Both songs are amazing, so I thought that was a good idea make a mix using this song. I was right (At least, I think)

Material Used:
Utada Hikaru – Passion
Epik High – Butterfly Effect

This is my second megamix! My target was made a megamix to be layed on a club, in other words, a dance mix.

Anyway, this time the remix feature some remixes made by the super talented remixer SAMURAI.

Material Used:
Utada Hikaru -WINGS (SAMurai DIStortion REmix)
Koda Kumi – Lies (Hidden Truths Remix)
Aaliyah – Rock The Boat (SAMurai DIStortion REmix)
Utada Hikaru – Flavor of Life (Mystic Storm Remix)
Namie Amuro – Full Moon (Lovely Evening Remix)
Kingdom Hearts – Dearly Beloved (My Passion ‘DIStorted SAMurai’ Instrumental Remix)
Bjork – Earth Intruders (Battlefield Arrival Dub)
Koda Kumi – Lies (Hidden Truths Remix)
Kingdom Hearts – Dearly Beloved (My Passion ‘DIStorted SAMurai’ Instrumental Remix) [ENDING]

Some Japanese music for your cultured learning. Tho its mostly from anime lols.

Tales of Vesperia OST

FMA Brotherhood

D.Grey-Man Intro/Endings

Utada Hikaru Single Collection

01: Automatic - This is one of the songs that has introduced me to Utada when I was first getting into J-music back in 2007 and as of now I still enjoy it. Hikki’s vocals were pretty lovely, I loved when she ab-libs at the very end of the song and the chorus is my favorite part which makes this song stand out here. The arrangement takes me back to the days of 90’s r&b, that’s why I’m in love with it because 90’s r&b is just the love and the way they make it now doesn’t even sound like the genre itself. This song all in all is pretty awesome and it’s worth some listens for nostalgic reasons but I truly did enjoy this song.

02: Movin’ on without you - This next track here is another song that I’ve always liked from Hikki and it’s because the beat is so funky enough to get you up out of your seat and start dancing in a random fashion. The arrangement is pretty lively and party-like atmosphere, I sense a lot of r&b, pop, and tech influences throughout this entire song. The chorus is the best part of this song and one of my favorite parts here also. I also enjoyed the part where Hikki sings: ‘nothing’s gonna stop me, only you can stop me!‘ This song all in all was pretty good in my opinion.

03: In My Room - This is such a underrated song from Hikki, it’s just really crazy to me how underrated it really is. I loved Hikki’s vocal performance, it seems like she’s getting into this song so that’s a major plus in my book. The chorus is my favorite part and the verses are lovely on the ears, too. The arrangement is heavily doused in the 90’s r&b genre and I’m diggin’ that since I love 90’s r&b and it was such a wonderful decade for that genre. This is another song that I used to listen to a lot but I barely listen to it nowadays, this song all in all is still really nice though.

04: First Love - Just like the other Hikki fans, I’m madly in love with this song also. Her vocal performance was just so beautiful that it could bring the strongest and toughest guy to tears, seriously. The arrangement is just oh so lovely with its twinkling melody from the instruments and the lovely piano and strings. I only listen to this song if I just happen to pop this album in sometime but it’s still a favorite song from her that I hold pretty close to my heart and one that made me love Hikki’s music in first place.

05: Amai Wana: ~Paint It Black~ – To be honest, this song is just no good.. but well maybe I’m being a bit harsh but let’s be real for a moment here. No effort whatsoever was put into the arrangement and it’s like they just throw it together and started to get lazy with it. Hikki’s vocals were actually way ahead of it by sounding pretty strong, I actually liked the chorus but in all honestly this song just does nothing for me now.

06: time will tell - I remember watching the video to this song a long time ago and I think of it now as pretty bland and entirely too plain. This song though is the complete opposite of that since it’s actually pretty nice to listen to while just driving late at night with nothing to do, nothing to go… how relaxing is that? Hikki’s vocals were just.. wow here and I really enjoyed her entire vocal performance including her ab-libbing. The arrangement is in the r&b genre and even though it’s a bit bland and repetitive after a while, it’s still pretty nice on the ears. This song all in all is pretty good.

