Heart Station (album)
Encyclopedia
All songs arranged by Hikaru Utada.
Except:
Just over two weeks later, on February 7, 2008, Utada revealed in her blog that she had done one of the album's first direct promotional efforts by having done an interview and photoshoot with Rockin' on Japan, one of the nation's foremost music magazines. It had been six years since her last appearance in the publication, and according to the magazine's official blog, this issue will in fact hit newsstands on April 20, 2008 (the May issue). On February 19, 2008, it was revealed that Space Shower TV would be airing a special, 60-minute program entitled "V.I.P Utada," on March 8, 2008, featuring new interview clips of her talking about the album in anticipation of its close release. On the same day, it was confirmed another TV program, this time Fuji T.V.'s Domoto Kyoudai hosted by the popular J-pop KinKi Kids
duo, would also be doing prelusive promotion for the album on March 16, 2008. This will also be Utada's first appearance and interview at the latter. Utada's Japanese site was updated February 21, 2008, with a list of television appearances she would make in the coming weeks for the upcoming release's promotion. The albums's opening track,"Fight the Blues" will be its pre-release promotional single, and will air on Japanese radio and be available for download via USEN on March 3, 2008. On March 1, 2008, her official Japanese site disclosed an official magazine promotional list for Heart Station, with a large amount of 30 magazines hosting a standard short Q&A with artist's picture while four will have exclusive interviews and longer photoshoots (including the aforementioned "Rockin' on Japan" and a cover + 20 page exclusive for CD Data). EMI Japan made available all blog parts for all the "Heart Station" singles on March 2, 2008 between "Flavor of Life: Ballad Version" and the newer "Fight the Blues." The clips vary from a small bit to full-length. The same day a 45-second preview clip of "Fight the Blues" would be available for listening at her official website and, in addition to a 45-second promo clip of the same song featuring Utada lip-syncing along.
According to a new Livedoor article, also publicized March 2, 2008, it was announced EMI took the unusual measure of having the album mastered twice, once for the physical CD and separately for the digital release of the album. This process, a first for any Utada release, was taken to ensure the quality of the audio for both formats given their individual media differences. Both were mastered at New York’s Sterling Sound, with Ted Jensen and Tom Coyne handling the mastering for each version, respectively. Additionally, the article mentions that Chaku-Uta clips for all album tracks will be available on the album's release date, while Chaku-Uta Full and PC digital downloads (iTunes, etc.) will commence on March 26, 2008. The next day her official Japanese site was updated with 2 additional TV appearances in promotional support of the album. On March 31, 2008, Utada will be appearing on Hey!Hey!Hey! Music Champ’s Spring Live Special, and on April 4, 2008, TV Asahi’s Music Station Special. Both programs are live broadcasts, and both will mark Utada’s first appearance on any live special program in her career. Given these two special live performances, another eight TV appearances, a 34 magazine promotion, an eponymously-named site of blog parts and updates, and a special double-mastering of the physical and digital formats, "Heart Station" is easily Utada's most aggressively promoted musical release yet. The CX Domoto Kyoudai special featuring Utada was filmed the day of March 4, 2008, where she sang Flavor of Life
. The March 4, 2008 issue of Gyao Magazine that featured advertisements for the album also dispersed details on two album tracks, "Celebrate" and "Prisoner of Love," as "a hot dance tune" and "a ballad with a sad chord" respectively, and that this project as a whole was Utada's most "heartwarming" album to date. According to many Japanese sources, her appearance in NTV Music Lovers will be shot and recorded on March 16, 2008, and Japanese music fans are currently being contacted for the event, with no news yet on which song(s) she'd perform. March 18, 2008, it was revealed that "Prisoner of Love," an album track, would be her performance song at TV Asahi's Music Station Special, the official first performance of the song. Utada made her first ever appearance on Japanese music program "Music Lovers" on March 22, where she performed four songs, including “Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version-.” The session was filmed the week before in Utada’s recording studio in Shibuya. The full setlist was than still unknown. The next day after the episode aired in Japan, it was reported Utada sang 3 tracks off of her "Heart Station" album. First up was the opening track, “Fight The Blues,” followed by “Flavor Of Life: Ballad Version” and “Celebrate” (featuring a maracas shaking Utada). As mentioned in one of her recent blog updates, Utada was sick during the performance, and was noticeably (albeit not horribly) nasally for both her talk and performance. Her encore performance of “Boku wa Kuma” would be aired next week, as this week’s episode had to be cut down due to scheduling. Later, Music Lovers aired the encore of last week’s Utada performance March 30, featuring “Boku wa Kuma.” Utada performed the 3 minute song, playing the keyboard for the interlude portion. After being called back to the stage by the clapping of the audience, Utada explained that she wanted to perform one more song, “Boku wa Kuma,” a song which would keep her up at night were she not able to perform it that night.
