Album art + tracklist: Hikaru Utada - Hatsukoi

I would have loved it if Hikaru Utada pulled a Lemonade and spilled the tea on her marriage and break-up from her second husband Francesco with a Suntory C.C Lemon album, but instead we getting Hatsukoi.

Based on the songs that we've heard to far, Hikaru fixing a smile in the promo shot for the album and the title being 'First love' in Japanese, we will get no such thing. The album seems to be about love, how good it is and forces that draw you to it. Maybe albums dragging husbands and is not a very Japanese thing to do. So I'mma hold out for her third English language album spilling all the tea, as we know how liberated and free Hikaru be on those English albums, as both Exodus ("You make me want to be a man", "About me") and This is the one ("Come back to me", "Apple and cinnamon") both spilled some tea and that was when a bitch was supposedly happily married the first time around.

1. Play a love song
2. Anata | あなた
3. Hatsukoi | 初恋
4. Chikai | 誓い
5. Forevermore
6. Too proud featuring Jevon
7. Good night
8. Pakuchii no uta | パクチーの唄
9. Nokoriga | 残り香
10. Oozora de dakishimete | 大空で抱きしめて
11. Yuunagi | 夕凪
12. Shittosarerubeki jinsei | 嫉妬されるべき人生

When the tracklist dropped, of course everybody (me included) was like 'Who da fuck is Jevon?'. He's an up and coming London rapper. How he and Hikaru Utada even managed to come together would seem odd under any other circumstances, but she's been living in London for the past few years and music circles here are small. And as was evident with her collaborations with Nariaki Obukuro and KOHH on Fantôme, Hikaru has a thing for artists who are under the radar. Chances are that not a single Hikaru Utada fan had ever heard of Jevon prior to this tracklist being released, so he's probably about to get the most promo he's ever had in his career up until this point.

As was to be expected, Hikaru's theme for Kingdom Hearts 3 features on the album too. But if it follows in line with Kingdom Hearts tradition, then there will probably be another version of the song which features in either the intro or the ending of the game. Hopefully the alternate version will feature a rhythm that my ass can follow, because the original version is a fucking struggle.

Now. Let's get into some of these new song titles, because they are telling. Whilst Hikaru may not be dishing the dirt on her marriage, they may still be dirt to be gotten.

Nokoriga
A song about the new dick in her life
"Nokoriga" translates as 'Lingering scent', which could either be about Hikaru fed up of smelling Francesco's deadbeat ass in her house. Or that she's all about the smell of her new man on her sheets after he blows her back out whilst the baby is asleep. I'm thinking something along the lines of Destiny's Child's "T-Shirt". It's probably the latter, otherwise the song would be titled "Foul stench".

Shittosarerubeki jinsei
A song for Ayu
"Shittosarerubeki jinsei" translates as "A life you ought to be jealous of" which is probably about Ayumi Hamasaki.

♪ I may be twice divorced, but I have a babay
(Backing vocals) Shittosarerubeki jinsei
Love of my life
(Backing vocals) Shittosarerubeki jinsei
Can ya hear may?
(Backing vocals) Nothing but silence
I'm still selling records
(Backing vocals) Shittosarerubeki jinsei
Bitch you better get right ♪

So it's looking like Hikaru Utada is back to her old shit when it comes to the album covers, after deviating from her MO with her last two Japanese studio albums Heart station and Fantôme, both of which are her only albums to feature text. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this cover. It feels more like a single cover than an album cover, which is largely because it gives me "Colors" and "Passion" vibes. It took me a while to even realise it was her because I randomly came across the cover in a Google image search void of context. But then again, Hikaru Utada looks completely different on every single one of her album covers.

I just hope we get an inlay full of killer shots. The shots in the Fantôme booklet were gorgeous. Hikaru's album inlays are traditionally printed on high quality ass glossy finished paper. So we know at the very least, even if the shots are weak, that the inlay gon' be well made.

Random J Pop album reviews: Deep river | Exodus | Ultra blue | Heart station | This is the one | Fantôme