07: Never Let Go - This song is starting to eerily similar to Monica’s Take Him Back song and Craig David’s Rise and Fall with Sting song. I loved Hikki’s vocal performance, it stayed pretty strong and constant that’s what made this song all the more awesome. The arrangement sounds sampled just like I said before with those song titles that popped in my head but it honestly does sounds like 90’s r&b. This song all in all is pretty good.

08: B&C (Album Version) - This next track is so awfully cute and adorable that it’s just making me feel a bit bubbly, lol. This is a really cheerful song and I loved when Hikki repetitively sings the take a chance, take a chance in the background. As for her vocals though, they were really laid-back but still a bit strong, lively, and good as usual. The arrangement makes me think of a children’s show back in the 90’s because that’s the type of vibe I got from this song which all in all is really lovely.

09: Another Chance - I remember when I first heard this song a long time ago back when I was just finding out about Hikki’s albums and I’m talking back in the year of 2007, I automatically fell in love with it. Hikki’s vocals were pretty smooth and falsetto throughout, the arrangement is overly laid-back and drowned in r&b which I liked. This song was all right but I think the novelty is wearing off of me now though but I still somewhat like this song so that’s a plus.

10: Interlude - Just a waste of space on this album and why does Hikki even bother to take the time to put these on her albums, seriously?

11: Give Me A Reason - I literally scratched my head as soon as this song started playing, I mean where in the hell did that strange down-tempo techno loop of a beat come from? Hikki’s vocals sound pretty good here but it just feels like she’s bored with it though and I wouldn’t blame her because the arrangement sounds entirely too bland and mind-numbing to even bother with it. This song is just a huge fail in my opinion and I actually used to like this song back in the day but goodness… it does nothing for me aside from making me want to fall asleep.

12: Automatic (Johnny Vicious Remix) - Um?… Hikki, way to go on adding such a waste of a track on this album. I didn’t even care for this remix and I refuse to listen to it ever again. I’ve heard it before and I hated it because it ruins the original version for me so this remix does nothing for me, enough said.

1. Automatic
2. Movin’ on without you
3. In My Room
4. First Love
5. Amai Wana: ~Paint It Black~
6. time will tell
7. Never Let Go
8. B&C (Album Version)
9. Another Chance
10. Interlude
11. Give Me A Reason
12. Automatic (Johnny Vicious Remix)

To be honest, I’m going to be real about this album. Hikki’s debut album First Love is a nice listen for nostlagic reasons and unless you actually like this album then only for nostlagic reasons. Don’t get me wrong, this is a decent starter album for Hikki but after I finished listening to this debut, it didn’t really do all that much for me. This used to be one of my favorite albums from her, not all that much anymore since she has better albums than this although there were some songs that I just loved with all my heart and soul. In my eyes, Hikki seems to always succeed with everything but as I go into her music as a critic instead of a fan which I am.. I start to realize that not all her songs are up to par and at the end of the day, she makes a few mistakes but often redeems herself in the end and that’s why I’ve been a fan and always will be one of Hikki’s fans since 2007 until the day I die.

Utada Hikaru having a one show in London, O2 Academy in Islington on February 12th 2010 – SOLD OUT ALREADY within five hours on November 13th??

…so I get no invitation or no-one to tell me about it?

Now, I may not mention Utada Hikaru or a lot of Japanese artists since my mind is corrupted by K-Pop, but it’s times like this that Tokyohive should open up or if there was an J-Pop website that updates frequently so I wasn’t 10 days on the news that I could have booked a ticket and gone to her concert.

Now that my bitching’s over, if you live in America, you still have a chance to book tickets, check out Utada’s Offical Site for more information.

Is anybody in London pissed off or is it just me? Hopefully, all the people watching are hardcore J-Pop fans because they rip their tickets and say it’s crap…¬_¬

Hikki som er kallenavnet for Utada Hikaru mest kjent som rnb artist i Japan og Asia.

Prisoner of love er sluttsangen for tv-serien “Last Friends” som takler problemer som hjemsøker den nåværende generasjonen.

Flavor of life er insert sangen i “Boys over flower” som handler om et kjærlighets par med sosiale forskjeller.

