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HIKARU UTADA ~ the discography rate [完了]


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Posted

Yeah the fact that we're barely into the top 80 and the average score is like 7.2... the #1 pick is gonna have like a 10.5 average and the top 10 is mostly gonna be fueled by 11s nnnn

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Posted
4 hours ago, Subomie said:

86.png

 

HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 2 (gingguu, Hey Dude)

LOWEST SCORE: 1 x 1 (AMIT, Suilen)

MY SCORE: 7

 

Literally translating to "A Bouquet for You", this track was the first (official) taste of Fantome that fans got. Arriving as the joint lead single in April 2016, Hanataba o Kimi ni represented the end of Hikaru's long-standing hiatus and a return to active album campaigns (and not just standalone singles). Of course, hype was high and the track charted at #2 on the Billboard Digital charts, selling over 750k copies and being certified triple platinum. A pretty resounding success as far as a comeback is concerned, no?

 

The song got two music videos: a short animated papercut style video, released in April, and a more traditional video shot in black and white, released closer to the album in September. The latter video is quite pretty, and I'll certainly take a video like that over no video or one of the tragic in-studio videos from the Heart Station era, but... it's a little plain.

 

Now, while this song is certainly pretty, I can't help but feel that it's a little... slight for a comeback single? I mean, they released two singles at once so perhaps it could've been paired with a more outwardly epic song or even an upbeat track (Michi?) to give some sense of duality? A Sasha Fierce chai, perchance? But nah, Manatsu no Tōriame, the sister release, is a pretty chilled song too, so it seems a weird release strategy to me.

 

The best I can make of it is that the titular bouquet is a gift for the fans, thanking them for such a long wait... and telling them they'd have to wait just a little longer to get the good stuff.

 

Idk tho!

 

 

Curaga is a fan, through and through: "Pretty. Love the contrast between the tender, breathy moments and the rock drums coming back in."

AMIT? Oh, we're in hater land now: "awful, completely killed my hype for the album although I still like the album. plus she had already attempted this sound (and better) for arashi no megami and even then it was just ok."

Imagine waiting 6 years (well, actually 4, and only because Sakura Nagashi was that good), especially following the triple punch of Goodbye Happiness, Show Me Love and SN, praying for Godtada to end the reign of terror of NishiNO (well, in a hindsight, they kinda did), and you get THIS. I was mad as hell. It isn't the worst song ever but in the context it sure felt like one.

  • Thanks 1
Posted
5 hours ago, Subomie said:

U better drag @willmcclure9 !

pls i made this account when i was like 13 :jonny6:

  • Haha 1
Posted
6 hours ago, Subomie said:

86.png

 

HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 2 (gingguu, Hey Dude)

LOWEST SCORE: 1 x 1 (AMIT, Suilen)

MY SCORE: 7

 

Literally translating to "A Bouquet for You", this track was the first (official) taste of Fantome that fans got. Arriving as the joint lead single in April 2016, Hanataba o Kimi ni represented the end of Hikaru's long-standing hiatus and a return to active album campaigns (and not just standalone singles). Of course, hype was high and the track charted at #2 on the Billboard Digital charts, selling over 750k copies and being certified triple platinum. A pretty resounding success as far as a comeback is concerned, no?

 

The song got two music videos: a short animated papercut style video, released in April, and a more traditional video shot in black and white, released closer to the album in September. The latter video is quite pretty, and I'll certainly take a video like that over no video or one of the tragic in-studio videos from the Heart Station era, but... it's a little plain.

 

Now, while this song is certainly pretty, I can't help but feel that it's a little... slight for a comeback single? I mean, they released two singles at once so perhaps it could've been paired with a more outwardly epic song or even an upbeat track (Michi?) to give some sense of duality? A Sasha Fierce chai, perchance? But nah, Manatsu no Tōriame, the sister release, is a pretty chilled song too, so it seems a weird release strategy to me.

 

The best I can make of it is that the titular bouquet is a gift for the fans, thanking them for such a long wait... and telling them they'd have to wait just a little longer to get the good stuff.

 

Idk tho!

 

 

Curaga is a fan, through and through: "Pretty. Love the contrast between the tender, breathy moments and the rock drums coming back in."

AMIT? Oh, we're in hater land now: "awful, completely killed my hype for the album although I still like the album. plus she had already attempted this sound (and better) for arashi no megami and even then it was just ok."

GOOD RIDDANCE! One of her most boring songs 

  • Like 1
Posted
7 hours ago, Subomie said:

86.png

 

HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 2 (gingguu, Hey Dude)

LOWEST SCORE: 1 x 1 (AMIT, Suilen)

MY SCORE: 7

 

Literally translating to "A Bouquet for You", this track was the first (official) taste of Fantome that fans got. Arriving as the joint lead single in April 2016, Hanataba o Kimi ni represented the end of Hikaru's long-standing hiatus and a return to active album campaigns (and not just standalone singles). Of course, hype was high and the track charted at #2 on the Billboard Digital charts, selling over 750k copies and being certified triple platinum. A pretty resounding success as far as a comeback is concerned, no?

