Hikaru Utada celebrates their 40th birthday looking comfy as fuck, with a livestream, some Bad Bunny, new audio technology and a Citi Bike shout-out

As has become custom for each birthday on the turn of a new decade, awkward queen Hikaru Utada marked the occasion for their 40th with a livestream, titled 40-Dai-wa-Iroiro; treating us to a couple of performances, a Q&A and an informal chit-chat about whatever came to mind.

I thought Hikaru was gonna give us a full 30 minutes worth of performances. Don’t ask why. Just me making assumptions. But Hikaru performed three songs; two of which were complete surprises.

Hikaru performed an alternate version of “Kimi ni Muchuu”. And they also performed a cover of Bad Bunny’s “Me Porto Bonito”. As for a known Hikaru Utada song, we of course got “First Love”. Obviously. With it being one of their biggest hits, and the Netflix series in honour of it having been released in November. But even this felt new, as it was a completely different arrangement to the version we all know.

Because Hikaru Utada is that bitch and is in cahoots with Sony (whom they are also signed to), this livestream was one of the first to utilise their 360 Reality Audio technology. I unfortunately missed the livestream, so can’t account for how good it sounds or even notice the difference. And chances are if you were watching / listening to the livestream on your phone without headphones, you wouldn’t be able to hear the difference anyway, even though Sony claim that you would. But hopefully when the performances are uploaded to Hikaru Utada’s official channel (something their team has confirmed will happen eventually), I can geek out at the sonics.

Hopefully Hikaru Utada’s future album releases will play with spatial audio more. I’d really like to hear a song like “Passion” with 360 Reality Audio technology, given how musically dense that song is, and with all of the reversed vocals ‘n’ shit. Make me feel like I’m in Hollow Bastian fighting for my damn life.

Hikaru Utada - 40 Dai-Wa-Iroiro | Sony

Hikaru Utada was back in a London studio with their trusty band, albeit a scaled down personnel. No Jodi Milliner or the keys daddy Henry Bowers-Broadbent this time around. But we do get the return of Ruth O’Mahoney Brady after her stint for the Live Sessions from Air Studios gig, and Ben Parker Jnr. is back in the mix again. Ben is a credited performer on 3 songs Bad Mode, but he hadn’t performed live with Hikaru since Laughter in the Dark in 2018. New faces to the band included bass player Rocco Palladino and drummer Ash Soan. Ash has never performed live with Hikaru before, but is a credited performer on “Time”.

Hikaru Utada performs “First Love”

Hikaru Utada performs an alternate version of “Kimi ni Muchuu” titled “Rule”

Hikaru Utada performs a cover of Bad Bunny’s “Me Porto Bonito”

The vocals were...

But once Hikaru warmed up and got going, they got better. “First Love” sounded rough. Then again, the vocals on the studio recording of “First Love” are rough, which is one of the reasons I’ve never been a fan of it. But I like that we got a new arrangement of the song. Hikaru Utada doesn’t perform live often, so it’s not like “First Love” has even had the chance to be run into the ground. But with that said, on the occasions it has been performed, it has ALWAYS been the same arrangement. So it’s nice to hear a completely different version of the song. I hope Hikaru considers cutting this version of “First Love” in the studio and putting it up on streaming, because it sounds real nice. I like me some soft rock Hikaru. 

The alternate version of “Kimi ni Muchuu” is not the full English version of the song that Hikaru had mentioned a while back, but something closer to the original demo, which also includes some lyrics in Italian. (Shout-outs to Francesco). It also has a different title, “Rule”. I have no idea why Hikaru decided to perform this version of the song, but I’m glad that they did, because it sounds sounds so much better than the single / album version. I like that it features the same warmth as “Bad Mode” and “Kibun Ja Nai no (Not In The Mood)”, and sounds more layered. One of the things I didn’t like about the single / album version of the song was that it felt too sparse and a little cold; but this alternate version fixes that. And as a result of the new arrangements and the warmth, the lyrics pop more and add sincerity. And we also get a wonderfully classic new line in this song. Where-as other artists lament on a song for their boo to pull up in the Lambo, the Hummer or the Bentley; Hikaru Utada tells their lover to come thru on a Citi Bike. Trust that Teruzane is already on the photo lining up Docomo Bike as the next promotional tie-in for Hikaru’s next single. Hikaru and Docomo already have history.