To build up excitement for Utada’s In The Flesh Tour across the United States and Europe (even though I’m sure we couldn’t be more excited), I’m reviewing each one of her Japanese tours monthly, starting with Bohemian Summer 2000 and ending in UTADA UNITED 2006, so in January/February I get to review Utada’s In The Flesh concert from Los Angeles!

[OPENING MOVIE]
Addicted To You
タイム・リミット
In My Room
time will tell

The introduction to the tour isn’t very stimulating to kick off the concert if not for the shining logo that begins the DVD after the helicopter scene. Maybe it’s just because I can’t read whatever’s written on the e-mail that is being sent in the video. After the opening movie, A small part of Automatic starts to play and grows into a rock version of the instrumentals, but once it stops, we see Utada coming down to sing Addicted To You. The stage, dancers and Utada’s outfit make the concert look like an average rock concert, but I believe it’s because Utada was still looking for a while to present herself live, since she’s nothing like other J-Pop stars out there. This segment of the show runs very smoothly, composed of two hits from her Distance era (Addicted To You, タイム・リミット) and two from her First Love era (In My Room, time will tell). Her vocals are amazing despite her very young age and you know she’s going to give it all she’s got by the time she ends time will tell. I really like In My Room because it feels like she gets carried away by the song and gives us a stunning performance. I started paying more attention to First Love for this very segment.

Never Let Go
Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)
Another Chance
For You

This one is one of my favorite segments from the concert. Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) is more famous for this live than for being an actual b-side, and even though Utada does add in a lot of vibrato to the song, and it affects its fluidity a bit, but it’s still fantastic. Never Let Go and Another Chance are two of my favorite First Love songs because of this tour as well. Before I didn’t pay much attention to them because they sounded a lot like the rest of the album, but seeing how they do have different kinds of energy and how Utada conveys this to the audience made them magic for me. From the first time I watched this concert, I wouldn’t stop listening to these 2 songs.

Automatic
Take On Me

Finally we get some Automatic! She fooled us in the beginning, but it’s here! Hikki comes out with an outfit change to initiate my favorite half of the concert, full of covers and fun. Automatic was amazing as expected, but I really love Take On Me! It shows a bit of Hikki’s musical background and it’s an English song, so it really brings her American background to the table as well. This segments shows off the crowd a little more and it’s a sea of people! I love it!

Give Me A Reason
はやとちり

Give Me A Reason is a regular First Love track, but one of the special Hikki songs that can become very memorable in a tour for the fans. She make a regular album song sound so sweet and single-worthy. She’s truly something special, this Hikki! はやとちり is one of my favorite songs by Hikki and I wasn’t even aware of its existence until I watched Bohemian Summer 2000. Live is so much better and it’s pure magic, you just feel good when you hear it! It’s a short segment, but both songs are really special and sang wonderfully!

I LOVE YOU

I LOVE YOU is a segment of its own because Hikki happens to forget the lyrics of the cover, but once she finally gets it right, she gets it RIGHT. It’s an epic, beautiful performance and it’s so impressive she could pull it off so well at such a young age. She reacted in a really cute manner once she got the lyrics wrong, but the crowd sea of people cheered her on and her good humor made for the stunning performance that followed.

プレイバック・パート2
Movin’ on without you
First Love

I’d never heard of プレイバック・パート2 before, and this presentation caught my attention because of the flair and originality of the song. It sounds like something Hikki’s mother would compose and I love it! Even though I’m not a big fan of Hikki’s mother’s work, it sounds very traditional and has a strong Japanese presence. Movin’ on without you is an epic Hikki song, and there is nothing anyone can do to ruin it. The band did justice to the instrumentals (that are simply amazing) and Hikki did her part with her breath-taking vocals.

I don’t think I even have to get started on First Love . . . but I will! Hikki sings with so much feeling every time she’s performing First Love, that it’s impossible not to feel some nostalgia and get a little emotional. It’s the single song that mostly affected her career and a highlight on her debut album. The arrangement of the instrumentals for this live is very beautiful and goes perfectly with Utada’s voice.