 

The song got two music videos: a short animated papercut style video, released in April, and a more traditional video shot in black and white, released closer to the album in September. The latter video is quite pretty, and I'll certainly take a video like that over no video or one of the tragic in-studio videos from the Heart Station era, but... it's a little plain.

 

Now, while this song is certainly pretty, I can't help but feel that it's a little... slight for a comeback single? I mean, they released two singles at once so perhaps it could've been paired with a more outwardly epic song or even an upbeat track (Michi?) to give some sense of duality? A Sasha Fierce chai, perchance? But nah, Manatsu no Tōriame, the sister release, is a pretty chilled song too, so it seems a weird release strategy to me.

 

The best I can make of it is that the titular bouquet is a gift for the fans, thanking them for such a long wait... and telling them they'd have to wait just a little longer to get the good stuff.

 

Idk tho!

 

 

Curaga is a fan, through and through: "Pretty. Love the contrast between the tender, breathy moments and the rock drums coming back in."

AMIT? Oh, we're in hater land now: "awful, completely killed my hype for the album although I still like the album. plus she had already attempted this sound (and better) for arashi no megami and even then it was just ok."

omg taste is gone how can u give 1 this beautiful track

Posted

Kind of loving the fact that I’m just learning today that miss Hanataba is polarizing, like this is fascinating

Posted
6 hours ago, Cruel Summer said:

I’m realizing just now that I don’t actually have a single clue what I expect at #1? :rip:

Same, I expected First Love to be top 3 

 

Inb4 my 11 won 

Posted

Only really sad about Drama this update, First Love is technically my most-played song from the album, and it's nice and all, but Utada has grown so much as an artist since then that I think that the placement is OK. 

Posted

79.png

 

HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 1 (scenekiller)

LOWEST SCORE: 4.2 x 1 (Aria0327)

MY SCORE: 8.5

 

You know, the existence of this track really means that Boku wa Kuma had no excuse to be as mid as it is. Nijiiro Bus ("Rainbow-Colored Bus") covers a lot of similar territory to that other song, being a joyful bop with a very child-friendly sound and message, but this one manages to somewhat meld it in with the style of Heart Station, at least in a way that doesn't leave it sounding like a total outlier. You know? It's an uplifting track about leaving worries behind, great for the kids. Hikaru wrote it by using their "childhood memories and all sorts of other nostalgic thoughts".


I would probably still rearrange the tracklisting so that this isn't the closing song, but I do like it a lot. It's one of the more enjoyable tracks on Heart Station to these ears. The chorus is an easy earworm, and the beat is one that you can tap your feet too. This is actually the longest track on the album, which always surprises me. It never registers as an overly long track to me! Then again, that extended outro is some ethereal bliss, so I hardly notice it going by at all.

 

 

Curaga is half-and-half on this track: "The chorus melody is so cheesy, but I like this instrumental and the verses better than I remember." No cheesy, wholesome! Wholesome!

 

  • Like 1
Posted
7 minutes ago, Subomie said:

 

 

HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 1 (scenekiller)

LOWEST SCORE: 4.2 x 1 (Aria0327)

MY SCORE: 8.5

 

I guess not everybody feels the same? :fan:

Posted

Goodbye, bus song! Now everything left from Heart Station is either an amazing track or titled Beautiful World! :heart2:

Posted
13 minutes ago, Subomie said:

79.png

The way they must've been nursing a serious headache during this album shoot, poor thing.

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Posted

I quite like it especially when it hits but being placed after Kuma and sharing the cheery vibe kinda takes away from it.

  • Like 1
Posted
Just now, Cruel Summer said:

Goodbye, bus song! Now everything left from Heart Station is either an amazing track or titled Beautiful World! :heart2:

gretchen-faca-gretchen.gif

 

Beautiful World slander? Oh that’s not—

  • Like 1
Posted

Would you guys like the eliminations earlier today? Or was yesterday's batch a good time? I just got off work so I do need to make some food, but I already got my totally legal copy of Photoshop open making the grafix xx

Posted
1 minute ago, Subomie said:

Would you guys like the eliminations earlier today? Or was yesterday's batch a good time? I just got off work so I do need to make some food, but I already got my totally legal copy of Photoshop open making the grafix xx

I'd prefer earlier, had to go to bed earlier yesterday because I didn't get enough sleep after staying up all night for the results before :snowman:

  • Like 1
Posted
8 minutes ago, Curaga said:

gretchen-faca-gretchen.gif

 

Beautiful World slander? Oh that’s not—

It’s a really great song until she gets to the chorus, to be fair! And then it’s great again between the choruses! :heart: The Bad Mode version did make me think a little better of it, but the original is still not very high on the list for me. It’s just something about that damn chorus.