Utada appeared March 8, 2008 on SSTV’s Chart Cobain program, talking more in depth about her upcoming album “Heart Station.” She mentioned the importance of softness for this album, and how it feels like her identity as a woman played an important role in the creation of the album. She also explained that it was important for her to be more accepting of what her role is as an artist. She specifically mentions “Flavor of Life -Ballad Version-,” which had a huge tie-in to a teen oriented drama, and that she views the simplicity of the song as less of lowering her level as an artist, but rather just broadening her reach as a musician. Some more information regarding tracks from Utada’s upcoming album, “Heart Station,” had been revealed on March 9, 2008, according to the latest issue of Gyao Magazine, “Take 5″ is the most unique sounding track off the album, while “Niji-iro Bus,” the last song on the record, is said to be a cute and bright tune. On March 10, 2008, two more lists of promotional activities, including online websites featuring album-related articles and radio interviews respectively, appeared at her official Japanese site.
According to a Yahoo! JP article, Japanese social networking service Mixi
, would collaborate with Utada and EMI Music Japan to celebrate her 10th anniversary as an artist as well as to promote her Heart Station. The campaign that was created between them commenced March 10, 2008 (the day of the article's posting) and ended on March 17, 2008 presented a special collaboration logo that replaced the normal Mixi logo on Mixi Mobile phones, prominently displaying “Utada Hikaru 10th Anniversary.” Links to the free “First Love” Chaku-Uta downloads are also present (which sold 700,000+ downloads within four days according to a Tokyograph article), helping to promote that campaign where the ringtones may be gifted to others, in time for Japan’s White Day
. In addition, members who write journal entries recalling their memories of their own “first love" are automatically entered to win special Utada and Mixi prizes.
Since the album was released on a Wednesday (the 19th), and Oricon's Daily sales charts are updated every Tuesday, the published first-week sales account did not include the 21,600 copies sold its first Monday of release, which would account for a more accurate total of 501,681 units sold on the album's first week. In its first week of sales, it eentered and ranked on the Oricon Daily charts at #1, and eventually 13th Weekly chart for the Oricon Style 2008 Year, from March 18, 2008 until March 24, outselling Shibasaki Kou's "Single Best" collection by an approximate 1:4 ratio (which was the only other album to sell more than 100,000 copies in the time period). For a slightly more detailed day-by-day approximation for its first-week sales, there were more than 224,000 sold units by March 20 (its first official two days on sale) and 357,554 by the 22nd, its first four days of sales. Despite falling to #2 on the Oricon Daily Albums chart on its second Tuesday, March 25, 2008 (the day of new sales rankings) to Exile
's Catchy Best, the album had sold an official upwards of 526,052 (or another 24,371 units as a Daily Chart total), and steadily remained ahead of noteworthy competition such as songstress Aoyama Thelma's debut Diary
and two remix albums by J-Diva Ayumi Hamasaki
. Despite falling to #3 Thursday and Friday on the Daily ranks, the album stayed solid at #2 for the rest of the second week of sales and had a 135,857 unit output over Thelma's "Diary," making it the official #1 selling original studio album by a female artist in Japan for 2008; thus, far ahead of Kumi Koda
's Kingdom
and Ayumi Hamasaki
's Guilty
.
The album also debuted at #3 and peaked at #1 on Itunes Japan's Top Albums Rankings on March 25, 2008, with a total digital sales figure yet to be determined. Billboard Japan updated their charts for the week of March 31 (which include digital sales in combination with airplay), with Utada taking the #1 spot on their Hot 100, Top Albums, and Hot 100 Airplay charts (Fight the Blues being on the composite Hot 100 songs and Hot 100 Airplay). The sudden rise on these charts can be attributed to the high first week physical album sales figures for “Heart Station.” Additionally, for this week, 16 out of the top 100 songs downloaded on iTunes Japan are Utada tracks, with “Prisoner Of Love” ranking highest at #1, followed by “Fight The Blues” at #7. On the album side, “Heart Station” ranks in at #1, ahead of 3 of her other albums for a total of 4 albums in the iTunes Japan Album Top 100 charts. The album also debuted on Taiwan's G-Music Combo and J-pop charts at #2 (6.23% of sales) and #1 (19.17% of sales) respectively in April for the week 3/28/08 through 4/03/08. However, this is Utada's last #1 album in Taiwan after Ultra Blue
also peaked at #1 for three consecutive weeks in the said chart. On the week of March 30, the album debuted at #4 on the Hong Kong Album Chart and rose to #2 its second week (April 6). On April 4, 2008, it reached #8 on the Korean Hanteo Weekly Pop Album Charts, as well as reaching a peak of #56 on the Itunes USA chart after being made available there the week of April 10.
On May 13, Barks.jp reported that the digital sales of all songs on the album had surpassed 15 million downloads.
On December 2, Tower Records Japan released their list of the Top Selling Albums of 2008, and Heart Station took the #2 spot, behind Namie Amuro
's Best Fiction
A day later, Itunes Japan released their yearly download chart and Heart Station took the #1 spot on the yearly album chart, as well as Prisoner of Love
taking the #3 spot on the yearly singles chart.
