"By Your Side" Playing on U.S. Radio
6-23-04 \\ Utada-Online.net

According to Timbaland's label's message board, it seems as though several people have heard "By Your Side" airing on US radio. The locations mentioned were Tampa, Florida, Chicago, Illinois, and Omaha, Nebraska. Although we can't confirm this quite yet, keep your ears peeled if you end up sitting in traffic, listening to the radio.


Remember this name: UTADA
6-19-04 \\ Island Def Jam Records

NEW YORK, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- In Fall 2004, 21-year-old singer/songwriter Utada will introduce the U.S. to her enigmatic fusion of alternative, pop, dance and funk grooves with EXODUS, her U.S. debut on Island Records. The stylish young star composes, writes and arranges all her songs, infusing her music with seductive, witty lyrics and well-crafted melodies. She is joined on her debut album by some outstanding special guests that reflect her varied tastes: drummer Jon Theodore from Mars Volta delivers an infectious groove on "Kremlin Dusk," and master producer Timbaland, who adds his funky touch to "Exodus '04," "Wonder 'Bout" and "Let Me Give You My Love."

Raised in New York in a musical family (her father is a musician/producer and her mom was a beloved traditional-style Japanese singer in Japan), Utada was fed a diverse musical diet of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, The Police, and Dr. Dre, all of whom left their mark on Utada's musical style. At age 13, she was approached by Toshiba EMI to write several Japanese pop songs, resulting shortly thereafter in her first major album for the label in 1999. The release sold over 10 million copies in Japan, catapulting Utada to superstar status at just 15 years of age. So watch out U.S. ... Utada fever is one the way this fall!


Island Def Jam throws a party for UTADA! 
6.9.04 \\ Utada.com

Island Records hosted a exclusive listening party for Utada on June 8th at 5Ninth in New York City.  Tracks from Utada's English language debut, out this fall, filled the evening with her intoxicating brand of music.

Great Unknown
5.3.04 \\ Nylon Magazine

As Japan's biggest pop star- who is also just a normal student in Manhattan- Utada Hikaru has the best of both worlds. But for how much longer?

By Jeffrey Rotter
Nylon Magazine; June/July 2004

The woman in this picture led a double life. In New York City, her hometown, she's a Tolstoy fan who just took a leave of absence from Columbia University. She's unassuming, even a bit bookish. She shops at Gap. But in Japan she's got more fans than Yugi Oh. She sells out stadiums, and she did an MTV Unplugged.

Her name is Utada Hikaru, and she's one of Japan's biggest pop stars. Hikaru's debut album, First Love, sold about 10 million copies. A recent deal with Island Def Jam may put an end to her stateside anonymity. The singer-songwriter's first big US effort has a lot going for it. For one thing, Hikaru has reenergized her sound- gone is the precious pop of her Japanese releases, replaced by aggressive beats and an air of dance-floor sexuality that's strung with sonic gewgaws. For another thing, she called a Top-40 expert for a few of the tunes. Ten days in Miami with the can't-miss producer Timbaland resulted in three of the funkiest numbers on the record. "The whole time, I couldn't believe I was working with him," she says, obviously a bit star struck. "He said, 'You know, Utada, you're pretty dope.' I said, 'Thanks. You're pretty dope, too.'"

But the singer's trump card is her Japanese-American identity- a singular perspective in pop music. In "The Workout," Hikaru sings, "I was dancing with a dirty blond Texan/I showed him how people in the Far East get down." She's well aware of her transcultural allure, and she works it. "Yeah, well, it's so fun to!" She says, "It's natural, because it's a big part of what I think about in my daily life. And it's something I can really take advantage of. It's a bit of a reaction- sometimes with their second album, people write songs about how they're famous but they haven't changed. But I already have this position that I can react to: I am Japanese, and it's really fun to be Japanese right now. I flip through the channels and I see all the old animes that I use to watch when I was really small- and I think, 'They're playing this in the US?'"