As for the Bad Bunny cover, it was a nice surprise. And felt oddly...right. But the reason why Puerto Rikaru Reggaetada chose to cover Bad Bunny is the offbeat reason you’d expect from Hikaru Utada. It’s not because they heard the song and loved it. It’s because as part of the Chinese zodiac, 2023 is the year of the rabbit.

Hikaru Utada has done songs with Latin vibes in the past, such as “Tomodachi”, “Me Muero” and “Can You Keep a Secret?”. And Hikaru has also dabbled with languages in songs other than English and Japanese on the likes of “Hymne à L'amour (Ai no Ansemu)”. 

Despite Hikaru’s off-beat reason for covering a song by Bad Bunny, they could not have picked a better artist or song to cover given his popularity right now. Trust that when the “Me Porto Bonito” performance is officially uploaded to YouTube, it will probably end up as one of Hikaru’s most viewed videos.

And whilst I’ve never once thought about Hikaru Utada and Bad Bunny doing a song together, it kinda makes sense. They both do whatever type of music they like. They’re both weirdos (and I mean that as a form of endearment). They have both experienced a ridiculous level of fame with non English albums. Both are avatars of a specific generation. The more I think about it, the more I’d like to see the two of them do something together. I think an entire song in Puerto Rican Spanish and Japanese could be fresh and amazing. Fuck English.

Hikaru Utada - 40 Dai-Wa-Iroiro | Sony

Hikaru Utada also did a lil’ Q&A, as they often do on the odd occasions they do livestreams. There were no big reveals, other than a mention that there’s more to come in 2023, which is reassuring. But part of being a Hikaru Utada fan is accepting that Hikaru does things in their own time. So if we get new shit this year, great. If not, then it’s fine. I can stay running up the discography as I always have done. I still play the shit out of Bad Mode.

The past couple of years have been strange to say the least, which has forced changes in many of us. And it’s been great to have an artist like Hikaru Utada not only provide a respite from the fuckery of life, but to see how they have changed too. Coming out as non-binary, baring so much of themselves on Bad Mode, giving us livestreamed gigs, performing at Coachella, being the most active they’ve been in EVER, and being more open than they’ve ever been about their son. It’s been really beautiful to witness, especially after the period of darkness where they lost their mother. 

Something I figured as soon as I saw the promotional image / logo for 40 Dai-wa-Iroiro is that The Artist’s Son probably illustrated it, and it turns out that he did! It’s been really sweet to see The Artist’s Son contribute to his mother’s career and become a part of it. He has been a pretty prominent part of Bad Mode, between him shooting parts of the music video for “One Last Kiss”, featuring on the album cover, in the album inlay, singing on a song and playing an instrument on another.

I still cannot believe that we’ve gotten such consistent and extended promo from Hikaru Utada over the past couple of years. Not only is it unprecedented for them, but for any Japanese album release. This far out post album release, there’s usually a new single out already. It’s great. I wish this was how it was with more acts across the board in Japan. Teruzane don’t play when it comes to his daughter’s money and legacy. He said ‘If we ain’t touring this album, we gon’ do sumn else’. And do sumn else Hikaru has.

Be sure to check out the #40iroiro hashtag on Twitter. There are lots of really cool tweets and pieces of artwork from fans.

---

💿 Albumkaru Reviewtada: Bad Mode | Hatsukoi | Fantôme | This is the One | Heart Station | Ultra Blue | Exodus | Deep River | Distance | First Love
💿 Singlekaru Reviewtada: Pink Blood | One Last Kiss | Dare ni mo Iwanai | Time

🎧 Spotifykaru Playlistada: Slaykaru Queentada | Hikaru Utada: R&B | Hikaru Utada: Ballads | Hikaru Utada: Bops | Hikaru Utada: Remixes

🎚️ Mixkaru Mashuptada: The Sanctuary of Passion