Utada Hikaru Profile
Name: Utada Hikaru (Hikaru Utada)
Japanese name: 宇多田光, 宇多田ヒカル
Nickname: Hikki ヒッキー, Cubic U
Birth date: January 19th, 1983
Birthplace: New York, USA
Height: 158cm
Blood type: A
Husband: Kazuaki Kiriya
Language spoken: English and Japanese
Profession: Singer and song writer
Dreams: Become a writer, open a small bookshop and become a clerk there, work part-time at a cafe
Hobbies: Literature, spicy stuffs, photography and web-surfing
Specialties: Touch typing, Tetris, biting the bullet, reading minds, moving just the smallest toe of my left foot, full leg splits and other instances of flexibility
Favourite places: Mexico, Machu Picchu and the Sahara Desert
Favourite artists: Nine Inch Nails, Mozart, Jimi Hendrix, Bela Bartok, Lenny Kravitz, Prince, Edith Piaf, Cocteau Twins, Jeff Buckley, Chick Corea, The Blue Nile, Freddie Mercury, Bjork, Yutaka Ozaki, and Hibari Misora
Favourite movies: Amadeus, Crash, Munich, Brazil, Tasogare Seibei, Lost Highway, The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather Part II, The Jerk, Orlando, and works by Hayao Miyazaki
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Utada Hikaru Biography
Utada Hikaru was born in a family with both Japanese parents involved in music industry; Utada’s music talent was nurtured in an early age and she showed her potential by recording her first English album “Precious” at the age of 12.
Precious was not actually released in US, but later discovered by a Japanese producer and released it in Japan in 1998. The album received some good reviews and Utada Hikaru, at age of 15 back then, was gradually gaining fame.
Seeing Utada’s potential, the Japan recording company (Toshiba-EMI) convinced her to release her Japanese album instead.
Utada Hikaru released her first Japanese single “Automatic” in 1999 and was an instant hit. Shortly after that Utada released her first Japanese album, “First Love” that sold over 10 million copies across Asia. “First Love” is still until today the best selling music album in Japan.
In 2000 Utada went back to US for further study in Columbia University; her university life was interrupted when she released her 2nd and 3rd Japanese album “Distance” (2001) and “Deep River” (2002) which both sold for multi million copies.
Utada Hikaru didn’t finish her university studies due to health issues and a busy successful singing career.
Utada Hikaru then surprised many when she married Kazuaki Kiriya, a photographer she worked with numerous times, shortly after the released of Deep River in 2002.
In 2004 Utada Hikaru released her ambitious English album “Exodus” that was not very successful in US market. Her single “Devil Inside” however managed to become a disco club hit and claimed #1 spot at Billboard Hot Dance/Club Airplay charts.
Utada Hikaru has just released her 4th Japanese album, “Ultra Blue” in June 2006.
Utada’s musical success is often compared to another Japanese pop diva Ayumi Hamasaki, especially in the early 2000s. Their rivalry is not as fierce now with the rising of other Japanese pop stars.
Why I like Utada Hikaru
I like Utada Hikaru’s music. I first listened to Automatic and thought that it’s a good song; then with First Love, which is still one of my favorite Japanese songs.
I admire Hikki’s talent as a complete artist in singing, songwriting and album producing… which is not often in Asian music industry.
Utada Hikaru Websites and Contacts
August 4th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
lol u dream of hikki? That’s cute.. I have never dreamt of any superstars before, in fact I can’t remember most of my dreams..
August 15th, 2006 at 3:22 am
I loooovvvveee first love and I thought the guy in the music video for the song was totally hott!!!! Utada Roxxxxxxxx!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 15th, 2006 at 3:28 am
Haha Mary iis my bff she got hikki’s name wrong… I think she has a fever hikki is her all time fqave singer and mine too lol but she had posters of her all over her room haha
and can you get her cd’s a borders i always have to borrow marys and she won’t tell me where she got them :(
August 15th, 2006 at 4:01 am
Can I link you to my site oh and hikki sorry about the name thingie lol I am not myself today
August 15th, 2006 at 5:04 am
http://www.freewebs.com/hikkirox/
August 15th, 2006 at 11:23 am
Mary.. you must be talking about the OST version for “First Love,” yupe the guy is cute. If you like this site, feel free to link. Also what’s wrong with the name? Utada is the right name, so are Hikki..
Nanashi, you can always buy her stuffs online.
August 16th, 2006 at 2:42 am
thank you!!!!! a Nanashi I did tell you where to buy it!!!
August 16th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
[...] Ayumi’s rivalry with another pop diva Utada Hikaru was often the talk of the town, with both singers having similar success in terms of record sales and musical awards. [...]
August 23rd, 2006 at 2:07 am
[...] Japan popular singer Utada Hikaru is not only great in singing, she is brilliant in playing Tetris too. Hikki started playing Tetris since she was 5. [...]
August 23rd, 2006 at 8:14 pm
4 years following Hikki’s career, well maybe now she doesn’t really shine here as bright as the First Love era and else, but I know you still have many loyal and new fans here, Hikki! Positively new fans from your kick-ass KH2 OST Passion and Sanctuary, and they all want to know if…..she gonna sing again for the next Kingdom Hearts series? Is there any rumour yet?
Hikaru is a tetris goddess!!! (with a little frightening tetris addiction), as I read at http://hikki.blogspot.com at least. Passed level 200 on June and Got 99999999 score and she played for that score around…16 hours?? OMG….
…but now she’s rather addicted to her beloved teddy Kuma Chang? ^_^;
Well…what a lucky bear…
November 9th, 2006 at 7:34 pm
ang ganda ng ”first love” kc maganda rin si utada hikaru sana makapunta cya dto sa pinas kc ”youare always gonna be my iove itsuka dare kato mata koi ni ochitemo i remember to love you taught me how” iloveu u t a d a h i k a r u`
November 15th, 2006 at 5:14 am
she’s pretty…..i like her song’s too………
November 21st, 2006 at 10:15 pm
i have been watch the music that you were sing in th DVD.
the title is ”first love” and i like that song. it makes fell good!!!!!!!!!
December 4th, 2006 at 12:55 am
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December 6th, 2006 at 6:57 am
she japanese right????
December 6th, 2006 at 9:50 am
Didn’t u read it? Of course she’s japanese! She’s top singer in Japan man!
I love u Hikaru! You ROCK!
December 18th, 2006 at 7:33 pm
tnx all support tfc subscriber ^_^
December 30th, 2006 at 5:44 pm
i like her voice!!! and my favorite song ‘first love’
January 14th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
gershmel_cute@hotmail.com ……………add me up…..
cute guyzzz…..
first love utada hikaru is the best
January 25th, 2007 at 12:34 am
[...] A great love song will at least require the same passion, and perhaps works better than novels; one of my favorite… “First Love” (by Utada Hikaru)… [...]