Except:
- 4. "Flavor of Life ~Ballad Version~" - arranged by Hikaru Utada, Alexis Smith, Yuzuru Tomita
- 11. "Boku wa Kuma" - arranged by Yuzuru Tomita & Hikaru Utada
Release history
| Country | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
March 19, 2008 | EMI Music Japan |
| Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour... |
Gold Typhoon | |
| Taiwan Taiwan Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following... |
Gold Typhoon | |
| South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
March 29, 2008 | EMI Korea Limited |
| Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
April 7, 2008 | EMI Music Canada |
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
|
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Capitol Capitol Records Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine... |
Singles
| Date | Title | Peak position | Weeks | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 22, 2006 | "Boku wa Kuma Boku wa Kuma is Hikaru Utada's 17th Japanese single . The single was released on November 22nd of 2006, just a matter of months after Hikaru's last studio effort, Ultra Blue, and only two months after the end of her tour, Utada United 2006.... " |
4 (Oricon) | 22 | 147,041 |
| February 28, 2007 | "Flavor of Life Flavor of Life "Flavor of Life" is Hikaru Utada's 18th Japanese single . The physical single was officially released on February 28, 2007.Compared to the preceding singles following Colors, Flavor of Life garnered far more success... " |
1 (Oricon) | 45 | 650,510 |
| August 29, 2007 | "Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry "Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry" is Utada Hikaru's 19th Japanese single . The single was released on August 29, 2007 as her second single for 2007. "Beautiful World" was re-released in 2009 as "Beautiful World " for the release of the movie Evangelion: 2.0 You Can Advance.Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry... " |
1 (Oricon) | 26 | 235,050 |
| February 20, 2008 | "Heart Station/Stay Gold 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.... " |
3 (Oricon) 3 (Billboard Japan Hot Single Sales) #2 (Billboard Japan Hot 100) 1 (Billboard Japan Hot 100 Airplay) |
11 | 76,762 |
| March 27, 2008 | "Fight the Blues Fight the Blues "Fight the Blues" is Utada Hikaru's second Japanese digital single and 29th single overall. It was released on March 27, 2008 as a promotional single for her fifth Japanese studio album. "Fight the Blues" was tied-in as the CM song for her Heart Station album... " - Digital |
1 (Billboard Japan Hot 100) 1 (Billboard Japan Hot 100 Airplay) #2 (J-Wave Tokio Hot 100 Singles) |
- | 80,000 downloads |
| May 21, 2008 | Prisoner of Love Prisoner of Love (Hikaru Utada song) -Digital sales information:On May 13, Barks.jp reported "Prisoner of Love" had sold over 1.5 million downloads across all formats, and on July 7, Yahoo!Japan reported it had sold over 2.9 million downloads, it has been certified by the RIAJ on September 2 for reaching the 1 million mark for... |
2 (Oricon) 2 (Billboard Japan Hot 100) 6 (Billboard Japan Hot 100 Airplay) 8 (J-Wave Tokio Hot 100 Singles) |
7 | 81,266 |
Album promotions
E-hon.com was the first website to post details on promotion of Utada's fifth Japanese album January 21, 2008, stating in its item summary that the "Boku Wa Kuma" track would be included in the tracklist, another (album) tie-up was in the works, and there would be a Media Blitz of TV commercials nationwide in Japan and Billboard Wraps in major cities.There were also some hyperbolic statements along the lines of "even as the music industry changes into a digital world, an enormous amount of care went into the creation of each and every track, making us realize that the album format will continue to live on strongly in the future." On January 24, 2008, e-hon.com revealed further specifities when they listed the album as "Heart Station," changed from "Undecided." EMI confirmed conflicting speculation on January 26, 2008 by revealing the album's title as indefinitely being "Heart Station," making this her first album titled after a track single released prior to the album's own.Just over two weeks later, on February 7, 2008, Utada revealed in her blog that she had done one of the album's first direct promotional efforts by having done an interview and photoshoot with Rockin' on Japan, one of the nation's foremost music magazines. It had been six years since her last appearance in the publication, and according to the magazine's official blog, this issue will in fact hit newsstands on April 20, 2008 (the May issue). On February 19, 2008, it was revealed that Space Shower TV would be airing a special, 60-minute program entitled "V.I.P Utada," on March 8, 2008, featuring new interview clips of her talking about the album in anticipation of its close release. On the same day, it was confirmed another TV program, this time Fuji T.V.'s Domoto Kyoudai hosted by the popular J-pop KinKi Kids
KinKi Kids
is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. Although the members share the same surname, the only relation they have to each other is that they both hail from the Kinki region, hence the duo's name....
duo, would also be doing prelusive promotion for the album on March 16, 2008. This will also be Utada's first appearance and interview at the latter. Utada's Japanese site was updated February 21, 2008, with a list of television appearances she would make in the coming weeks for the upcoming release's promotion. The albums's opening track,"Fight the Blues" will be its pre-release promotional single, and will air on Japanese radio and be available for download via USEN on March 3, 2008. On March 1, 2008, her official Japanese site disclosed an official magazine promotional list for Heart Station, with a large amount of 30 magazines hosting a standard short Q&A with artist's picture while four will have exclusive interviews and longer photoshoots (including the aforementioned "Rockin' on Japan" and a cover + 20 page exclusive for CD Data). EMI Japan made available all blog parts for all the "Heart Station" singles on March 2, 2008 between "Flavor of Life: Ballad Version" and the newer "Fight the Blues." The clips vary from a small bit to full-length. The same day a 45-second preview clip of "Fight the Blues" would be available for listening at her official website and, in addition to a 45-second promo clip of the same song featuring Utada lip-syncing along.
