she even posted a picture with Kuma.

So she might yet release something in English.

[Miduhyo]

I would hope she releases another English album, mostly because she seems to experiment more with American releases and give really cool results. I.E. Kremlin Dusk is still one of my favorite songs from her (if not my favorite of all time), and Animato, Me Muero, one of the remixes for Exodus is awesome too (though I can't remember which one exactly.)

She also makes some pretty interesting lyrics

"Like Captain Picard
I'm chillin' and flossin'"

"Can you and I start mixing gene pools
Eastern, Western people
Get naughty multilingual"
(actually all of Let Me Give You My Love.) xD

"You're easy breezy and I'm japanesey." (I don't care what none of y'all say. I love that lyric for it's awfulness.)

[jean-baptiste]

It's like Utada channels a completely different muse for Western releases. The results are so different, I love it.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by Miduhyo

"You're easy breezy and I'm japanesey." (I don't care what none of y'all say. I love that lyric for it's awfulness.)

Considering there's a perception in the USA that japanese women are submissive sex dolls, I really like Easy Breezy lyrics. IMO she is singing about someone who saw her as a fuck toy due to racist views and how it hurt her. This tied with her saying she doesn't feel safe wearing skirts on the USA because she felt like people would see her as some kind of prostitute.

[Miduhyo]

You know.. I've never put thought into easy breezy lyrics. Like... ever. When it comes to her Japanese releases I analyze her lyrics down to the finest detail since she can be cryptic there, but when it comes to her American ones they're so straightforward I don't feel the need to go much deeper than what she presents. But you got a good point there. Never thought of it more than her just trying to get an ear-worm lyric

[Andrenekoi]

^I had to translate Exodus to a brazilian fansite, so I took a lot of time on the lyrics and I really love them... There's a lot od stuff that can be understood 2 or 3 ways, a constant sense of humor and she really picks subjects that aren't common in pop music. This Is The One is far more straightfoward, but there are still lyrics dealing with unusual stuff or at least coming with an unusual point of view. Girl can write and I believe a lot of her english material don't get enough credit lyric-wise

[Miduhyo]

They really don't. I wish she would do another Exodus type of album (whether Japanese or English) where she really just experiments and does whatever the heck she feels like doing. I mean, I felt This Is The One played it safe material-wise but it still had some different sounds that sounded so Utada, though just on a more scaled platform. But I'd really like that type of album that makes all of us go "Wait. What?" Cause I remember the first time listening to Kremlin Dusk and having to listen to it over and over and over and over and over and I still listen to it to this day, that song is my jam. You Make Me Want To Be A Man get's stuck in my head too. xD Lordy, I'd kill for her to experiment like that again. I feel like Utada experiments, though a bit off the radar, are always fresh. It's not just an experiment for her as artist, like a pop-star trying a rock song, or a country singer yodeling, it's an all-around experiment for everyone--something so different and new--and it's awesome.

(Though I'm still trying to figure out what she meant by "Like Captain Picard, I'm chillin' and flossin'" Like... what made her write that? xD)

[bluegie]

10.17: No. 1 - 6,813
10.18: No. 5 - ??
10.19: No. 1 - 5,251
10.20: No. 1 - 4,558
10.21: No. 1 - 4,838

[dreamalley]

You're making me want to rewatch this for the millionth time.

[DeepRiver]

Utada United is the best Tour EVER! Everything is pure perfection - the Stage, the Setlist, her Voice!

[Miduhyo]

Originally Posted by dreamalley

You're making me want to rewatch this for the millionth time.

I. love. this. performance. And like Deep River said, that entire concert is p.e.r.f.e.c.t.i.o.n.. She had so much energy which was just so much fun to watch. God, I have the entire thing somewhere on this computer. Imma have to hunt it down and have UU marathon tomorrow.

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by DeepRiver

Utada United is the best Tour EVER! Everything is pure perfection - the Stage, the Setlist, her Voice!

Her voice... no. It was okay on the first section, but Kremlin Dusk has one of the worst vocal performances I ever saw from a profissional singer. That 2009 evolution performance bad. I don't know if it was lack of vocal training or her allergies, but voice-wise it's a hard concert to go through.

Everytime someone point the Kremlin Dusk pertormance as a proof Hikki can sing, I know I'm dealing with someone with hearing issues.

[Miduhyo]

Is it her best vocally? God no. But it's still so much energy, which surprised me because she usually just, ya know, stands around.

I also love that stage.

[Baco__]

It may be one of the best performances I've ever seen and the one section I love the most on that concert lol but who'd really show this as a proof that "utada can sing" lol her voice is amazing and I find it difficult to emulate, even though I don't think she control it that well outside the studio. That said, I don't recall any performance I saw from her where I was left with the "the girl can sing" feeling haha and that certainly wouldn't be utada united as a whole. Her recent lives show a much more matured and controlled power/voice imho

[Zeke.]

Utada United was a dud. I downloaded the DVD ISO and burned it to a disc thinking it was gonna be real great and it was such a bore and the vocals were bad. I don't think I even finished watching it.

[Miduhyo]

^I did that with the Made in Japan tour and was sooooo disappointed. But to each his own when it comes to music/performances. (really. we need to make a more affable shrug emoji. It honestly looks like I'm panicking over this when really I'm just trying to be friendly. xD)

My personal favorite lives of hers is the unplugged she did in 2001



Mostly because I love the setlist (though I can live the rest of my life never hearing First Love ever again. But Parody and Kettobase!! Final Distance ) and I looooooooooooooove unplugged performances. Though when she tries to go for those higher notes it's a bit... of a turn off? But whatever, I still love it.

[Andrenekoi]

She would do better if she didn't write songs that are way out of her range... Her covere tend to be pretty good, but the songs she covers also tend to be easier to sing.

[Miduhyo]

She does make very difficult songs. I personally have a very difficult time singing Hikari because of how the notes go up and down and up and down and up and down, especially at the end. I wonder how much editing used to go into her voice for those type of songs.

I say used to, cause, even though Fantome is obviously very well edited, I think all the songs fit her range so much more than her previous songs.

[thinkingoutloud89]

Originally Posted by Zeke.

Utada United was a dud. I downloaded the DVD ISO and burned it to a disc thinking it was gonna be real great and it was such a bore and the vocals were bad. I don't think I even finished watching it.

... can't you just for once be like...more diplomatic in your posts? Its always good or bad.

[bluegie]

She basically damaged her vocal so badly during UNITED. And I have to say most of her songs from ULTRA BLUE era are difficult to sing.

Originally Posted by Miduhyo

She does make very difficult songs. I personally have a very difficult time singing Hikari because of how the notes go up and down and up and down and up and down, especially at the end. I wonder how much editing used to go into her voice for those type of songs.

I say used to, cause, even though Fantome is obviously very well edited, I think all the songs fit her range so much more than her previous songs.

I don't think she edited much of her voice in studio. You can hear some coarse vocals in cds. Also, I think she may be less nervous or stiff in studio, so her voice should be much smoother. In addition, she can try dozens of time to get the pitch as best as she can.

Anywayz, today's oricon:

10.22: No. 1 - 6,437

I think her 4th week no. 1 should be secured.