Heart Station (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Heart Station
Heart Station cover
Studio album by Utada Hikaru
Released Flag of Japan March 19, 2008
Flag of Hong Kong March 28, 2008
Flag of the Republic of China March 28, 2008
Flag of South Korea March 29, 2008
Flag of Canada April 8, 2008
Flag of the United States April 29, 2008
Recorded 2006-2008
Genre J-Pop
Length 56:54
Label EMI Music Japan
Producer Utada Hikaru
Professional reviews
  • Rolling Stone Japan 5/5 stars link
Utada Hikaru chronology
Ultra Blue
(2006)		 Heart Station
(2008)		 TBA (English)
(2008*)
Singles from Heart Station
  1. "Boku wa Kuma"
    Released: November 22, 2006
  2. "Flavor of Life"
    Released: February 28, 2007
  3. "Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry"
    Released: August 29, 2007
  4. "Heart Station / Stay Gold"
    Released: February 20, 2008
  5. "Prisoner Of Love"
    Released: May 21, 2008
This article is about Utada Hikaru's album. For her single, see Heart Station/Stay Gold.

Heart Station[1] is the fifth Japanese studio album (seventh overall) by Utada Hikaru, which was released on March 19, 2008.

Heart Station's first week sales were a bit lower than that of Utada's previous album Ultra Blue, and even collected the lowest first week sales of Utada's career. However, the total album sales has surpassed that of Ultra Blue domestically. It stayed in Oricon top ten for 11 weeks.

Contents

[edit] Information

Before the release of Heart Station, Utada had stated on her personal blogs that she's currently working on both the previously unnamed Heart Station album and her English album simultaneously and has been busy creating demos for new tracks at home on and since October 23, 2007.[2]

On January 16, 2008, Utada (on her official blog) confirmed that there are two tracks on the album that will include a strings section, "Flavor of Life -Ballad Version-" and a then-untitled, now revealed to be "Prisoner of Love", that was being mixed.[3][4][5] On February 1, 2008, Utada confirmed that she had begun mastering the album's final track, which would later be finalized to be "Celebrate," made between midnight and the following day when it was due, and is an upbeat track which she quite likes. A physical demo had been burnt for her to complete work on from home, and she mentioned that the album's mastering had begun. The album track "Celebrate" was under the tentative working title of "Yakekuso (やけくそ Desperation?)"[6]. On February 6, 2008, Utada had finished the mastering stage of the album, which was done by SterlingSound, the people in charge of mastering Utada's albums from her musical career's beginnings.[7] Her official website has confirmed that 13 (versus the earlier reported 12) tracks will be included on this album (with the 13th being a bonus track, the original "Flavor of Life"), meaning this is Utada's third album in total to feature a bonus track.[8] A B2 sized poster will be included for people who pre-order a copy of the album. As of now, the only place known to be selling the B2 Sized Poster is CDJapan. The album has reached as high as #1 on Amazon Japan's Pre-Order List[9], as well as other major online merchandise and music stores such as HMV Japan and CD Japan, among others. On February 15, 2008, two more new track titles were revealed in Japan's MUSICA Magazine's review of the album, which were "Celebrate" and "Niji-Iro Basu"[10]. On February 19, 2008, the album's track list was revealed via her website in its entirety, the day before the release of her 20th physical Japanese single, "Heart Station / Stay Gold"[11][12]. When titling Heart Station, Utada continued the tradition of naming the album by tracks on the album. However, Heart Station is the first album to be named after a promotional single, rather than recut singles like First Love, Distance), or Exodus, or non singles, such as Ultra Blue or Deep River.