According to a new Livedoor article, also publicized March 2, 2008, it was announced EMI took the unusual measure of having the album mastered twice, once for the physical CD and separately for the digital release of the album. This process, a first for any Utada release, was taken to ensure the quality of the audio for both formats given their individual media differences. Both were mastered at New York’s Sterling Sound, with Ted Jensen and Tom Coyne handling the mastering for each version, respectively. Additionally, the article mentions that Chaku-Uta clips for all album tracks will be available on the album's release date, while Chaku-Uta Full and PC digital downloads (iTunes, etc.) will commence on March 26, 2008. The next day her official Japanese site was updated with 2 additional TV appearances in promotional support of the album. On March 31, 2008, Utada will be appearing on Hey!Hey!Hey! Music Champ’s Spring Live Special, and on April 4, 2008, TV Asahi’s Music Station Special. Both programs are live broadcasts, and both will mark Utada’s first appearance on any live special program in her career. Given these two special live performances, another eight TV appearances, a 34 magazine promotion, an eponymously-named site of blog parts and updates, and a special double-mastering of the physical and digital formats, "Heart Station" is easily Utada's most aggressively promoted musical release yet. The CX Domoto Kyoudai special featuring Utada was filmed the day of March 4, 2008, where she sang Flavor of Life
Flavor of Life
"Flavor of Life" is Hikaru Utada's 18th Japanese single . The physical single was officially released on February 28, 2007.Compared to the preceding singles following Colors, Flavor of Life garnered far more success...
. The March 4, 2008 issue of Gyao Magazine that featured advertisements for the album also dispersed details on two album tracks, "Celebrate" and "Prisoner of Love," as "a hot dance tune" and "a ballad with a sad chord" respectively, and that this project as a whole was Utada's most "heartwarming" album to date. According to many Japanese sources, her appearance in NTV Music Lovers will be shot and recorded on March 16, 2008, and Japanese music fans are currently being contacted for the event, with no news yet on which song(s) she'd perform. March 18, 2008, it was revealed that "Prisoner of Love," an album track, would be her performance song at TV Asahi's Music Station Special, the official first performance of the song. Utada made her first ever appearance on Japanese music program "Music Lovers" on March 22, where she performed four songs, including “Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version-.” The session was filmed the week before in Utada’s recording studio in Shibuya. The full setlist was than still unknown. The next day after the episode aired in Japan, it was reported Utada sang 3 tracks off of her "Heart Station" album. First up was the opening track, “Fight The Blues,” followed by “Flavor Of Life: Ballad Version” and “Celebrate” (featuring a maracas shaking Utada). As mentioned in one of her recent blog updates, Utada was sick during the performance, and was noticeably (albeit not horribly) nasally for both her talk and performance. Her encore performance of “Boku wa Kuma” would be aired next week, as this week’s episode had to be cut down due to scheduling. Later, Music Lovers aired the encore of last week’s Utada performance March 30, featuring “Boku wa Kuma.” Utada performed the 3 minute song, playing the keyboard for the interlude portion. After being called back to the stage by the clapping of the audience, Utada explained that she wanted to perform one more song, “Boku wa Kuma,” a song which would keep her up at night were she not able to perform it that night.
Utada appeared March 8, 2008 on SSTV’s Chart Cobain program, talking more in depth about her upcoming album “Heart Station.” She mentioned the importance of softness for this album, and how it feels like her identity as a woman played an important role in the creation of the album. She also explained that it was important for her to be more accepting of what her role is as an artist. She specifically mentions “Flavor of Life -Ballad Version-,” which had a huge tie-in to a teen oriented drama, and that she views the simplicity of the song as less of lowering her level as an artist, but rather just broadening her reach as a musician. Some more information regarding tracks from Utada’s upcoming album, “Heart Station,” had been revealed on March 9, 2008, according to the latest issue of Gyao Magazine, “Take 5″ is the most unique sounding track off the album, while “Niji-iro Bus,” the last song on the record, is said to be a cute and bright tune. On March 10, 2008, two more lists of promotional activities, including online websites featuring album-related articles and radio interviews respectively, appeared at her official Japanese site.
According to a Yahoo! JP article, Japanese social networking service Mixi
Mixi
mixi, Inc. is one of several social networking websites in Japan, founded in 2004. As of May 2008, mixi had over 21.6 million users and an 80% share of the social networking market in Japan...