The singer has an excellent pop pedigree. Her mom, Keiko Fuji, was one of Japan's most beloved singers in the 1970s. Her father, producer Teruzane Utada, gives her guidance in the studio and manages Hikaru's career.

By any measure, Utada has it good. She can enjoy Xtina-scale adulation in Japan, but back home in Manhattan she can live like a normal twenty-something. So, why would she ever want to raise her profile on these shores? "My mom has actually asked me, 'What are you going to do if you do get famous here?'" She says, "Part of me is like: 'Yeah, right.' Then part of me is like: 'What if I do get famous?! I can't just walk into a deli at night wearing my pajamas!'"

Still, Utada insists that American provides a kinder climate for fame. "I feel a bit freer here," she says. "Japan is the kind of place where if you get caught with weed, your records get taken off the shelves. I feel like there's a bit more room to find your own position here." And if American fame starts to drive her crazy? "I can go to Fiji or someplace."

FLYTETYME SCORES #1 GLOBAL ALBUM!
3-11-04 \\ Flyte Tyme News

"WHILE A LOT OF ATTENTION IN THE LAST WEEK HAS BEEN ON THE 1-2 PUNCH OF THE NEW USHER AND JANET ALBUM IN THE UNITED STATES, THE BIGGER STORY IS WORLDWIDE! ACCORDING TO THE OFFICAL GLOBAL ALBUM CHART WEBSITE, WHICH TRACKS ALL THE CHARTS ON THE PLANET, JANET'S "DAMITA JO" WAS THE 3RD BEST SELLING ALBUM IN THE WORLD, TALLYING AROUND A HALF-MILLION COPIES, WHILE USHER'S "CONFESSIONS" WAS #2, SELLING AN IMPRESSIVE 670,000 COPIES IN IT'S 2ND WEEK (AND TOTALLING OVER 2 MILLION WORLDWIDE IN JUST 2 WEEKS!) SO WHO'S NUMBER 1?! WELL IF YOU'RE A TRUE FLYTETYME FAN YOU PROBABLY HAVE IT FIGURED OUT! FOR THOSE WHO NEED CLUES, THE NUMBER 1 ALBUM IN THE WORLD IS BY A FEMALE ARTIST WHO HAS RISEN TO THE TOP OF THE CHARTS WITH NOT ONE, BUT TWO FLYTETYME PRODUCED SINGLES! BOTH SINGLES SOLD OVER 2 MILLION COPIES APIECE! THE # 1 ALBUM THAT CONTAINED THOSE SINGLES WENT ON TO SELL OVER 6 MILLION COPIES! SHE FINISHED HER TOUR WITH 3 SOLD OUT STADIUM DATES AND WAS JOINED BY JIMMY & TERRY ON STAGE AT HER FINAL SHOW! AND EVEN WHILE ENJOYING ALL THAT SUCCESS, SHE STILL REMAINED A STUDENT AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN NYC, AND ALL WHILE STILL A TEENAGER! GIVE UP? HER NAME IS HIKARU UTADA! AND SHE'S THE BIGGEST SELLING POP ARTIST IN JAPANESE MUSIC HISTORY! HER NEW ALBUM OF GREATEST HITS CALLED "THE SINGLE COLLECTION VOL 1" DEBUTS AT #1 ON THE OFFICIAL GLOBAL ALBUM CHART! THE ALBUM SOLD OVER 1.4 MILLION UNITS IN THE 1ST WEEK! IT'S ALSO THE 1ST TIME A JAPANESE ALBUM OPENED AT #1 WORLDWIDE! THE NEW ALBUM CONTAINS ALL OF HER HITS INCLUDING THE JAM & LEWIS PRODUCED #1 SINGLES "ADDICTED TO YOU" AND "WAIT AND SEE"! JIMMY & TERRY, AND THE WHOLE FLYTETYME FAMILY SEND CONGRATULATIONS TO HIKARU ON HER HISTORIC ACCOMPISHMENT!"

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