[Utada Hikaru] ☆ Goodbye Happiness in Utada Hikaru's 45th Thread ☆

[Tom Punks]

Imo, Hikari's lyrics are just as bad as Simple and Clean's. Neither of them even remotely relate to Kingdom Hearts, which, weren't the songs specifically written for the game? If anything, I think Hikari's lyrics are worse, because they start off really poetic and then suddenly switch tone to something about TVs and family introductions. O_o At least Simple and Clean is consistent throughout.

I love Simple and Clean. It's possibly my favorite song by her. Hikari doesn't really do anything for me.

[ahtka-chan]

^Well, Hikari wasn't written for KH and Simple & Clean was just meant to be the english counterpart of Hikari to be used for the game. None of the songs were specifically made for the game.

In my opinion It would be ridiculous and so "no Hikki" if she had written these songs to relate with the story of the game.

[Minttulatte]

I don't mind the fact that Hikari or Simple & Clean aren't connected to Kingdom Hearts' story.

And personally I prefer Hikari because of the lyrics. x3

[CoriKaru]

I didn't know that. Are you sure?

I do know that "Sanctuary" and "Passion" were written specifically for the games.

[sesshy]

Back then, I was REALLY new to J-pop. And yes... I'm one of those fans who heard Utada from Kingdom Hearts. Like Emiko said, it changed my life too. But when I heard Hikari, I prefer Simple and Clean because I was really use to it and wasn't use to Japanese music back then. 10 years later, now I prefer Hikari and I heard Passion first. But still, I like all of them. The lyrics doesn't bother me I guess.

[emi♡]

Well, here's where I'm just biased, because, I can't understand Japanese lyrics, so it really makes me not care about them so much.

Hearing the things she sings in English just makes me cringe though.

But actually, I prefer the melody of hikari over Simple and Clean. There's the small change in the chorus...and idk makes a difference I guess.

[Zeke.]

Simple & Clean anyday. It flows much better I believe. Hikari just seems awkward to me. I don't think it rhymes as well.

[Polyrhythm]

Hikari is superior. Simple and Clean's funky lyrics make me wonder how Hikki got into Columbia University....

[SheFliesHigher]

Originally Posted by Polyrhythm

Hikari is superior. Simple and Clean's funky lyrics make me wonder how Hikki got into Columbia University....

Gonna agree here. The only lyrics I like in Simple and Clean are at the end, when she says, "regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all." The rest is just trite. I never understood her choice of the phrase "simple and clean" anyway. It's not anything that I can relate to, and I don't understand how a person can make someone else feel "clean" without actually cleaning them, lol. And at the end of the chorus, when she says, "it's hard to let it go", what is "it"? I feel like a lot of the lyrics just don't have good ryhthm in English. I also VERY MUCH prefer the chorus of Hikari. It's a lot more powerful...the music in Simple and Clean is more subdued.

Hikari's lyrics are superior in almost every way. I always liked them because they have a very domestic, down-to-earth feel. I like how she describes this person as her "light", and yet this person is flawed. The end lyrics, where she wants to talk about the future, and "turn off the tv and look only at me" express something very common and therefore powerful. How many times do you have these small arguments with or requests for your loved ones? It's something I understand. Simple and Clean is just the tired concept of a flighty lover.

As for Passion and Sanctuary, I emphatically prefer Passion. I actually dislike Sanctuary very much. First of all, her "aaaahhh aah ah" in the background during the chorus is removed in Sanctuary. This sucks. Secondly, her rhythm and rhyme is again off. The "melt awaa-hay-hay-haaaaaayy" and "laaa-aaaa-aand" parts in the chorus just sound bad. It's like she shoehorned those words in without thinking about the richness of the sounds. Worst of all, the entire closing set of lyrics is removed! Why?? I adore those lyrics in Passion. Again, they speak of something very down-to-earth and real; she says she hears that the person she liked long ago is having a child, and she gets nostalgic about their time together. It's brilliant and emotive. I don't what all this prattling about "new lands" and "angels in time" or whatever is about in Sanctuary. Ugh, just a mere shadow of the original.