, would collaborate with Utada and EMI Music Japan to celebrate her 10th anniversary as an artist as well as to promote her Heart Station. The campaign that was created between them commenced March 10, 2008 (the day of the article's posting) and ended on March 17, 2008 presented a special collaboration logo that replaced the normal Mixi logo on Mixi Mobile phones, prominently displaying “Utada Hikaru 10th Anniversary.” Links to the free “First Love” Chaku-Uta downloads are also present (which sold 700,000+ downloads within four days according to a Tokyograph article), helping to promote that campaign where the ringtones may be gifted to others, in time for Japan’s White Day
White Day
is a day that is marked in Japan and South Korea on March 14, one month after Valentine's Day.-In Japan:In Japan, Valentine's Day is observed by females who present chocolate gifts , usually to a male, as an expression of love, courtesy or social obligation...
. In addition, members who write journal entries recalling their memories of their own “first love" are automatically entered to win special Utada and Mixi prizes.
Tie ups and theme songs
- "," the first Heart Station single, was the Minna no UtaMinna no Uta, literally Everyone's Songs, is a five minute NHK TV and radio program broadcasting several times daily since 1961. The program is generally used as filler at the end of regular television programs...
children's music program theme song from October 2006 to January 2007.
- "Flavor of LifeFlavor of Life"Flavor of Life" is Hikaru Utada's 18th Japanese single . The physical single was officially released on February 28, 2007.Compared to the preceding singles following Colors, Flavor of Life garnered far more success...
: Ballad Version," the second Heart Station single, was featured as the insert song for the doramaJapanese television drama, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...
, "Hana Yori Dango 2Boys Over Flowersis a Japanese shōjo manga series written by Yoko Kamio. It was serialized in the bi-weekly anthology magazine Margaret, which is aimed at high-school-age girls. The manga series ran continuously from October 1992 to September 2003, and was collected into 37 tankōbon volumes. In 1996, it received...
".
- "Beautiful World/Kiss & CryBeautiful World/Kiss & Cry"Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry" is Utada Hikaru's 19th Japanese single . The single was released on August 29, 2007 as her second single for 2007. "Beautiful World" was re-released in 2009 as "Beautiful World " for the release of the movie Evangelion: 2.0 You Can Advance.Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry...
," the third Heart Station single, had major tie-ins for all three featured songs. The title track, "Beautiful World," is being used as the theme song for the upcoming first installment of the Rebuild of EvangelionRebuild of EvangelionRebuild of Evangelion, known in Japan as , is a Japanese animated film series and a remake of the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series. It is being produced by Studio Khara and KlockWorx in partnership with Gainax...
movies, and a new 2007 remix of Fly Me To The Moon, also included on the single, will be featured in the trailers of the movie. "Kiss & Cry," the second A-side of the single, was featured as the new "FreedomFreedom ProjectFreedom Project is a Japanese promotional project by Nissin Cup Noodles for their 35th anniversary in 2006. As part of the project, the 7-part OVA series, titled Freedom, was commissioned with and designed by Katsuhiro Otomo serving as the character and mecha designer...
Cup NoodlesCup noodlesCup Noodles is a brand of instant ramen noodle snack manufactured by Nissin, packaged in a polyethylene foam, hard plastic or paper cup. The product is known for being inexpensive and easy to prepare...
" commercial tie-in song.
- "Heart Station/Stay GoldHeart 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....
," the fourth Heart Station single, was featured as the Kao's Ascience late 2007/early 2008 "Prism Hair" Shampoo CMCM- Places :* Cameroon, which has the ISO and FIPS country code "CM"** .cm, the country code top-level domain for Cameroon* Chelmsford, which has the British post code "CM"- Science :* Centimetre a unit of length equal to one hundredth of a metre...
song (Stay Gold) and 2008 Recochoku Download Service song (Heart Station).
- "Prisoner of LovePrisoner of Love (Hikaru Utada song)-Digital sales information:On May 13, Barks.jp reported "Prisoner of Love" had sold over 1.5 million downloads across all formats, and on July 7, Yahoo!Japan reported it had sold over 2.9 million downloads, it has been certified by the RIAJ on September 2 for reaching the 1 million mark for...
" is the theme song for the Japanese drama "Last FriendsLast Friendsis a Japanese television drama which aired on Fuji TV at 10:00 pm every Thursday from April 10, 2008 until June 17, 2008. The special, consisting of a recap and some new additional scenes aired on June 26, 2008....
", which aired on April 10, 2008. This is the first time in Utada's career an album track not released as a single had a tie-in. On April 8, 2008, her official Japanese website posted news that “Prisoner Of Love,” the theme song to the then-upcoming Japanese drama “Last Friends,” would actually be released as a re-cut single on May 21 (her only other single besides "First Love" and "Distance" to have such a distinction). The single will include a DVD for the PVPVPV may refer to:In computing:* Page view, a metric in web analytics* Semaphores, from P and V operations in semaphores restricting processes in a shared environment...
(there is no CD only version) with a lengthy 8-page booklet, and will also contain a previously unreleased “Prisoner Of Love -Quiet Version-” on the CD, as well as respective original karaokes for both versions. According to a new Barks article published that same day,“Prisoner Of Love -Quiet Version-” will be played during the episodes of the “Last Friends,” and will act more so of an insert song, while the original album version will remain as the main theme song (played at the beginning credits). Chaku-Uta downloads for the Quiet Version begins May 1, followed by Chaku-Uta Full and PC downloads on the physical release date of May 21.