Wait & See ～リスク～

Once again, Hikki sings us a new song from her Distance era, Wait & See ～リスク～, by that time, it wasn’t a classic yet, but the live is incredible. The lights, camera and the action (this wasn’t on purpose, it’s true!) all bring together a beautiful performance that’s very memorable between the others from the tracklisting! The live remix is very fun and perfect for performances. The fireworks ending was also epic and gave me chills!

甘いワナ ～Paint It, Black
Living On My Own

Hikki leaves briefly and comes back with a new outfit to end the concert and sings yet another highlight from her debut album, 甘いワナ ～Paint It, Black. Her lives for this song are always incredible and it’s a very original composition. The energy is very contagious and her chemistry onstage is so awesome! After that, there’s yet another English cover, Living On My Own. It’s just as fun as the first one and the cover songs for this concert grab my attention in the best way! She rocks ‘em out far better than anyone else!

B&C
First Love – John Luongo Remix

B&C is a sweet song, very upbeat and nostalgic. Once again, the arrangement of the song for this concert is very amazing and is a great concert closer because of the energy it brings to the crowd, which is always clapping along, besides, Hikki looks amazing and very excited to be there!

The last song shows footage of the making of the concert and is more of a complementary song to end the concert in a nostalgic, yet promising way as for everyone to leave with high spirits. At the end, there’s a fireworks special, and it’s a very unique way to end her first true concert, I’m sure everybody who got to see it live loved it!

Bohemian Summer 2000 is a very memorable concert! The tracklisting consists mainly of her First Love and Distance eras, and she pulled through fantastically, even at such a young age! I think that even though it had many little surprises (like the fireworks), it lacked a real theme, since the dancers weren’t all that attention-grabbing and the stage wasn’t very neat, it looked very a-nation-like, but it was just her trying to find her place in Japanese pop music and figuring out how to convey her image in a live stage!

It’s still fantastic and I love it!

89 / B+

Things have been quiet for Utada since activities died down after the release of her album, This is the One. But it looks like it will all pick up again as it’s been announced she will embark on a US Tour.

A couple shows have already sold out! Keep in mind she’s one of the selling artist of all time in Japan so I definitely encourage you to catch a show if you’re anywhere near the following:

Jan 15, 2010 (SOLD OUT)
PIPELINE CAFE
HONOLULU, HI
Buy Tickets

Jan 19, 2010
HOUSE OF BLUES
LOS ANGELES, CA
Buy Tickets

Jan 22, 2010
THE SHOWBOX
SEATTLE, WA
Buy Tickets

Jan 25, 2010
THE FILLMORE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Buy Tickets

Jan 30, 2010
HOUSE OF BLUES
LAS VEGAS, NV
Buy Tickets

Feb 2, 2010
HOUSE OF BLUES
CHICAGO, IL
Buy Tickets

Feb 5, 2010
PARADISE ROCK CLUB
BOSTON, MA
Buy Tickets

Feb 8, 2010
IRVING PLAZA
NEW YORK, NY
Buy Tickets

Feb 12, 2010 (SOLD OUT)
O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON
LONDON
Buy Tickets

Source: AAtheory

Many fans has rush the first day of ticket’s sales which result in a sold-out! Utada’s concert in London O2 has a capacity of only 800 seats.

All fans which could not get these precious tickets now are hoping one thing… a 2nd date in Europe!

Source: utada.com

来年の１月１５日にホノルルにあるパイプライン・カフェで宇多田ヒカルのライブが行われる。

絶対チケット取れないだろうな〜って思ってたら意外にあっさり取れてしまった〜！！とっても楽しみ☆　だってそんなに大きなライブハウスでは無いので、結構近くで歌が聴けると思う。ライブに向けて彼女の新しいアルバムもiTunesで購入。主人と二人で現在練習中！

歌と言えば、実はクリスマスに向けてコーラスグループに参加している。練習は週に３回行われ（私は仕事の都合もあり週に２回しか行けてない）来月の１２月になれば３回もパフォーマンスあり！練習曲はきよしこの夜を英語とハワイ語で、Carol of the Bells、 The 12 days of Christmas（ローカルバージョン） Mele Kalikimaka（ハワイ語でメリークリスマス）の合計４曲。実は昨日初のパフォーマンスを行った！昨日はきよしこの夜の１曲だけだったが、ハワイ語の歌詞が最後までなかなか覚えられなくて、かなり苦労したが当日までには覚える事が出来た。ハワイ語の意味が良く分からないので、音を覚える感じ、、、。皆の前で歌うのは緊張したが、同時にとても気持ちが良かった☆

