Customer Reviews

Single Collection 1

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the obsessive, inward-looking world of JPop, the Holy Grail is to make it big in the US. Many have attempted, and to date all have failed. Language problems, talent issues, and lack of interest in US producers have all been cited. With Sony now actively promoting Japanese artists in the US, it would seem to be a matter of time before the Great Japanese Hope will make it.
Hikaru Utada may just be the one. Her parents are both musicians, she grew up in New York, was educated at international schools in Japan and (briefly) at Columbia University, is attractive-and can really sing. Her English is flawless, her range more than enough for the demands of a pop diva, and her phrasing clever and ironic and smooth. She manages soul and love ballads equally well. Songs such as "Time Will Tell," "Automatic," "Can You Keep A Secret" are featured on this compilation. Following up First Love, this is a must-have CD. Time will tell, but this reviewer expects her to be the One.

Incredible. The only word I can think of to describe this CD. Hikaru's voice is so amazing. There isn't a single song on here I don't love. (Please excuse me if my typing is bad, I'm not used to this keyboard, it skips letters sometimes, so please forgive me)

Time Will Tell was my favorite for a while. It has some 7-Club-7'y melodies, but that's a good tihng.

Automatic is awesome. It's a gret feel-good song. It's really upbeat and sort of techno-ish then slowly goes into pop.

Movin' On Without You isn't my favorite song... It's a good song, but I prefer the songs she does with a higher voice than this with her low voice.

First Love is a beautiful song that really shows off Hikaru's voice. It's another 7-Club-7'y song, but this one's slow, unlike Time Will Tell.

Addicted To You is still my favorite. It's a lot of fun. Chika chika uh!

Wait and See has a reall hot beginning. It's really cool becuase it goes between muted and regular and multiple voces and a bunch of stuff. It's upbeat and fun, definately a good dance song.

For You is a cool song, too. It's sort of Hip-Hop, R&B. It's another really fun song that makes you want to get up and dance even though you run the risk of all your friends thinking ur weird.

Time Limit is also my favorite (I have several). It's another hip-hop song. It's awesome. I'm pretty sure at the beginning the guy says "Ja Rule" which would be incredible considering the song isn't even in English. All I ever talk about is JPop and it's cool being able to say that my favorite artist did a song with Ja Rule. It's even Dark Child!

Can You Keep A Secret? is more dramatic, another 7-club-7'y song. If you're ever fortunate enough to see the video, it's so cool. I won't ruin it for you, but let's just say things aren't the way they seem.

Final Distance is probably the most serious, most beautiful song on the CD. I love the chorus ging "ah ah ah" it's just so heavenly. The video's really cool as well.

Traveling. Fun, uplifting, and crazy. It's about how she never gets to relax and now she finally wants a day off and she wants to spend it with her man (it's still in Japanese). It's extremely upbeat and crazy. A good dance song if your friends don't mind it being Japanese. I think this song has my favorit video on the CD.

Hikari is the reason I bought this CD. I heard Simple and Clean, Kingdom Heart's theme song by her. It's this song but in English, with completely different words. It's another beautiful song and it's easy to get the words down. The video, or at least an extra clip I've seen, is so dumb it's hilarious. It's just her washing dishes for 2:30! They cut the song short for what I've seen but I doubt that's the whole video.

Sakura Drops was my favorite after Time Will Tell. It's kind of epic and mystic. It's really Asian with all the little tinny noises in the background it's a really pretty song. The video's weird though. I can't even describe it.

Letters is currently my favorite of all my favorites. I'm listneing to it right now, actually. It's fairly upbeat, but not really a dance song. It's more the kind of song that makes you bob your head. It's another song that really shows off her incredible voice.

Colors is up there with my favorites as well. Another very Asian, tinny backgrounded song. It's a bit of a dance song at certain points but not for long. It's a very downbeat, high strung song. Shows off her voice well.

I hope my review has pursuaded you to buy this CD. It truly is one of my favorite song of all time, even as cheesy as that sounds.

I first heard Utada Hikaru sing on the commercials for the video game Kingdom Hearts. I was immediately hooked to her voice and did all I could to get copies of both versions of Simple and Clean. When I heard she had a English language album I bought it instantly and loved it.

