Hikaru Utada talks music, doing their own make-up and The Artist’s Son’s doo-doo needs on Songs of Tokyo

Hikaru Utada appeared on NHK World’s Songs of Tokyo to just sit down and talk about stuff, which resulted in a really cool interview that touched on an array of different things. I wasn’t expecting this interview to go in the directions in which it did, and was pleasantly surprised by how in depth things got. So I would highly recommend checking this interview out if you haven’t done already. The entire thing is subtitled, so you have no excuse.

Co-host Chiaki Horan (her having starred in a Super Sentai series makes me like her immediately) was asking some really great questions and projecting some really great insights, which even seemed to take Hikaru aback. I think she might be a stan. The energy of the interview was kinda weird, because the guy (Shingo Murakami) was treating the moment like a variety show, where-as the Super Sentai woman was giving Oprah but without the interruptions. But I guess they balanced each other out, even if Hikaru at times seemed unsure of the tone.

It was nice to have an interview which was just about moments in life and how Hikaru feels about them, as opposed to ‘SO, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE ALBUM’ or ‘SO, YOUR CAREER’. The topics which were chewed on here were much more in tune with the type of person Hikaru seems to be. And the answers that Hikaru gave to what may have seemed like tangential questions, actually spoke a lot to Hikaru’s approach to their music, their career, and specific moments on Bad Mode.

It was also really nice to see folk from the Hikki fandom, and for it to be two people who I know of. Lara is an admin of a Hikki fanclub in the Philippines (@UtadaHikaruPH on Twitter), an account that tweets out some of my Hikaru Utada posts. It’s lovely that they do that, because I don’t even do that shit my damn self. Self promotion? I don’t know her. And Youri (@helunky on Twitter) ended up on my timeline during the Live Sessions from Air Studios livestream over his surprise at “Hotel Lobby”.

I definitely felt what Youri said about Hikaru’s music feeling like a safe space. It was a really great way of summarising how I think many of Hikaru’s fans feel about their music. And to an extent, this is probably what the process of making music is to Hikaru too; allowing them to write Fantôme and feel comfortable featuring The Artist’s Son on Bad Mode.

Songs of Tokyo: Episode 35 - Hikaru Utada | © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

This interview marks the second time that Hikaru Utada has mentioned doing gigs around the world, so they’re definitely considering it. I think it makes sense. Just look at the landscape of music now. Japanese acts are doing world tours and selling out venues. And Hikaru Utada had done a world tour back when it was something Japanese nor Korean acts would never have fathomed being able to do. But I also feel that everything from Fantome onward has been leading to positioning Hikaru Utada as less of a ‘J-pop’ act and more of a global artist, even if the primary language of their music is Japanese. Fantôme, Hatsukoi and Bad Mode were all fucking up the iTunes charts upon their releases. Sony know that Hikaru has very active fans outside of Japan, and that targeting them is where is the growth and the money is at. Bad Mode featuring a couple of English songs, and Japanese songs with as much English as Japanese wasn’t a business focused move at all - it was just where Hikaru’s creativity led them. But the English geared press for Bad Mode promo was very intentional. So some form of world tour would feel like the logical next step for Hikaru at this point.

I would absolutely jump at the chance to see Hikaru perform if they announced London gigs, especially after Ticketmaster fucked up my tickets for the In the Flesh tour, leaving me unable to attend. But I’d also be cool if Hikaru didn’t. Touring in any capacity is a lot. But especially for an artist who isn’t used to doing it, and also has a child who is in school. I mean, shit. The only reason we got Wild Life is because Hikaru was peacing out. And the only reason we got Laughter in the Dark was because Sony was like ‘Gurl...’ and Teruzane was like ‘Sweetie...’. I really don’t think Hikaru woke up and said ‘I’mma do these big ass gigs’. They are not that type of bitch who lives for a tour.

Songs of Tokyo: Episode 35 - Hikaru Utada | © NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)

I’ve been really digging the Bad Mode promo. It’s been slow, but long, which is pretty uncommon for a Japanese album release, yet very on brand for Hikaru Utada. I really do hope that we get another music video for a Bad Mode cut. “Find Love” is the most obvious choice, but I’d even take something for “Face My Fears”. Because that so-called ‘video’ it got, was some garbage.

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