According to reports by Shop EMI and Capitol Music on March 1, 2008, Utada's latest Japanese release will see a Canadian release on April 8, 2008. Much like the previous Canadian releases of Ultra Blue and Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol.1, Heart Station will be reprinted in Canada and be of much lower pricing than the imported Japanese version.[13][14][15] The Taiwanese version of the album was confirmed with an official webpage by EMI to have a release date of March 28, 2008[16]. A Hong Kong release dates was announced for a March 28, 2008 release soon afterwards, with South Korea following on the 29th.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Fight The Blues" - 4:10
  2. "Heart Station" - 4:36
  3. "Beautiful World" - 5:17
  4. "Flavor of Life -Ballad Version-" - 5:25
  5. "Stay Gold" - 5:14
  6. "Kiss & Cry" - 5:06
  7. "Gentle Beast Interlude" - 1:13
  8. "Celebrate" - 4:26
  9. "Prisoner of Love" - 4:46
  10. "Teiku 5 (テイク 5 Take 5?)" - 3:42
  11. "Boku wa Kuma (ぼくはくま I'm a Bear?)" - 2:23
  12. "Niji-iro Basu (虹色バス Rainbow-colored Bus?)" - 5:50
  13. "Flavor of Life" [Bonus Track] - 4:46

[edit] Singles

Date Title Peak position Weeks Sales
November 22, 2006 "Boku wa Kuma" #4 (Oricon) 22 147,041
February 28, 2007 "Flavor Of Life" #1 (Oricon) 45 650,510
August 29, 2007 "Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry" #2 (Oricon) 26 235,050
February 20, 2008 "Heart Station / Stay Gold" #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"
(Airplay/Digital Download only)		 #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 #2 (Oricon)
#2 (Billboard Japan Hot 100)
#6 (Billboard Japan Hot 100 Airplay)
#8 (J-Wave Tokio Hot 100 Singles)		 2* 61,015*
  • = Still Charting on Oricon Singles Chart

[edit] Fight the Blues Airplay Rankings

Chart Peak
position
81.3 FM J-Wave Tokio Hot 100[17] #2 (2 weeks)
MTV Japanese Chart Express[18] N/A
CDTV Top 100[19] N/A
ZIP FM Hot 100 (Nagoya)[20] #9
Osakan Hot 100 (Osaka)[21] #3
Kiss FM Kobe Hot 40[22] #4
FM Osaka 851[23] #3
Toyama Countdown Top 50[24] #2
MUSIC LOUNGE Japanese Radio[25] N/A

[edit] Fight the Blues Digital sales charts

Chart Peak
position
iTunes Japan Top Songs #7
Recochoku Chaku-Uta[26] #46
Recochoku Chaku-Uta Melody[27] #13
Recochoku Chaku-Uta All[28] #21
Mu-mo Song Download Chart[29] N/A
Dwango Truetone Ringtones (Chaku Uta)[30] N/A
Dwango Polyphonic Ringtones (Chaku Mero)[31] #3

[edit] Celebrate Airplay Rankings

Chart Peak
position
81.3 FM J-Wave Tokio Hot 100 (for 4/13/08 & 5/04/08)[32] #88

[edit] 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[33]." On January 24, 2008, e-hon.com revealed further specifities when they listed the album as "Heart Station," changed from "Undecided[34]." 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[35].

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[36]. 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)[37]. 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[38]. 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[39]. 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[40]. 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[41][42]. 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)[43][44]. 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.[45][46] 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[47][48].

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 Cohen 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[49][50]. 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[51]. 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.[52][53]. According to the March 4, 2008 issue of Gyao Magazine that featured advertisements for the album, 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[54][55]. 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[56]. 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[57][58]. 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[59]. 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[60]. 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[61][62].

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[63][64]. 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[65]. 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[66].

According to a Yahoo! JP article, an extremely popular Japanese social networking service called Mixi (similar to Facebook), is now collaborating with Utada Hikaru and EMI Music Japan to celebrate her 10th anniversary as an artist as well as to promote her album, “Heart Station.” The interesting campaign that was created between them commenced March 10, 2008 (the day of the article's posting) and ends March 17, 2008 that 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[67]), 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[68].