And why doesn't she write more than one set of lyrics for the choruses in her English adaptations? In both these songs, she sings the same lines every time in English. In Japanese, she switches it up.

[Not Fade Away]

I love Hikari more, she said that the song was written essentially as 'the song of herself', or the song that defined her as a both a person and and artist (and all that stuff about Hikaru & Hikari or w/e).

But it makes sense...yeah some parts of Hikari talk about paying attention to the singer rather than the TV and going out to eat something delicious, but that's Utada in a nutshell.

Sometimes on her blog/twitter she talks about the deeper meaning of things in life or how something has so much significance, and in the same post she'll end it talking about how she just enjoyed delicious oranges that were sent to her or something, haha.

I can definitely see how Hikari is essentially her.

[emi♡]

Enjoying oranges can be one of the deepest life experiences.

Everyone should always remember this

[CoriKaru]

Originally Posted by Polyrhythm

Hikari is superior. Simple and Clean's funky lyrics make me wonder how Hikki got into Columbia University....

[Not Fade Away]

^^hahaha true

^hahahaha

[emi♡]

honestly, even though her english lyrics make me cringe....I'd rather her be herself and be as blunt as she likes, rather than try to come up with all kinds of pretentious, contrived imagery like some dumb livejournal writer...

Seems to not bother some people as much, so meh.

[Not Fade Away]

^I feel like it doesn't really bother me because I mostly listen for beats/vocals as opposed to lyrics.

I mean don't get me wrong, I've read translations and some of Utada's songs are really pretty, but some of them are like...whaaat? okay.

Like First Love, for example, the part about

'our last kiss
tasted like tobacco
a bitter and sad smell'

yeah I get it's a metaphor, but still...i'm just like O_o".

[bluegie]

Originally Posted by emiko

But actually, I prefer the melody of hikari over Simple and Clean. There's the small change in the chorus...and idk makes a difference I guess.

I'm glad she changed the chorus music to fit the Japanese lyrics , because it makes the song more powerful. (and that's why we had Uso mitai na I Love You in the end ). I can't remember tho if she wrote the songs for KH or not. I think she did, but somehow she didn't really directly talk about KH in her lyrics.

But thanks to Hikari and Simple and Clean, the thread is moving again LOL .

[CoriKaru]

All this talk about the 2 songs is timely as well because a trailer for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3DS Game was just released online and of course they used the Orchestrated Version of "Simple & Clean"/"Hikari" for it.

I'm going to have to listen to the Orchestra again and see which song's Chorus melody is used.

Has one/two song(s) been used THIS MANY TIMES for almost EVERY SINGLE GAME in a Franchise? Even if they are lowly filler wannabes.

At least they know they can do no better since they've lost Utada, but would they have gotten Utada to create a new song for the Filler ones anyway?

Utada shouldn't come back so soon, but perhaps just make a Theme Song for something by request. I'd give her a pass on that one.

[Zahara]

I thought Santuary was written first. I could have sworn I read an article about that. To me, when she says Simple and Clean, she is talking about feeling new or refreshed. But that's just my opinion, and I defintely prefer Hikari to Simple and Clean lol.

[hayasaki]

Hikki's english lyrics are a hit and miss. Her Japanese songs (translated or not) brings out more sense. Quote "LETTERS" . one of the BEST. i mean BEST lyrics i've ever known in my life.

[ahtka-chan]

Originally Posted by Zahara

I thought Santuary was written first. I could have sworn I read an article about that. To me, when she says Simple and Clean, she is talking about feeling new or refreshed. But that's just my opinion, and I defintely prefer Hikari to Simple and Clean lol.

Sanctuary was written first, Hikki said she had a hard time writing lyrics for Passion.

But Hikki released Passion first and sanctuary just goa an official release in 2010 as a bonus in TiTo.