Goodbye Happiness
Encyclopedia
"Goodbye Happiness" is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter
Hikaru Utada. It was released as the lead track from Utada's second Japanese compilation album, Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2
, in November 2010. The song was commercially successful, topping Billboard
's Japan Hot 100
chart in December 2010, and in January 2011 was certified gold by the RIAJ for more than 100,000 full-length downloads to cellphones.
/electronic
song with an arrangement consisting of piano
, vocal harmonies, percussion and synths, with occasional background 8-bit sounds. The song features background vocals by four women recorded in London in August 2010, described in the documentary Hikaru Utada: Ima no Watashi, as Celtic. Utada chose this singing style for its nostalgic, dream-like qualities. This is the first instance of background vocals in a Hikaru Utada song not being performed by her.
The chorus features increased string instrument-style synths and percussion. The lyrics begin by describing different scenes, a boy in a summer day who has eaten his sweets, and a sunburnt woman wearing a dirty white dress. The lyrics then describe a relationship at the "end of a dream." The song's protagonist hums love songs to herself, and has fun without thinking. She realises she cannot rebuild her relationship, and notices that "when people become alone, they realise the meaning of love." However, she believes it will be good for her to keep living how she is now.
Utada wrote the song while attempting to write a love song. She considers the lyrics to be a reconciliation with her former self.
The song was performed during Utada's two date concert series Wild Life
in December 2010.
, as opposed to her stage name. Originally Utada planned to have a director other than herself for the music video, however, during meetings with the director, she realised that she was the only person who could express things in the way that she wanted, and decided to film it herself.
The video has a concept of Utada as a presenter, and attempted to incorporate entertaining aspects. Utada felt the video had a feeling of looking back on her past self. The video was recorded in a single take, and is shot from a static camera. In the video, Utada sits down at a desk in a bedroom and mimes to the song. She wears headphones, similar to her video for "Heart Station
". Hand-puppets mime parts of the song, two worn by Utada, and others held by people off-screen. During the chorus, Utada pushes aside her desk chair and dances in the room. During the second chorus, the room darkens and Utada dances on a yellow chair, similar to that of her video for "Automatic". During the bridge, she stands in front of a blackboard with mathematical formulate on it. During the instrumental section of the song, the room darkens and a disco ball lowers. Utada then dons the head piece of her kigurumi
Kuma-Chang outfit, similar to her ad campaign for Recochoku in 2008. The video ends with Utada dancing with a flag and a hat like her video for "Traveling". A pizza delivery man arrives, with a pizza box full of doves.
While the video is shot in a set, not Utada's personal bedroom, although many of the items in the room are owned by her.
The video has references to video sharing site YouTube
. At the start of the video, the YouTube loading symbol appears. In the bottom left corner of the screen, a fake logo reading "UTube" can be seen, and at the end of the video, false suggestions to view Utada's other videos are shown, in the manner that YouTube suggests related videos at the end of viewing something. The suggested videos are all the ones previously referenced.
The video was uploaded onto YouTube on November 9, 2010, as the first video on Utada's newly established official YouTube channel.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Hikaru Utada. It was released as the lead track from Utada's second Japanese compilation album, Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2
Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2
Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2 is Japanese pop singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada's second compilation album, released on November 24, 2010, the same day as her Universal-released English language compilation album, Utada the Best...
, in November 2010. The song was commercially successful, topping Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Japan Hot 100
Japan Hot 100
The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com ....
chart in December 2010, and in January 2011 was certified gold by the RIAJ for more than 100,000 full-length downloads to cellphones.
Composition and inspiration
The song is a popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
/electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
song with an arrangement consisting of piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, vocal harmonies, percussion and synths, with occasional background 8-bit sounds. The song features background vocals by four women recorded in London in August 2010, described in the documentary Hikaru Utada: Ima no Watashi, as Celtic. Utada chose this singing style for its nostalgic, dream-like qualities. This is the first instance of background vocals in a Hikaru Utada song not being performed by her.
