[News] Utada Hikaru named the most influencial artist of the decade by Japan Times

[Andrenekoi]

Originally Posted by hpg23

Do you realize the importance of the fact of being able to crossover into a market (no matter the success) as different musically and aesthetically as Japan's as the US scene is? I don't think it's anything bad to say about her career, even if she flopped. And even if they say that TITO sucks, no one can deny that Exodus is, along with DEEP RIVER and Distance, the best Utada Hikaru album ever, on which she experimented, and she did it the right way, taking her music to a whole new level (ahem, Ayu anyone? xDDD that's a next level.)
The influence that Utada Hikaru has had on the decade, can't be questioned. Also, she has remained consistent on her artistry, even if you ignore TITO because of her questionable artistic value, you can see how her whole 2000s disography, from Distance till HEART STATION, has remained quality consistent over most of the time period, evolving her style and keeping things fresh and new.
Ayu has also had a huge influence and all that, and is 2nd in my list for this, but Utada pwns her anytime just for one word: consistency.
Ayumi was "on track" musically speaking, until (miss)understood or so. And she had some hit or miss moments before that, which are understandable because of her huge frequency of releases, but that sadly, decreases her chances of being considered as the most influential artist.

Well, I disagree... IMO her best album is Heart Station, and I really like TITO too.. I like her english lyrics. The way she play with words, concepcts and sounds on her english lyrics is VERY interesting IMO, but I also found it stupid until I needed to give it a close reading in order to translate the album^^ And if u ask me... Utada maturity as a songwritter started on Heart Station (not that her older albuns are bad, just that she was more trying to find a way of her own, and she finally get it on HS IMO). About Ayu... people on Japan Times hate her... she is always used as an example of how an artist shouldn't be on that site!

Every big music market needs a powerhouse musician and a powerhouse performer... IMO Hikki and Ayu fit this with perfection, even if Hikki can be surprisingly good on stage sometimes, and that Ayu is far from being a crappy musician

About the lyrics... Ayu's are easier to relate to than Hikki's... But Hikki is more skillful when it comes to use the words... Ayu's are lyrics from a diary, Hikki's are poetry... who is better?It depends on what u want....