39 Facts About Hikaru Utada

Hikaru Utada, known mononymously as Utada, is a Japanese and American singer, songwriter, and producer.

Hikaru Utada is considered to be one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan.

Hikaru Utada began to write music and lyrics at an early age and often traveled to Tokyo as a result of her father's job.

Hikaru Utada is one of Japan's top-selling recording artists of all time with over 40 million records sold.

In 2021, Hikaru Utada became one of the first Japanese figures to identify as non-binary.

Hikaru Utada was born on January 19,1983 in New York City to Japanese parents.

Hikaru Utada's mother Keiko Fuji was an singer, while her father Teruzane Utada is a record producer.

Hikaru Utada grew up in Upper East Side, New York and moved to Tokyo, Japan at age 11 due to her parents work.

At the age of 10, Hikaru Utada began to write music and lyrics.

Hikaru Utada attended Columbia University in New York City starting in 2001.

The next year, Hikaru Utada started another project, releasing "Close to You", a cover of the Carpenters' song.

Hikaru Utada included it on her debut album Precious the following year.

Hikaru Utada moved to Tokyo in the summer of 1998 and attended Seisen International School, and later the American School in Japan, while continuing to record on a contract with Toshiba-EMI.

Hikaru Utada was at the forefront of a new wave of singer-songwriters in Japan, branching out from the previously dominant idol singers.

Hikaru Utada went on to release a single, titled "Final Distance", which was dedicated to the female victim of a murder case in Ikeda, Osaka.

In 2001, Hikaru Utada recorded the song "Blow My Whistle" The song was included on the soundtrack for the 2001 American action comedy film Rush Hour 2, which peaked the 11th spot on both the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Top Soundtracks.

In mid-2004, Hikaru Utada moved back to New York, and began work on a recording contract with Island Def Jam Music Group.

Hikaru Utada appeared on the cover of Interview magazine's June 2005 issue.

Two weeks after the release of Ultra Blue, she went on a nationwide tour titled Hikaru Utada United 2006, from June 30 through September 12.

The year 2007 ended with the single "Flavor of Life" becoming the best seller of 2007 and with Hikaru Utada again voted "Number 1 Favorite Artist of 2007" by Oricon's annual readers poll, after a two-year absence from the top spot.

On March 30,2009, Hikaru Utada appeared on New York City radio station Z-100, the largest pop radio program in the US, and granted a live on-air interview on the station's Elvis Duran Morning Show, a breakthrough that would lead to a promotional schedule through the album's international physical release on May 12.

Hikaru Utada sang the theme song for the second Evangelion film, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can Advance.

On September 27,2010, Hikaru Utada revealed a single, entitled "Hymne a l'amour ", which became a commercial tie-in for Pepsi NEX.

Hikaru Utada performed a concert series titled Wild Life at Yokohama Arena to promote the album, her first Japanese concert since 2006's Utada United.

Hikaru Utada later announced a single, "Goodbye Happiness", with its accompanying PV appearing publicly on November 9,2010.

Hikaru Utada said she would continue writing music during the hiatus.

On December 26,2014, Universal Music Japan revealed through media outlet Weekly Bunshun that Hikaru Utada only has one album left before the contract with the label ends, and that a comeback in the music industry was under discussion.

On July 3,2015, Hikaru Utada revealed the birth of a son on her blog, and mentioned work on an album primarily written during pregnancy.

Hikaru Utada asked for patience leading up to the release during the transition into parenthood.

The first single off the album, "Lonely One", has Hikaru Utada credited as a featured artist and was released on January 17,2018, through streaming services.

On February 10,2018, it was announced that Hikaru Utada would provide the theme song for the video game Kingdom Hearts III, called "Chikai", along the English version, called "Don't Think Twice", for international audiences.

Hikaru Utada co-produced the song with American musicians Skrillex and Poo Bear.

On November 27,2019, Hikaru Utada released the first single in over a year with "Shonen Jidai".

On May 8,2020, Hikaru Utada released "Time", the theme song for the NTV drama Bishoku Tantei Akechi Goro.

Hikaru Utada sang the theme "Pink Blood" for the 2021 anime To Your Eternity which was released in April.

On June 26,2021, Hikaru Utada came out as non-binary in an Instagram livestream.

Hikaru Utada said in regards to the English language honorifics Ms.

On February 3,2014, Hikaru Utada announced plans to be wedded to an Italian man, asking for fans and the media to view their personal lives from a "respectable distance" as he was not in the entertainment industry.

On February 10,2014, Hikaru Utada and fiance Francesco Calliano left a message on her official website explaining how they met each other while Calliano was a bartender in a London hotel, and asking for privacy.