Utada Hikaru

Hikaru Utada is a Japanese solo artist under Epic/Sony Records. She made her American debut on January 28th, 1998 with the album ‘Precious’ and made her Japan debut on March 10th, 1999 with the album ‘First Love’.

Stage Name: Hikaru Utada
Birth Name: Utada Hikaru (宇多田 ヒカル)
Position: Vocalist, Song Writer
Birthday: January 19th, 1983
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Instagram: @kuma_power
Twitter: @utadahikaru
Website: UtadaHikaru.jp

Hikaru Utada Facts:

– She was born in Manhatten, New York.
– She can speak English and Japanese.
– Her father is a record producer and her mother is an enka singer.
– She began to write music/lyrics at an early age and often traveled to Tokyo because of her father’s job.
– She was previously under Toshiba-EMI under the stage name “Cubic U”.
– Hikaru released her English-language debut album ‘Precious’ in early 1998, but was a commercial failure.
– She sang the theme songs for all of the Kingdom Hearts games, such as ‘Simple & Clean’ (2002) ‘Sanctuary’ (2004), and ‘Face My Fears’ (2019).
– Her debut Japanese album ‘First Love’ sold two million copies in its first week in Japan, topped the Oricon charts for six non-consecutive weeks and went on to sell six million more throughout the rest of 1999 and was known as the best selling album of all time.
– She was married to Japanese photographer Kazuaki Kiriya from September 7th, 2002 to March 2nd, 2007 and then a bartender Franesco Calianno from May 23rd, 2014 to April 6th, 2018.
– At the age of 10, she began to write music and lyrics.
– She did her recordings with her mother, releasing songs under a band named “U3” (also known as Utada 3) until 1996 when she started her first solo project, “I’ll be Stronger”.
– On August 22, 2013, Utada’s mother, Keiko Fuji, died by apparent suicide by jumping from the thirteenth floor of a 28-floor condominium building in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
– She has a son who was born on July 3rd, 2015.
– She has 7 Japanese albums and 3 American albums.
– On her official website, Utada cites 15 musicians and composers: Freddie Mercury, Cocteau Twins, Nine Inch Nails, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, Edith Piaf, Chick Corea, the Blue Nile, Bjork, Lenny Kravitz, Bela Bartok, Mozart, Jeff Buckley Yutaka Ozaki, Hibari Misora, and then later listed Aaliyah, and Mary J. Blige as her music influences.