Utada Hikaru (Kanji: 宇多田ヒカル), born January 19, 1983, in New York City, United States, also known by their fan-nickname "ヒッキー" (Hikki), is a non-binary Japanese singer, composer, arranger, and record producer. Utada's music is primarily pop and R&B and sometimes incorporates other musical elements such as rock and electronica among others. Hikaru Utada was born to Japanese parents who both had roots in the Japanese music industry: their father, Teruzane Utada, was a producer, while their mother, Junko Utada, was an enka singer (she performed under the stage name Keiko Fuji (藤圭子). Utada Hikaru has been recording since 1993. They made their first professional recording at the age of twelve, and recorded their first album, Precious, in 1996 under the pseudonym Cubic U. This album led to their career overseas. In an interview for MTV's, You Hear It First, Utada said: "Someone in Japan heard it, at a Japanese record company, and he said, 'Oh, can't you write in Japanese? You speak Japanese.' And I didn't want to say no, so I had to try it." Utada moved to Tokyo in late 1997 and attended Seisen International School, and later the American School in Japan while continuing to record on a new contract with Toshiba-EMI. Unlike other pop stars at the time, they were more focused on becoming a singer and songwriter while other Japanese female singers were attempting to become idols. Leading up to the release of their Japanese debut album "First Love", Utada released two successful million-selling singles: "Automatic/ time will tell" and "Movin' on without you". "Automatic/Time Will Tell" sold over two million copies. Backed by their singles, "First Love" went on to sell over 7 million units in Japan alone (with an additional 3 million overseas, bringing it to a sum of at least 10 million units), becoming the highest-selling album in Japan's history. After a two-year break, Utada released their follow-up album "Distance", garnering first-week sales of 3 million units sold. Backed by their singles — "Addicted to You", "Wait & See ~リスク~", "For You / タイム・リミット" and "Can You Keep a Secret?" — "Distance" became the best-selling album of the year, with almost 5 million copies sold in Japan alone. Additionally, "Addicted to You" became Utada's best-selling single, selling one million in its first week. Utada went on to release a single which was dedicated to the female victim of a murder case in Ikeda, Osaka, titled "Final Distance". Leading up to the third album, "Deep River", Utada released "traveling", "光", and "SAKURAドロップス"; all the songs reached the top of the charts. Deep River sold 2.35 million copies in its first week. Oricon reported that sales eventually surpassed 3.6 million, making Utada the only act in Japanese music history to have three consecutive albums surpass the three million mark. The album was cited by many fans and critics as Utada's most acclaimed work, as well as achieving the Triple Crown at the 17th Golden Disc Awards in Japan. Later, they attempted to break into the US market under their stage name Utada with the album "Exodus". A year after the release of "Exodus", Utada moved back to Tokyo and started work on their next album. Leading up to the release of their fourth album, "Ultra Blue", Utada released a string of successful hit singles: "COLORS" (no. 1), "誰かの願いが叶うころ" (no. 1), "Be My Last", (no. 1), "Passion" (no. 4), and "Keep Tryin'" (no. 2). The digital single "This Is Love" was released to promote the album, netting around one million digital downloads. Ultra Blue sold 500,317 copies in the first week, lower than that of the previous album, although it still topped the Oricon Daily, Weekly, and Monthly charts. Ultra Blue gave the artist their fifth consecutive chart-topping Japanese album (excluding their English album) to sell in excess of 500,000 copies for first-week sales. On July 13, Toshiba EMI published a report stating that Ultra Blue had sold over one million copies worldwide and four million digital ringtones already making it one of EMI's 10th best-selling albums of the past year. A Japanese tour "Utada United 2006," commenced on June 30th, 2006 (Two weeks after Ultra Blue's release) and ended on September 12th, 2006, after Hikaru Utada's performances at Yoyogi. Ticket sales started on May 28th, 2006, with the majority of venues selling out in less than two hours. Hikaru Utada released the single "Flavor of Life" on February 28th, 2007. Their next single, "Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry", was released in Japan on August 29th, 2007 - a track which also doubled as the theme song to the anime movie "Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone". On February 20th, 2008, they released their 20th Japanese single, HEART STATION/Stay Gold which reached #1 on Japan’s weekly radio charts, which was followed shortly after by their 6th Japanese studio album, "HEART STATION" released on the 19th of March 2008. Utada intended to go for a "simpler" approach for the album; they stated, "From the beginning, I had always intended to make this album easier to listen to so anyone can enjoy it. I always aimed for a simple melody, simple lyrics and a simple message rather than over-complicating it all. But overall, I had a lot of fun making this album." Utada then returned to the US market, releasing "This Is the One". They also went on tour with 'Utada: In the Flesh", playing in cities around the world, such as Los Angeles, New York, and London. On August 9, 2010, Utada announced on their personal blog that beginning in 2011, they would go on an indefinite hiatus, citing fatigue since their debut 12 years previously. They also stated a need for rest, to study new things and learn more about the world, as well as see to some personal matters. It was unclear as for how long this break would last and if they would ever return to the music scene. Before the hiatus began, they said that they would go "full throttle" on their artistic activities, and soon after their site was updated, a new compilation album, "Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2", was announced, with a release date of November 24, 2010. This new album would include all their Japanese singles from "誰かの願いが叶うころ" to "Prisoner of Love" on disc one, as well as an extra EP, featuring five new tracks. From November 24, 2010, first-week sales for "Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2" were 231,000 units according to Oricon album daily charting. On April 10, 2011, Utada won the award for "Best Conceptual Video" in the SpaceShowerTV Music Video Awards for the PV for "Goodbye Happiness", which also marked their directorial debut. An announcement was made that Utada would perform a two-night concert titled Wild Life at Yokohama Arena to promote the album, their first Japanese concert since 2006's Utada United. On August 8, 2016, their sixth Japanese album's title was released: "Fantôme", French for "ghost". Following its release on September 28, Fantôme was commercially and critically successful. It debuted atop the Oricon Albums Chart and stayed there for four consecutive weeks, the most of any Utada studio album since First Love. It was awarded Album of the Year at the Japan Record Awards and received positive reviews from media outlets. Musically, Fantôme is a collection of tracks that emphasize acoustic and stripped-down instrumentation, alongside influences of pop, electronic, and R&B music. The lyrical content delves into themes of grief, sadness, love, and death, mostly influenced by the death of their mother, their second marriage, and the birth of their son in 2015. Utada's seventh album, "初恋", was released on June 27, 2018. The release coincided with the commemoration of their 20th anniversary as an artist in Japan. A national tour was announced to support the album in November 2018, "Laughter in the Dark 2018", their first Japan concert tour in 12 years. On June 26, 2021, Utada came out as non-binary in an instagram live video. Utada's prefix is "Mys", and their pronouns are she/they. Utada released their eighth album, "BADモード" on January 19, 2022. It features production from musicians such as Skrillex and A. G. Cook. Official sites: www.emimusic.jp/hikki http://www.u3music.com/