- "Fight the Blues", the pre-release promotional airplay/USEN single for the Heart Station album, was used during the ending credits of TBS’ houdou news NEXT program, with the first song-featured episode that aired on April 5, 2008.
Physical and digital sales information
Oricon Style web news announced the first week sales numbers for Utada’s latest album, Heart Station on March 24, 2008, and according to the music mag, the album sold approximately 480,081 units in its first week on sale in Japan, making it the highest first week album sales of 2008, and a predictable #1 debut week. This is Utada’s 6th consecutive weekly #1 debut album, and 5th consecutive weekly #1 for original albums, tying the record alongside the Checkers, Hikaru Genji, and Kinki Kids.Since the album was released on a Wednesday (the 19th), and Oricon's Daily sales charts are updated every Tuesday, the published first-week sales account did not include the 21,600 copies sold its first Monday of release, which would account for a more accurate total of 501,681 units sold on the album's first week. In its first week of sales, it eentered and ranked on the Oricon Daily charts at #1, and eventually 13th Weekly chart for the Oricon Style 2008 Year, from March 18, 2008 until March 24, outselling Shibasaki Kou's "Single Best" collection by an approximate 1:4 ratio (which was the only other album to sell more than 100,000 copies in the time period). For a slightly more detailed day-by-day approximation for its first-week sales, there were more than 224,000 sold units by March 20 (its first official two days on sale) and 357,554 by the 22nd, its first four days of sales. Despite falling to #2 on the Oricon Daily Albums chart on its second Tuesday, March 25, 2008 (the day of new sales rankings) to Exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
's Catchy Best, the album had sold an official upwards of 526,052 (or another 24,371 units as a Daily Chart total), and steadily remained ahead of noteworthy competition such as songstress Aoyama Thelma's debut Diary
Diary (Thelma Aoyama album)
Diary is Japanese Pop/R&B singer Thelma Aoyama's debut album. It was released on March 26, 2008 in Japan.-Track listing:# "My Beginning"# "Soba ni Iru ne feat. SoulJa "# "One Way"# "My dear friend"# "Last Letter"...
and two remix albums by J-Diva Ayumi Hamasaki
Ayumi Hamasaki
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, record producer, model, lyricist, and actress. Also called "Ayu" by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" because of her popularity and widespread influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to...
. Despite falling to #3 Thursday and Friday on the Daily ranks, the album stayed solid at #2 for the rest of the second week of sales and had a 135,857 unit output over Thelma's "Diary," making it the official #1 selling original studio album by a female artist in Japan for 2008; thus, far ahead of Kumi Koda
Kumi Koda
, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs. Having debuted in 2000 with the single "Take Back", Koda gained fame for her seventh single, "Real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba", the songs of which were used as themes for the video game...
's Kingdom
Kingdom (Kumi Koda album)
Kingdom is the sixth studio album by Koda Kumi released on January 30, 2008. The album debuted at number one on the Oricon Weekly Chart with sales of 421,302...
and Ayumi Hamasaki
Ayumi Hamasaki
is a Japanese singer-songwriter, record producer, model, lyricist, and actress. Also called "Ayu" by her fans, Hamasaki has been dubbed the "Empress of Pop" because of her popularity and widespread influence in Japan and throughout Asia. Born and raised in Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo at fourteen to...
's Guilty
Guilty (Ayumi Hamasaki album)
Guilty is the ninth studio album by Japanese pop singer-songwriter Ayumi Hamasaki, released by Avex Trax on January 1, 2008 in Japan and started appearing in stores on December 26, 2007. Hamasaki herself wrote all lyrics of the album, which went to sell over 400,000 copies its first two weeks of...
.
The album also debuted at #3 and peaked at #1 on Itunes Japan's Top Albums Rankings on March 25, 2008, with a total digital sales figure yet to be determined. Billboard Japan updated their charts for the week of March 31 (which include digital sales in combination with airplay), with Utada taking the #1 spot on their Hot 100, Top Albums, and Hot 100 Airplay charts (Fight the Blues being on the composite Hot 100 songs and Hot 100 Airplay). The sudden rise on these charts can be attributed to the high first week physical album sales figures for “Heart Station.” Additionally, for this week, 16 out of the top 100 songs downloaded on iTunes Japan are Utada tracks, with “Prisoner Of Love” ranking highest at #1, followed by “Fight The Blues” at #7. On the album side, “Heart Station” ranks in at #1, ahead of 3 of her other albums for a total of 4 albums in the iTunes Japan Album Top 100 charts. The album also debuted on Taiwan's G-Music Combo and J-pop charts at #2 (6.23% of sales) and #1 (19.17% of sales) respectively in April for the week 3/28/08 through 4/03/08. However, this is Utada's last #1 album in Taiwan after Ultra Blue
Ultra Blue
Ultra Blue is the award-winning fourth Japanese studio album by Hikaru Utada, released in 2006. It debuted at #1 on the Oricon daily, weekly and monthly charts and sold 500,317 copies in its first six days of sales...
also peaked at #1 for three consecutive weeks in the said chart. On the week of March 30, the album debuted at #4 on the Hong Kong Album Chart and rose to #2 its second week (April 6). On April 4, 2008, it reached #8 on the Korean Hanteo Weekly Pop Album Charts, as well as reaching a peak of #56 on the Itunes USA chart after being made available there the week of April 10.
