Hot on the heels of her previous top-selling Japanese album Heart Station, This Is The One is the second attempt made by singer, songwriter and producer Hikaru Utada to cross over into the U.S. music industry.
Born and raised in New York before moving to Japan, Utada attained mega star status in Japan after the release of her first Japanese language album First Love in 1999. The album sold more than 2 million copies in its debut week and is now 32x Platinum, making it Japan's highest-selling album in history.
The opening track of 'This Is The One is a ballad entitled ‘Come Back To Me.’ It represents all that is good about Utada, with its quirky yet romantic lyrics such as “I wish that I could photoshop all our bad memories …”
Its sweet melodies and accompanying delicate piano intro give the song a pop yet classical feel.
The second track ‘Me Muero’ (which means “I die”) may sound like a fun and bubbly Latin inspired song at first, but it soon takes a darker tone while still maintaining its bubbly quality.
Lines such as “Now and then I'm suicidal flirting with a new temptation, happiness inside a bottle is what I need today…,” make ‘Me Muero’ very relatable to those who have experienced painful break-ups.
In ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence –FYI’, Utada samples Ryuichi Sakamoto's ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’ movie theme, creating a fusion of Japanese pop and contemporary R&B that flows together brilliantly.
The song ‘Apple And Cinnamon’ has become a favorite among fans due to its unique title and bombastic beats.
‘Taking My Money Back’ is a song about a woman in a relationship with a pimp-like boyfriend whom she leaves with the line “Now I finally see you were using me, …” The melodies and beats are reminiscent of artists like Destiny’s Child and Aaliyah.
The sexually charged ‘Dirty Desire’ is another standout track of the album. The song tells the story of a woman lusting after a man who is already taken. “When I'm alone at night I sit and fantasize, and in my fantasies I love you long time...,” is a line that is raunchy and yet comedic.
‘Poppin’ , with its Austin Powers inspired beats, tells how much better girls have it at getting into and having a good time at night clubs with the line, “We're cuttin' straight in front of the line, the line bouncers gonna let us in cuz we're fine so fine. Girls you know we have it better than the boys.”
‘On & On’ is a track about having good times and enjoying life. “Honey's if your gay burn it up like a gay parade. Honey's if your straight bump it up take it all away,” this track will have many listeners getting up and shaking their tails.
The album ends with the ethereal ‘Sanctuary’, a track Utada recorded for Disney's and Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts II video game for the Playstation 2 game console.
The track combines the grandness of any Disney song with rock and an ethereal wave.
The diversity and dynamic energy of Utada’s latest release make this album truly The One.