Hikari (Utada Hikaru)

CD Art

Artist

Utada Hikaru

Single

Hikari (光)

Released

2002.03.20

Catalog Number

TOCT-4361

Price

¥1,100

Tracklist

1. Hikari (光; Light)
2. Hikari -PLANITb Remix- (光)
3. Hikari -Godson Mix- (光)
4. Hikari -Original Karaoke- (光)

Information

Hikari is Utada Hikaru's 10th single. Hikari was used as the theme song for the Japanese-language release of the game Kingdom Hearts. The English version of the song, Simple And Clean, is well-known to English-speakers due to the fact that it was used in the English-language releases of Kingdom Hearts. Simple And Clean was also used in both Japanese and English-language releases of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Hikari reached #1 on Oricon charts and charted for 13 weeks. It became the #10 best selling single of 2002 in Japan. This single, as well as FINAL DISTANCE and SAKURA Drops / Letters, strangely did not chart in the world charts in either airplay nor sales. The most recent figures (May 26, 2006) show that the single sold 598,130 units in total.

Song Information

Lyrics

Utada Hikaru

Music

Utada Hikaru

Other Information

Arrangement: Utada Hikaru and Kawano Kei

Recording: Ugajin Masaaki at Bunkamura Studio, Tokyo

Keyboards and Programming: Kawano Kei

Synthesizer Programming: Tsunemi Kazuhide

Acoustic Guitar: Akiyama Hironori

Hikari is the Kingdom Hearts theme songs for the Japanese release. It should be noted that the English version, Simple And Clean, is Hikari sung in English and in a different order with the chorus from Uso Mitai na I Love You. The PV for Hikari was directed by Kiriya Kazuaki, and is filmed in a simple, clean and light manner.

Utada Quotes

• "Actually we were to shoot the PV of Hikari with him (Kazuaki Kiriya) but it didn't come true due to his scheduling conflicts at the last moment and that's why we requested Kiriya urgently to shoot that dish-washing video." --Utada Hikaru

• "I was both happy and surprised as Hikari did very well on the radio and sold more than I thought it would (yeah, I was really thinking of that song like 'I bet this won't sell well' as always!)" --Utada Hikaru

• "Though I heard that everyone had been surprised by the title of this song at first, in reality I didn't think that it would have so much impact. But when I finished making it, I felt, 'If I keep making songs all my life, perhaps this is the best one.' I was satisfied that way with this song. As I gave my name clearly, this is the most important one in my life." --Utada Hikaru

• "The title is actually my own name...a kanji character. I guess it just shows how much love I have for the song, to the point where I would give my own name to it; like a 'Hikaru junior' or something. I think the big thing about this song is that it's really, really me, just straight out - but a lot of that lies in the lyrics. The lyrics are really special and I wish that if you don't understand Japanese that there's someway that you could get a translation of it or hear about what it says. It's kind of cute; it's got lines like, 'Let's go eat something good tonight for dinner and just forget about this stuff in the future', and you know. 'Thank you from my family and everything will be fine', little sunny things like that. So, hopefully, even without that, I hope you can enjoy the music and the song and the melody and everything 'cause I have love for all that too, of course. Once again, thank you for your support wherever you are and wherever I am right now." --Utada Hikaru

• "So!!! Has the PV of Hikari been aired on TV yet? (and the release date is really coming closer now, isn't it?). Have you already seen it? I'm really looking forward to hearing your impressions! What do you think of it? I think it, Mr. PV, is excellent! I wonder if you'd be surprised. I'm happy if you'll be surprised. 'Cause, my last PV was traveling, the previous one of that was Final Distance (or was that FINAL DISTANCE?? I always get picky when deciding how to spell the titles, but...err...I forgot which it was! It's just slipped my memory) and before that was "Can You Keep A Secret?, right? These PVs are really complex, making the most of computer graphics and I went to space or another world and played with a robot in them. Those who have seen these PVs would expect they could find my latest PV exciting again. Well...I made it!!! It's like, 'You did what we couldn't imagine, Utada!' As far as I looked around my fan sites, it has a favorable reception so far!!! But I guess most of you haven't seen it yet, so I'll wait for your comments calmly!" --Utada Hikaru

Lyrics

In many of Utada's songs you are able to hear English lyrics that are not in the booklet or official lyrics. For Hikari, they are: "When you turn my way; take it all away".

Disambiguation

There are ten versions of Hikari to be found in Utada's discography (listed chronologically). Note that these do not include versions of Simple And Clean. These different versions are:

Hikari

Found on Hikari single as track one, on DEEP RIVER album as track 12, Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL.1 album as track 12 and the Kingdom Hearts Soundtrack as track 30 (on the second disc). This is the version set to the PV.

Hikari (PLANITb Remix)

Found on Hikari single as track two. This is a fast paced dance style remix of Hikari.

Hikari (Godson mix)

Found on Hikari single as track three. This remix is more laid back than the standard version.

Hikari (Original Karaoke)

Found on Hikari single as track four. This is the standard version without Utada's singing.

Hikari - KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version

Found on the Kingdom Hearts Soundtrack as track two on disc 1. This is the vocalless orchestral version that is also found in the game Kingdom Hearts. This version is found on both US and Japanese versions of the soundtrack.

Hikari -PLANITb Remix- (Short Edit)

Found on the Kingdom Hearts Soundtrack as track three on disc 1. This is an edit of the PLANITb Remix and was used for the Kingdom Hearts starting video. This version is only found on the Japanese version of the soundtrack.

Hikari -KINGDOM HEARTS Instrumental Version-

Found on the Kingdom Hearts Soundtrack as track 23 on disc 2. This is an instrumentalisation of the chorus of the song. This version is found on both US and Japanese versions of the soundtrack.

Hikari (Budokan Live)

Found on Utada Hikaru in Budokan 2004 - Hikaru no 5 DVD concert as track one. The clip of this performance was plugged as a music video on TV stations.

Hikari (Harmony Orchestra)

Found twice on the HARMONY~J-pop Meets Classics~for slow life collection; once as track #2 on the Utada Hikaru CD on the original boxed set, and as track #3 of the 3rd CD (Dinner Time) on the second boxed set. This has no vocals, and is performed by The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra.

Hikari (Utada United Live)

Found on UTADA UNITED 2006 DVD as track #21.

External Links

• Oricon Profile