Sakura Drops

SAKURA Drops / Letters Cover

Artist: Utada Hikaru
Song: SAKURA Drops (SAKURAドロップス)
Lyrics: Utada Hikaru
Music: Utada Hikaru
Other Information: Production: Miyake Akira, Utada Hikaru and Utada Skingg Teruzane; Arrangement: Utada Hikaru and Kawano Kei; Keyboards and Programming: Kawano Kei; Basic Programming: Utada Hikaru; Synthesizer Programming: Tsunemi Kazuhide; Electric Guitar: Akiyama Hironori; Guitar Sample: Honda Larry Yuichiro; All Vocals: Utada Hikaru; Recording: Matsui Atsushi and Ugajin Masaaki at Bunkamura Studio.; Mixing: Goh Hotoda at Bunkumura Studio

SAKURA Drops was used as the theme song for the dorama First Love. SAKURA Drops is the last PV in the Kiriya Trilogy (Following up FINAL DISTANCE and traveling). The PV was directed by Kiriya Kazuaki.

Utada Quotes

"SAKURA Drops, when you hear it briefly, might give you a slightly different impression from the theme I intended. (This might be also what I intended!) The word SAKURA reminds us of something like springtime, but actually it is a song of early summer. And though a 'woman' appears in the song, I got a part of inspiration from a fighting manga for boys. I think all the women have, somewhere in their minds, certain aspects of temperament and unexpectedness, which are charming, or somewhat close to anger, or sometimes like those of adolescents; I meant to describe the aspects like that. I guess soon you'll have more opportunity to hear it and the more you listen to the song or read the lyrics the more different interpretation you might get to have on it, just like I and the production team had. Once I heard that perfumes change their smells uniquely depending on the person's skin or constitution as they merge into the skin little by little (why do I, a perfume hater, know such things??), and I'd like the song to vary its color inside each one who listens to it, just like the perfumes." --Utada Hikaru

"You feel that this is an unexpected title, don't you? I didn't like to give this song with an easy title. Because I wrote the lyrics by using the symbolic word SAKURA which is easily understood and has strong impact, it's mortifying that I allowed this word to narrow the image of the song down. Then I had such an image of DROPS as something falling down or whirling rather than one of SAKURA; When you think of the word DROPS, you can imagine anything like candy, rain drops; that are waterdrops of rain, or now drops; so I felt 'Oh! I do not mind giving an impacted title like this to the song.' By the way, at first I titled it SAKURA DROP; but I thought 'It's no good! It sounds like professional wrestling'; then I named it so (smile)." --Utada Hikaru

There are seven versions of SAKURA Drops to be found in Utada's discography (listed chronologically). These different versions are:

SAKURA Drops: Found on SAKURA Drops / Letters single as track one, DEEP RIVER album as track one and Utada Hikaru SINGLE COLLECTION VOL.1 as track 13. This is the version set to the PV.
SAKURA Drops -Original Karaoke-: Found on SAKURA Drops / Letters single as track three. This is the same version as SAKURA Drops, except without the main vocals of the song.
SAKURA Drops (Sonic Sprout Mix): Found on SAKURA Drops (Sonic Sprout Mix) promotional vinyl as track one. This was a defunct promo remix that was never released.
SAKURA Drops (Sonic Sprout Mix) (Instrumental): Found on SAKURA Drops (Sonic Sprout Mix) promotional vinyl as track two. This was a defunct promo remix that was never released.
SAKURA Drops (Budokan Live): Found on Utada Hikaru in Budokan 2004 - Hikaru no 5 DVD as track eight. The composition of this live has not changed much compared to the standard version.
SAKURA Drops (Harmony Orchestra): Found twice on the HARMONY~J-pop Meets Classics~for slow life collection; once as track #3 on the Utada Hikaru CD on the original boxed set and as track #1 of the 3rd CD (Dinner Time) on the second boxed set. This has no vocals, and is performed by The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra.
SAKURA Drops (Utada United Live): Found on Utada United 2006 DVD as track #6. This version starts out with Utada breathing and then an acapella going into the song.