Utada Hikaru

[Skyy]

I am a HUGE Utada fan, she's definitely one of my, if not, favorite artists. She's one of the few artists that sounds similar to how she does on her album. When I saw her live, that's the first thing I thought. She has such a beautiful range and her songs actually mean something. Does anyone else miss her like I do?

 

[Sepalcure]

I definitely do. I remember listening to her English album, Exodus and before that her song "Simple and Clean" and I was straight addicted. It was one of the first and still is one of the only albums I truly would play on repeat. I don't think it got the promotions it deserved because the production was pretty darn phenomenal. I know she did a song for Neon Genesis Evangelion which I haven't seen. I've sharply fallen off my first love anime/manga in a while. But yeah she's wonderful and I do miss that unique voice quite a bit. Those other J-Pop singers just can't compare except for Ayumi Hamasaki because she's brilliant in her own right but I digress.

 

[Skyy]

I definitely do. I remember listening to her English album, Exodus and before that her song "Simple and Clean" and I was straight addicted. It was one of the first and still is one of the only albums I truly would play on repeat. I don't think it got the promotions it deserved because the production was pretty darn phenomenal. I know she did a song for Neon Genesis Evangelion which I haven't seen. I've sharply fallen off my first love anime/manga in a while. But yeah she's wonderful and I do miss that unique voice quite a bit. Those other J-Pop singers just can't compare except for Ayumi Hamasaki because she's brilliant in her own right but I digress.

Yeah, she came out with the song 桜流し (Sakura Nagashi) for Evangelion and it's pretty nice. You should definitely check it out, it screams Utada's style for sure haha.

 

[Mikasa]

Oooh, how timely this thread is Recently discovered Utada Hikaru and I think I really love her amongst all the other J-Pop singers. I'm not actually a huge fan of J-Pop in general, or even J-Rock for that matter. There's just something about the genre, or maybe the language, that makes it sound very weird to me (but that's just me), but somehow, I don't feel that way listening to Utada Hikaru! There's a certain charismatic charm to her voice that distinguishes her voice from the rest.

And thanks for the recommendation Skyy, while on that issue of Evangelion songs, she also released <Beautiful World> for the first of the Evangelion movies. That was how I discovered her actually, and I really loved how she sung in that one.

 

[Lirael]

I definitely do. I remember listening to her English album, Exodus and before that her song "Simple and Clean" and I was straight addicted. It was one of the first and still is one of the only albums I truly would play on repeat. I don't think it got the promotions it deserved because the production was pretty darn phenomenal. I know she did a song for Neon Genesis Evangelion which I haven't seen. I've sharply fallen off my first love anime/manga in a while. But yeah she's wonderful and I do miss that unique voice quite a bit. Those other J-Pop singers just can't compare except for Ayumi Hamasaki because she's brilliant in her own right but I digress.

Agreed. I discovered Ayumi Hamasaki through InuYasha eight years ago; No More Words and Dearest are absolutely beautiful songs. The music by Utada Hikaru and Ayumi Hamasaki takes me somewhere ideal and peaceful. I remember who I am and dream again. I used to understand what I wanted in my ideal future, and I dreamt about it frequently, but I lost that understanding somehow as I compromised and settled for the reality. I compromised just a little too much though! Their music is one of the few things that takes me back and helps me remember. Maaya Sakamoto's music is also quite beautiful! The writer of Fushigi Yugi Yu Watase wrote about it in her notes, stating that she'd listen to it whilst drawing. Hikari No Naka E and Yubiwa are my personal favourites.

 

[Master Cat]

I got into Japanese music around 8 years old. Years of Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon, anyone? xD Me and my best friend would go to Chinatown and buy our favorite artists' CDs - Ayumi Hamasaki, Ai Otsuka, Namie Amuro, Koda Kumi, Maaya Sakamoto... It was always a plus if you got an album poster!

However, I discovered Utada Hikaru when Kingdom Hearts first released and I heard "Simple and Clean." After that, I downloaded her older albums and loved them<3 I wasn't a fan of her U.S. album "Exodus," but I have a few favorite tracks on there, so I can't complain, lol.

Hikki definitely has an amazing quality to her voice and her songs are not upbeat and cutesy like most J-pop. Most of her songs sound more like R&B to me actually! xD Her songs are very meaningful and she sings with a lot of emotion, so that's what makes her stand out to me. ;D