The chorus features increased string instrument-style synths and percussion. The lyrics begin by describing different scenes, a boy in a summer day who has eaten his sweets, and a sunburnt woman wearing a dirty white dress. The lyrics then describe a relationship at the "end of a dream." The song's protagonist hums love songs to herself, and has fun without thinking. She realises she cannot rebuild her relationship, and notices that "when people become alone, they realise the meaning of love." However, she believes it will be good for her to keep living how she is now.
Utada wrote the song while attempting to write a love song. She considers the lyrics to be a reconciliation with her former self.
Promotion
The song was used in an advertising commercial campaign for Recochoku digital media store, with the commercial airing from November 10 onwards. The music video was bundled on a special DVD that came with pre-orders of the album.The song was performed during Utada's two date concert series Wild Life
Wild Life (concert)
WILD LIFE was Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada's final concert tour before her scheduled hiatus from 2011. Performing only two dates at the Yokohama Arena, Japan on December 8 and 9 2010.-Set list:-Tickets:...
in December 2010.
Music video
The music video was directed by Hikaru Utada personally, the first time Utada has worked as a music video director. As a director, Utada used her birth name in kanjiKanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
, as opposed to her stage name. Originally Utada planned to have a director other than herself for the music video, however, during meetings with the director, she realised that she was the only person who could express things in the way that she wanted, and decided to film it herself.
The video has a concept of Utada as a presenter, and attempted to incorporate entertaining aspects. Utada felt the video had a feeling of looking back on her past self. The video was recorded in a single take, and is shot from a static camera. In the video, Utada sits down at a desk in a bedroom and mimes to the song. She wears headphones, similar to her video for "Heart Station
Heart Station/Stay Gold
"Heart Station/Stay Gold" is Hikaru Utada's 20th Japanese single . The single was released on February 20, 2008, her first for 2008 with its first pressings featuring an official "Heart Station" sticker....
". Hand-puppets mime parts of the song, two worn by Utada, and others held by people off-screen. During the chorus, Utada pushes aside her desk chair and dances in the room. During the second chorus, the room darkens and Utada dances on a yellow chair, similar to that of her video for "Automatic". During the bridge, she stands in front of a blackboard with mathematical formulate on it. During the instrumental section of the song, the room darkens and a disco ball lowers. Utada then dons the head piece of her kigurumi
Kigurumi
is the Japanese name for costumed performers who represent cartoon characters, often animals. The name comes from the Japanese verb and noun . These performers appear at shopping malls, theme parks, and anime conventions...
Kuma-Chang outfit, similar to her ad campaign for Recochoku in 2008. The video ends with Utada dancing with a flag and a hat like her video for "Traveling". A pizza delivery man arrives, with a pizza box full of doves.
While the video is shot in a set, not Utada's personal bedroom, although many of the items in the room are owned by her.
The video has references to video sharing site YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. At the start of the video, the YouTube loading symbol appears. In the bottom left corner of the screen, a fake logo reading "UTube" can be seen, and at the end of the video, false suggestions to view Utada's other videos are shown, in the manner that YouTube suggests related videos at the end of viewing something. The suggested videos are all the ones previously referenced.
The video was uploaded onto YouTube on November 9, 2010, as the first video on Utada's newly established official YouTube channel.
Chart rankings
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Japan Adult Contemporary Airplay |
1 |
| Billboard Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
1 |
| RIAJ Digital Track Chart RIAJ Digital Track Chart The is chart ranks the best selling digital singles in Japan, provided by the Recording Industry Association of Japan since April 2009. The chart measures cellphone downloads .... Top 100 |
8 |
Certifications
| Chart | Amount |
|---|---|
| RIAJ full-length cellphone downloads | Gold (100,000+) |
Chart procession and succession
Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | Radio add date | |
| Ringtone | ||
| Full-length cellphone download | ||
| PC download |