On May 13, Barks.jp reported that the digital sales of all songs on the album had surpassed 15 million downloads.
On December 2, Tower Records Japan released their list of the Top Selling Albums of 2008, and Heart Station took the #2 spot, behind Namie Amuro
Namie Amuro
is a Japanese R&B and pop singer, entertainer, and former actress who at the height of her popularity was referred to as the "Teen Queen" and the title "Queen of Japanese Pop Music". Born in Naha, Okinawa, Amuro debuted at the age of 14 as an idol in the girl group Super Monkey's...
's Best Fiction
Best Fiction
Best Fiction is Namie Amuro's third best-of compilation under the Avex Trax label. The album includes 15 tracks selected from singles released between 2002 and 2008, in addition to two new songs: "Sexy Girl" and "Do Me More", which were both be used to promote the album...
A day later, Itunes Japan released their yearly download chart and Heart Station took the #1 spot on the yearly album chart, as well as Prisoner of Love
Prisoner of Love (Hikaru Utada song)
-Digital sales information:On May 13, Barks.jp reported "Prisoner of Love" had sold over 1.5 million downloads across all formats, and on July 7, Yahoo!Japan reported it had sold over 2.9 million downloads, it has been certified by the RIAJ on September 2 for reaching the 1 million mark for...
taking the #3 spot on the yearly singles chart.
Heart Station Magazine promotional schedule
- These 4 magazines will have exclusive interviews and longer photoshoots:
- 3月13日(木) Weeklyぴあ
- 3月14日(金) CDでーた
- 3月24日(月) 月刊ザテレビジョン
- 4月19日(土) Rockin' on Japan
- These 30 magazines will include a standard Q&A with artist's picture:
- 3月 1日(土) Mini
- 3月 1日(土) Como
- 3月 4日(火) GyaOマガジン
- 3月 4日(火) 日経エンタテイメント
- 3月 5日(水) Tower (タワーレコード FP)
- 3月 7日(金) Glamorous
- 3月 7日(金) S-Cawaii
- 3月 7日(金) Blenda
- 3月 7日(金) In Red
- 3月 8日(土) シネコンウォーカー
- 3月 9日(日) パチパチ
- 3月11日(火) Tokyo1週間
- 3月12日(水) 週刊ザテレビジョン
- 3月12日(水) Bea's Up
- 3月14日(金) ワッツイン
- 3月15日(土) 月刊Songs
- 3月17日(月) Barfout
- 3月20日(木) NaO (Tsutaya FP)
- 3月20日(木) Virgin (Virgin FP)
- 3月20日(木) ミューズクリップ (星光堂FP)
- 3月20日(木) Jam Spot (山野楽器 FP)
- 3月20日(木) Groovin' (すみや FP)
- 3月20日(木) Wave (Wave FP)
- 3月21日(金) Oricon Style
- 3月22日(土) Spring
- 3月24日(月) ブーン
- 3月25日(火) Music Master (HMV FP)
- 3月25日(火) Drops (新星堂 FP)
- 3月28日(金) With
- 4月 1日(火) ピチレモン
Heart Station television promotional schedule
- TV Appearances:
- 03.16 - CX Domoto Kyoudai
- 03.23 - NTV Music Lovers
- 03.31 - Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ's Spring Live Special
- 04.04 - TV Asahi's Music Station Special
- 04.14 - CX系全国ネット「SMAP×SMAP SP」
- Interview & Comment:
- 02.28 - Waratte Iitomo
- 03.08 - SSTV's Chart Cobain Program
- 03.09 - Space Shower TV Special-V.I.P Utada- (or SSTV's Chart Cobain program)
- 03.15 - TBS CDTV
- 03.19 - CX Sakigake Ongaku Banzuke
- 03.21 - NTV Music Fighter
- 03.22 - Japan Countdown
TV promotional performances
- February 26, 2007 - Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ-"Flavor of LifeFlavor of Life"Flavor of Life" is Hikaru Utada's 18th Japanese single . The physical single was officially released on February 28, 2007.Compared to the preceding singles following Colors, Flavor of Life garnered far more success...
: Ballad version" (w/ "Boku wa KumaBoku wa Kumais Hikaru Utada's 17th Japanese single . The single was released on November 22nd of 2006, just a matter of months after Hikaru's last studio effort, Ultra Blue, and only two months after the end of her tour, Utada United 2006....
" between takes) - March 2, 2007 - Music StationMusic Stationis a Japanese music television program. It began broadcasting on October 24, 1986 and continues to be broadcast weekly in High-definition from 8PM-9PM on tv asahi...
