First Love (album)

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For other uses, see First Love.
First Love
First Love cover
Studio album by Utada Hikaru
Released March 10, 1999
Recorded August-November 1998
Genre J-Pop, R&B
Length 54:17
Label EMI Music Japan
Producer Akira Miyake, Teruzane Sking, Utada Hikaru
Utada Hikaru chronology
Precious
(1998)		 First Love
(1999)		 Distance
(2001)
Singles from First Love
  1. "Automatic / time will tell"
    Released: December 9, 1998
  2. "Movin' on Without You"
    Released: February 17, 1999
  3. "First Love"
    Released: April 28, 1999

First Love is the official debut album (and first Japanese-language release) by Utada Hikaru, released in 1999 (see 1999 in music). It has sold well over ten million copies to date as of 2007 worldwide, and is the best-selling CD debut album as well as the all-time overall highest-selling CD album in Japanese music history, with 7.650 million units shipped.[1] [2] It topped the Oricon Weekly Albums chart for a total of six non-consecutive times.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Automatic" -Album Edit– 5:28
  2. "Movin' on Without You" – 4:37
  3. "In My Room" – 4:19
  4. "First Love" – 4:17
  5. "Amai Wana ~Paint It, Black" (甘いワナ ～Paint It, Black; "Sweet Trap ~Paint It, Black"?) – 5:02
  6. "Time will Tell" – 5:26
  7. "Never Let Go" – 3:57
  8. "B&C -Album Version–" - 4:20
  9. "Another Chance" – 5:21
  10. "Interlude" – 0:16
  11. "Give Me A Reason" – 6:22
  12. "Automatic -Johnny Vicious Remix-" – 4:37

[edit] Singles

The single "First Love" is consider as a recut single it was released a month after the album's released.

Date Title Peak position Weeks Sales
December 9, 1998 08cm - "Automatic / time will tell" #4 23 772,080
December 9, 1998 12cm - "Automatic / time will tell" #2 23 1,290,700
February 17, 1999 08cm - "Movin' on without you" #5 12 346,820
February 17, 1999 12cm - "Movin' on without you" #1 13 879,760
April 28, 1999 08cm - "First Love" #6 - Recut 19 303,430
April 28, 1999 12cm - "First Love" #2 - Recut 13 500,890

[edit] Charts

First Love - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Release Chart Peak Position Debut Sales Sales Total Worldwide Sales Chart Run
March 10, 1999 Oricon Daily Albums Chart #1
March 10, 1999 Oricon Weekly Albums Chart #1 2,235,000 7,650,000 10,056,000 84
March 10, 1999 Oricon Yearly Albums Chart #1
March 10, 1999 to Present Best-Selling Albums in Japanese History #1

[edit] Personnel

All Japanese names are in Western order (given name before family name).

  • Hikaru Utada (vocals)
  • Akira Nishihira (arrangement, keyboards & programming)
  • Kei Kawano (arrangement, additional keyboards)
  • Shinichiro Murayama (arrangement, keyboards & programming)
  • Toshiyuki Mori (arrangement, keyboards & programming)
  • Jun Isomura (arrangement)
  • Tsuyoshi Kon (guitar)
  • Yoshiaki Kusaka (guitar)
  • Hironori Akiyama (guitar)
  • Yuji Toriyama (guitar)
  • Masayoshi Furukawa (guitar)
  • Yuichiro Honda (guitar)
  • Yuichiro Goto (strings)
  • Jullian Hernandez (additional chorus)
  • Nobuhiko Nakayama (synthesizer programming)
  • Takahiro Iida (synthesizer programming)
  • Masayuki Momo (synthesizer programming)
  • Taka & Speedy (rhythm arrangement, rhythm programming)
  • Akira Miyake (producer)
  • Teruzane Sking Utada (producer)
  • Hidenobu Okita (director)
  • Masaaki Ugajin (all vocals' recording)
  • Masaaki Ugajin, Masashi Kudo, Seiji Motoyama, Takehiko Kamata, Bob Allecca, Mike Brown (back track recording)
  • Hotoda Goh (mixing)
  • Ted Jensen (mastering)

[edit] Miscellanea

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • All songs are written by Utada Hikaru except for the line "I see a red door and I want to paint it black" from "Amai Wana ~Paint It, Black~" ("Paint It, Black" is written by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones).
  • "Interlude" was made into a song called "Kotoba ni Naranai Kimochi" on her Distance album.
  • The song "Never Let Go" features the same beat used in "Take Him Back" by Monica, and was originally used in Sting's "Shape of My Heart". Hikaru said that Monica so inspired her with her R&B that she decided to use that beat.
  • "First Love" was featured in a popular Japanese drama, Majo no Jōken (Forbidden Love).
  • Utada wrote a message in English at the back of the booklet. The message is:

To everybody who's a part of the Virgin Division, especially the Miyake room; the engineers and assistant-engineers who spent late nights and mornings for me in the studio; the arrangers, programmers and musicians who laid down these great tracks;all the FM and AM stations who gave me support(and airplay!), and Global Rights;I know I don't get to say this often,so.... THANK YOU!!!! Goh-san! keep your mixes hot! and thanks for the surprise e-mails (＊^^＊)♪ Mom,Dad,I guess I'm followin' your footsteps and carryin' on the family business after all. I know few families are lucky enough to have what we have. And to my friends(you should know who you are!),I hope I tell you often enough, how much I love you; thanks for the love and support. Keep it real.


Everyone who's reading this, thanks for picking up my album!! Ma-i-do-a-rii～～
Luv,
Hikaru+

[edit] References

  1. ^ 宇多田ヒカル-ORICON STYLE ミュージック
  2. ^ List of million-selling CD albums in Japan
v • d • e
Hikaru Utada
Japanese studio albums
First Love · Distance · Deep River · Ultra Blue · Heart Station
English studio albums
Compilations
Singles
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