Latter I was interested in what this "Jpop" queen had done in Japan so I bought this album. I was not disappointed. There is a "Pop" feel to much of this album but it's so different that it won't seem tired. Her songs are done primarily in Japanese but she throws a line or two in here and there that's English (and almost all the track titles are in English too). Her voice is just magical, the woman can sing! You can really feel the energy of the songs even without know exactly what she is saying.

I recommend this CD if you have heard Utada sing before. If you are interested in Utada but don't know Japanese, buy her Exodus album first to see if you like her.

Warning: this CD will make you want to learn Japanese, her voice is just that good.
FYI: Track 12 sounds like Simple and Clean done in Japanese!

I am extremely excited about this CD, because it has ALL of Utada Hikaru's best songs on here.

Final Distance is the amazing version of the original song, Distance, also by her. If you ever get a chance to see the video for Budokan 5 with her, Traveling is just an awesome song. Hikari is, of course, the intro song to the PS2 game, Kingdom Hearts. Can You Keep a Secret, Wait and See, Automatic... so many great songs.

If you are a new fan to Utada Hikaru, I strongly suggest this CD. You will not find a better mix of her songs, in my opinion.

I agree that Ayumi Hamasaki is a great artist, but I find Utada Hikaru's songs have a stronger and deeper feeling to them because of the difference in voices. Ayumi Hamasaki did the intro to the PS1 game, Thousand Arms, with the song 'Depend on You', as well as the ending if you ever recall playing and don't remember who she is, so you can get an idea of the difference if you've played that and Kingdom Hearts.

what more can you want.. all her best songs on 1 cd i mean come on. i have many favorites from this Colors, Sakura Drops, Hikari (Simple & Clean for those who are wondering), omg Automatic, Wait & See and Final Distance thats just to name a few. if your looking for J Pop then this right here is definately something you need to get and if your a Hikki fan already you gotta pick this up quickly i think you know why i don't need to explain. i love Ayumi but she ranks a far 2nd to Hikki in my opinion. I hope to see Utada make it big over here in the states that would absolutely make my day.

all the hits --enough said. But you got to see the videos that go along with these songs. It's probably better buying the music first then quessing what the video is like. Best voice I have heard since Christina Aguellera sang for Disney's Mulan.

My favorite Hikki videos:
1. Traveling -- This video is incredible and really shows off her incredible vocal talent. She is hot with red/orange hair. You got to see this J*POP video by any means necessary. Crazy J-Pop video. *****you have to see this video and #2 and #4*****

2. Can you keep a secret - Her "boyfriend" misses her. She looks awesomely hot.

3. Letters - A younger Hikki with really rich and long hair. Sexy and young even looks alittle scared behind the mic.

4. Final Distance - Great Video and Vocal - ?Can you figure it out? Warning you may cry---a tear-jerker.

5. Colors - A beautiful looking video and sound. Art.

6. Deep River - Artsy and Natural.

7. Wait and See -- Motobike, hip and sexy.

8. First Love -Original and Acoustic -2 videos). One of her best songs.

9. Easy Breezy -- Looks good except for the pool scene. Yellow Ferrari Dino? is hot. Don't like the use of the word Japaneezy--she shouldn't use it. A little too American-ized for my taste.

This cd is absolutely AMAZING!! I learned about Utada Hikaru through the video game Kingdom Hearts and right away I loved her.
Her songs are powerful and the mix of Japanese and English is SO COOL!! Since she is fluent in both Japanese and English it's easy to understand. She is an absolutely amazing singer and EVERYONE should buy this cd!!! I also STRONGLY recommend Passion!! (It's the theme to Kingdom Hearts II!) I LOVE HIKKI-SAN!!

Plain and simple she is a great singer! First heard about her years ago when Kingdom Hearts first came out. I have most of her collection and tend to grab the others in the near future.

I loved hearing Utada sing in Japanese. It was awesome! I love this CD too! It is so awesome! All of the songs are amazing, and so is Utada!

This cd has some of the most amazing songs Utada has ever written. She sings so beautifully on this cd. This includes 15 songs. At first, I bought it because I wanted Hikaru, the Kingdom Hearts theme song. I also heard of First Love and wanted to hear that too. So why didn't I go on a different website and listen to them there? Well, I really enjoy Japanese music and would much rather have it in my possesion.

I liked most of the songs. They were different from her english songs. I got her newest cd before this: This is the One. Truthfully, I like this cd better, but maybe it is the music that gets me into it more. If you enjoy Utada or want to try out listening to Japanese music, you should totally buy this cd!!!