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Posted
1 minute ago, Suilen said:

I'd prefer earlier, had to go to bed earlier yesterday because I didn't get enough sleep after staying up all night for the results before :snowman:

I'm so sorry :gaycat6: Ok, results coming soon!

  • Like 1
Posted
21 minutes ago, Subomie said:

Would you guys like the eliminations earlier today? Or was yesterday's batch a good time? I just got off work so I do need to make some food, but I already got my totally legal copy of Photoshop open making the grafix xx

Any time for me is good :smile:

 

Spoiler

Adobe Illustrator is also fun to mess with :1stplace:

:eli:

 

Posted
15 hours ago, Suilen said:

Imagine waiting 6 years (well, actually 4, and only because Sakura Nagashi was that good), especially following the triple punch of Goodbye Happiness, Show Me Love and SN, praying for Godtada to end the reign of terror of NishiNO (well, in a hindsight, they kinda did), and you get THIS. I was mad as hell. It isn't the worst song ever but in the context it sure felt like one.

Twinning back ON

 

1*K5F75blCytIVq33N_HxJtA.gif

  • Like 2
Posted
51 minutes ago, Subomie said:

79.png

 

HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 1 (scenekiller)

LOWEST SCORE: 4.2 x 1 (Aria0327)

MY SCORE: 8.5

 

You know, the existence of this track really means that Boku wa Kuma had no excuse to be as mid as it is. Nijiiro Bus ("Rainbow-Colored Bus") covers a lot of similar territory to that other song, being a joyful bop with a very child-friendly sound and message, but this one manages to somewhat meld it in with the style of Heart Station, at least in a way that doesn't leave it sounding like a total outlier. You know? It's an uplifting track about leaving worries behind, great for the kids. Hikaru wrote it by using their "childhood memories and all sorts of other nostalgic thoughts".


I would probably still rearrange the tracklisting so that this isn't the closing song, but I do like it a lot. It's one of the more enjoyable tracks on Heart Station to these ears. The chorus is an easy earworm, and the beat is one that you can tap your feet too. This is actually the longest track on the album, which always surprises me. It never registers as an overly long track to me! Then again, that extended outro is some ethereal bliss, so I hardly notice it going by at all.

 

 

Curaga is half-and-half on this track: "The chorus melody is so cheesy, but I like this instrumental and the verses better than I remember." No cheesy, wholesome! Wholesome!

 

I gave this a 7 but it should have been more tbh. It's both cute and ethereal like you said. A combination that isn't exactly easy to pull off, such a vibe. 

  • Like 2
Posted

perchedt

 

fac21aaf614d3899c7a315eb4f3f96d4482c4d2a

Posted

78.png

 

11 x 1 (Cruel Summer)

 

HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 1 (scenekiller)

LOWEST SCORE: 2.5 x 1 (Hey Dude)

MY SCORE: 7.5

 

Slotted between two of my favorite Hatsukoi tracks, Yūnagi has it rough. My score is a little middling I admit, but I still believe Yūnagi is a nice track. Just one that so happens to be nestled between even nicer tracks. A piano-led ballad that translates to 'Evening Calm', the song is very sweet, full of cute melodies. I just think that by this point on the album, I'm getting a little tired out on the piano ballads and string sections. I know it's not her fault, but...

 

Now lyrically? That's where Yūnagi most interests me. The calm being referred to in the title, that's implied to be death, right? That's what they mean about everything one day ending. And the imagery of embracing somebody you love only to find they've become so much smaller than you remember? They're fading away right in front of you? That's brutal! Everybody's story will end, but the world will remain same as it always was - the ultimate calm. Poignant!

 

 

Luckily, not everybody got tired of the strings, a la Curaga: "Pretty, but gets a little repetitive. Love the strings again."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And while we put Yūnagi to rest, let's also say...

 

77.png

 

HIGHEST SCORE: 10 x 2 (Hey Dude, nostalgic)

LOWEST SCORE: 5 x 3 (Curaga, Ewan Chaos, bestfiction)

MY SCORE: 8

 

This one always fucks me up a little bit, cus it has such an 'album closer' vibe to it, right? I mean, not just because it's called Good Night, but also that it mostly consists of loooong repetitions of the title, scored over some powerful strings and a gentle guitar. Like, I'm always half-expecting the album to stop when this song finishes and instead I get... that track. I'm not the only one who thinks that way, right?

 

But none of that is Good Night's fault. As is, I think it's a nice tune! Like I said, the whole thing gives album ending vibes in that it tries to go for a soaring finale number and somewhat sticks the landing. It sounds beautiful, no doubt, but a lot of Hatsukoi tracks are polished and pretty too. Stuck in the middle of the album, it can sometimes get lost among the pack I think.

 

Oh, and apparently it was used as a theme song for the anime movie "Penguin Highway"! Now I have to Google that and see what it's about...

 

 

Curaga is wide awake, not ready for bed: "Funny to me that this song seems to be a fan favorite because I think the hook is so boring."

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