最後に今日職場で頂いたアウトリガー・ワイキキホテルの１階にある人気レストランデュークスから大人気デザートフラパイ＄６、９５。オレオクッキーの生地にアイスクリーム、チョコレートソース、マカデミアナッツ、たっぷりの生クリーム、、、、、高さがおよそ２５センチ程と巨大！！最高に甘くて美味しかった（これはシェアして下さい！）

By now, if you’re a fan of Utada Hikaru then you’ve definitely heard about her upcoming US & UK promo tour. I have no idea why she’s doing it, probably trying to raise publicity of her second album, This Is The One and rumoured second single, Dirty Desire. I am beyond amazed because she’s going to be perform one date in the UK and I’ve got tickets! I’m soooooooooooo happy I could cry. My wonderful boyfriend managed to get us tickets because sadly I was out of the country. All the tickets sold out in a few hours – I think people all over Europe are going (which I think is slightly unfair, but nevermind). I’m so amazed that she’s coming here! This has been one of my life’s dreams for so so long. I’ve been a fan of Utada for almost 10 years now – that’s half my life. I love her so so so much. She’s my favourite artist of all time, she sings my favourite song of all time and just argh! I just can’t quite believe it. Boyfriend laughed when he said I might cry when I see her, but I don’t care!

Week of 11/8 – 11/15 (26 votes)

Well when I first posted up this poll, I kind of regretted it ’cause I thought it was pretty stupid, plus I just ended up paring up any two groups that I had thought would blend well together. I’ll try to make better polls from now on. xD

The best mash-up would be…?

1. Amuro Namie + Koda Kumi: 50% – 13 votes
2. 2NE1 + 4minute: 21minute: 15% – 4 votes
3. Utada Hikaru + Hamasaki Ayumi: 12% – 3 votes

Al parecer Utada Hikaru sacara un nuevo single titulado Show me Love.

Se ha comentado en su blog que sera una cover entonces han surgido varias posibilidades de cover.

Pero la que mas fuerza ha tenido ha sido la siguiente, independientemente decir que lo importante es que hay nuevo single, que ya era hora, ya que desde febrero no habia sacado nada ^^u..

I decided to do a little ranking list comprised of six of my all time favorite J-singers, all female of course. Those six are: Utada Hikaru, Ayumi Hamasaki, Namie Amuro, Koda Kumi, BoA and Crystal Kay. I chose them for obvious reasons; this has been floating around inside my head for a long time an I thought now was a better time than any to see where I stand with these six artists, because though I like them all immensely, I like them in different ways, sometimes I like one more than another and sometimes one goes down so much in my opinion that I wonder if my interest waning? I also want to see who I like the best and who I think excels in one thing as oppose to someone in another. These rankings are all based on MY opinion, so of course this is not something written in stone, but I just want to dissect the six and see what makes them so appealing to me, and why I like one more than the rest. I’m going to list them all from 6 to 1, with 6 not being the worst, but just not as great at the others in a particular field, and 1 being the best. I want to stress once again that this is all in my personal opinion, please don’t take this list seriously. This will be split into a series of parts that I’ll be posting whenever it suits my fancy, so I hope you enjoy this little mini series:

Girls On Top

BEST SINGER

Livenation website has revealed the tour dates :

• January 15, 2010 – Honolulu (Hawaii) at Pipeline Cafe / 8 p.m
• January 21, 2010 -Seattle (Washington) at Showbox / 8 p.m
• January 24, 2010 -San Francisco (California) at Fillmore / 8 p.m
• January 30, 2010 -Las Vegas (Nevada) at House Of Blues / 8 p.m
• February 02, 2010 -Chicago (Illinois) at House Of Blues / 8 p.m
• February 08, 2010 -New York City (New York) at Irving Plaza / 8 p.m
• February 12, 2010 -London (U.K) at l’O2 Academy Islington / 7 p.m