Since this month I have featured a lot of things that dealt with a Japanese theme, it was only fitting to feature a Japanese Singer. For this week I would like to introduce a very popular singer - Utada Hikaru. Hikaru Utada 宇多田 ヒカル Utada Hikaru, better known by her stage name Utada in America and Europe, and also known by her fans as Hikki, is a Japanese American singer-songwriter, arranger, and record producer.Before her major debut with her album First Love (1999), she sold several records with mediocre success. After First Love's release, which went on to become the best-selling album in Oricon's recent history, Utada would go on to have three of her Japanese studio albums rank in Top 10 best-selling albums ever in Japan (#1, #4, #8) and an overall six of her albums, two English-language and one compilation, thus far in her career charting within the 275 Best-Selling Japanese albums list.
Utada currently has 12 number-one singles to date on the Oricon Singles chart, with two notable record achievements for a female solo or group artist: 5 of them being million-sellers and 4 placing in the Top 100 All-Time Best-selling Singles. For her achievements, she was described by Time Magazine in 2001 as a "Diva On Campus," while attending Columbia University for a brief, career-break semester in 2001. In 2003, Utada was ranked #24 in the survey of Top 100 Japanese Pop Artists of All Time by HMV, and #10 in HMV's Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time in 2006.
Additionally, Utada is also credited for two theme song contributions to Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts video game series: "Simple and Clean" and "Sanctuary". In 2007, her single "Flavor of Life" reached #2 in worldwide digital download yearly single chart with over 7.2 million downloads, and contributes to 12 million digital sales for her over the same year.
Here are her singles for you to enjoy:
PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!
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