Hikaru Utada busses it in front of a shark tank to “Somewhere Near Marseille”

We are in September. And still, Hikaru Utada is pushing Bad Mode and giving us things. I’ve gone on and on about how great it is that Teruzane Hikaru has managed to drag this album out for almost a whole year.

I always had a feeling that we would get another music video of sorts. I didn’t think it would be for “Somewhere Near Marseille”. But, of course it would be. Especially after the song being used in a Cartier campaign, and Hikaru performing the song live. I’m still holding out that we get something for “Find Love” though.

There is a catch with this video we have gotten for “Somewhere Near Marseille”. That catch being it is only available on Spotify, which I’m sure was a business decision. Because, Teruzane is all about that coin. Coin the Utada’s would not get if the video was just flung up on YouTube. Although I’m sure in 7 years time, it will be officially uploaded there.

The video is also a live performance video / music video hybrid type situation. And it is of the whole song.

Yes bitch. All 12 minutes of it.

Setting this music video in an aquarium was kinda genius. I don’t think it needed to be a live performance video though. It would have been fine to have just had Hikaru Utada doing what they did without a mic, because this being a ‘live performance’ wasn’t really the focus. Not only do Hikaru’s vocals sound so identical to the studio recording of the song that you can barely tell the difference, but it wasn’t like this was a truly live performance anyway, with all of the cuts, edits and VFX shots. It shoulda just been a music video, but I guess you can still treat it as such.

The setting was great. Hikaru was really into it. The lighting and the lasers were great. But the dancers? Were they dancing to a different song? Were they tired? “Somewhere Near Marseille” is a sexy ass song, and Hikaru was selling it. But the dancers weren’t. I needed more commitment. I needed more ‘I’m here to fuck’. Not, ‘Yay! An aquarium party!’. I needed some body contact. Some writhing. Some kissing. Some bumping and grinding. I needed the vibe to be that somebody could get sexed up against the shark tank at any moment. “Somewhere Near Marseille” is for the saunas and sex clubs. So I needed that energy in the music video.

Still. At least we got something.

This video was directed by Yuichi Kodama, who also directed the campaign video for Cartier which featured Hikaru and “Somewhere Near Marseille”, which is why the vibes are similar with some of the shot choices and the use of lasers; the latter of which was one of the most striking aspects of the Cartier video.

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