-"Flavor of Life: Ballad Version" - March 8, 2007 - Utaban-"Flavor of Life: Ballad Version"
- February 24, 2007 - CDTV-"Flavor of Life: Original Version"
- March 2, 2007 - Music Fight-"Flavor of Life: Original Version"
- August 31, 2007 - tv asahiTV Asahi, also known as EX and , is a Japanese television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company writes its name in lower-case letters, tv asahi, in its logo and public-image materials. The company also owns All-Nippon News Network....
, Music StationMusic Stationis a Japanese music television program. It began broadcasting on October 24, 1986 and continues to be broadcast weekly in High-definition from 8PM-9PM on tv asahi...
-"Kiss & CryBeautiful World/Kiss & Cry"Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry" is Utada Hikaru's 19th Japanese single . The single was released on August 29, 2007 as her second single for 2007. "Beautiful World" was re-released in 2009 as "Beautiful World " for the release of the movie Evangelion: 2.0 You Can Advance.Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry...
" - September 1, 2007 - TBSTokyo Broadcasting System, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
, CDTV-"Beautiful WorldBeautiful World/Kiss & Cry"Beautiful World/Kiss & Cry" is Utada Hikaru's 19th Japanese single . The single was released on August 29, 2007 as her second single for 2007. "Beautiful World" was re-released in 2009 as "Beautiful World " for the release of the movie Evangelion: 2.0 You Can Advance.Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry...
" - September 3, 2007 - Fuji TVFuji Televisionis a Japanese television station based in Daiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, also known as or CX, based on the station's callsign "JOCX-DTV". It is the flagship station of the Fuji News Network and the ....
, Hey!Hey!Hey!-"Beautiful World" - September 6, 2007 - TBS, UtabanUtabanwas a long running Japanese music variety show, broadcast weekly from October 15, 1996 until March 23, 2010 on TBS. The name of the show is an abbreviation of , meaning "music program"...
-"Beautiful World" - September 7, 2007 - tv asahi, Music Station-"Beautiful World"
- September 7, 2007 - Nihon TVNippon Televisionis a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
, Music Fighter-"Beautiful World" - February 18, 2008 - Fuji TV Hey!Hey!Hey! -"Heart StationHeart 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....
" - February 22, 2008 - TV Asahi Music Station -"Heart Station"
- February 22, 2008 - Nihon TV Music Fighter -"Heart Station"
- February 23, 2008 - TBS CDTV -"Heart Station"
- February 28, 2008 - TBS Utaban -"Stay GoldHeart 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....
" - March 16, 2008 - CX Domoto Kyoudai -"Flavor of Life"
- March 23, 2008 - NTV Music Lovers -"Fight the Blues," "Flavor of Life: Ballad Version," "Celebrate," and "Boku wa Kuma."
- March 31, 2008 - Hey!Hey!Hey! Music Champ's Spring Live Special -"Prisoner of LovePrisoner of Love (Hikaru Utada song)-Digital sales information:On May 13, Barks.jp reported "Prisoner of Love" had sold over 1.5 million downloads across all formats, and on July 7, Yahoo!Japan reported it had sold over 2.9 million downloads, it has been certified by the RIAJ on September 2 for reaching the 1 million mark for...
" - April 4, 2008 - TV Asahi's Music Station Special -"Prisoner of Love"
- April 16, 2008 - SMAPxSMAP Special Guest Performance Medley -"Aoi Inazuma (SMAP)," "Flavor of Life," "Boku wa Kuma," "Can You Keep A Secret?Can You Keep a Secret?"Can You Keep a Secret?" is a song by Hikaru Utada, released as her seventh Japanese-language single on February 16, 2001. It was the theme song for a Japanese television drama called Hero, Utada made a cameo appearance as well as her acting debut in this drama as a waitress...
," "Traveling," "Shake (SMAP)," and "Prisoner of Love."
Heart Station online promotional schedule
- 3/13
- MSN
- 3/14
- ShowTime
- Biglobe
- AOL
- 3/18
- Yahoo! Music Magazine
- 3/19
- Oricon Style
- Goo音楽
- 3/26
- Listen Japan
- Musico
- My Sound
Japan Sales Rankings(Physical)
| Release | Chart | Peak Position | First Week Sales | Sales Total | Chart Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 19, 2008 | Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 1 | |||
| Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 1 | 480,081 | 1,011,373 | 56 weeks | |
| Oricon Monthly Albums Chart | 1 | ||||
| Oricon Yearly Albums Chart | 5 |
All physical sales chart rankings
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 1 |
| Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 1 |
| Oricon Monthly Albums Chart | 1 |
| Billboard Japan Top Albums | 1 |
| G-Music Combo Chart (Taiwan) | 2 |
| G-Music J-POP Chart (Taiwan) | 1 |
| Soundscan Albums Chart (CD-Only) | 1 |
| Weekly Hanteo Pop Albums Chart(Korea) | 5 |
| Daily Hanteo Pop Albums Chart (Korea) | 4 |
| Country | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
Million | 1,011,373 |
| South Korea South Korea The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south... |
Platinum | 10,247 |
Korean ranking (monthly)
| Non Local Chart | |
|---|---|
| Month | Peak position |
| April 2008 |