[edit] Tie ups and theme songs

  • "Boku wa Kuma (ぼくはくま I'm a Bear?)," the first Heart Station single, was the Minna no Uta children's music program theme song from October 2006 to January 2007.[69][70].
  • "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 EVANGELION 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 "Freedom Cup Noodles" commercial tie-in song[72].
  • "Heart Station / Stay Gold," the fourth Heart Station single, was featured as the Kao's Ascience late 2007/early 2008 "Prism Hair" Shampoo CM song (Stay Gold) and 2008 Recochoku Download Service song (Heart Station).[73][74]
  • "Prisoner of Love" is the theme song for the Japanese drama "Last Friends", which aired on April 10, 2008. [75] 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 21st (her only other single besides "First Love" and "Distance" to have such a distinction). The single will include a DVD for the PV (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[76][77]. 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 1st, followed by Chaku-Uta Full and PC downloads on the physical release date of May 21st[78].
  • "Fight the Blues", the pre-release promotional airplay/USEN single for the Heart Station album, will be used during the ending credits of TBS’ houdou news NEXT program, with the first song-featured episode that aired on April 5, 2008. [79]

[edit] 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[80][81].

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, bringing a truer total of 501,681 units. In its first week of sales, it easily debuted 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)[82]. 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[83][84]. 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[85]. Thursday, March 27, 2008, the album easily shot to #1 on the United World for week 14/April 5th of the 2008 Media Traffic Year, making her the Asian artist with the most #1 albums on that chart (4)[86]. 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 album by a female artist in Japan for 2008 thus far ahead of Koda Kumi'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[87], with a total digital sales figure yet to be determined. Billboard Japan updated their charts for the week of March 31st (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 disc in the iTunes Japan album top 100[88][89]. 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. 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 6th). On April 4, 2008, it has reached as high as #8 on the Korean Hanteo Weekly Pop Album Charts, as well as reaching a respectable peak of #56 on the Itunes USA chart after being made available there the week of April 10th[90].

On May 13th, Barks.jp reported that the digital sales of all songs on the album had surpassed 15 million downloads.[91]

[edit] Heart Station Magazine promotional schedule

  • These 4 magazines will have exclusive interviews and longer photoshoots:
  1. 3月13日(木) Weeklyぴあ
  2. 3月14日(金) CDでーた
  3. 3月24日(月) 月刊ザテレビジョン
  4. 4月19日(土) ROCKIN'ON JAPAN
  • These 30 magazines will include a standard Q&A with artist's picture:
  1. 3月 1日(土) mini
  2. 3月 1日(土) Como
  3. 3月 4日(火) GyaOマガジン
  4. 3月 4日(火) 日経エンタテイメント
  5. 3月 5日(水) TOWER (タワーレコード FP)
  6. 3月 7日(金) GLAMOROUS
  7. 3月 7日(金) S-Cawaii
  8. 3月 7日(金) BLENDA
  9. 3月 7日(金) In Red
  10. 3月 8日(土) シネコンウォーカー
  11. 3月 9日(日) パチパチ
  12. 3月11日(火) TOKYO1週間
  13. 3月12日(水) 週刊ザテレビジョン
  14. 3月12日(水) bea's up
  15. 3月14日(金) ワッツイン
  16. 3月15日(土) 月刊songs
  17. 3月17日(月) BARFOUT
  18. 3月20日(木) NaO (TSUTAYA FP)
  19. 3月20日(木) Virgin (Virgin FP)
  20. 3月20日(木) ミューズクリップ (星光堂FP）
  21. 3月20日(木) Jam Spot (山野楽器 FP)
  22. 3月20日(木) Groovin' (すみや FP)
  23. 3月20日(木) WAVE (WAVE FP)
  24. 3月21日(金) oricon style
  25. 3月22日(土) spring
  26. 3月24日(月) ブーン
  27. 3月25日(火) Music Master (HMV FP)
  28. 3月25日(火) DROPS (新星堂 FP)
  29. 3月28日(金) with
  30. 4月 1日(火) ピチレモン

[edit] 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[92]
    • 04.04 - TV Asahi's Music Station Special[93]
    • 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

[edit] TV Promotional Performances

  1. February 26, 2007 - HEY!HEY!HEY! MUSIC CHAMP-"Flavor of Life -Ballad version-" (w/ "Boku wa Kuma" between takes)
  2. March 02, 2007 - Music Station-"Flavor of Life-Ballad Version"
  3. March 08, 2007 - Utaban-"Flavor of Life-Ballad Version"
  4. February 24, 2007 - CDTV-"Flavor of Life-Original Version"
  5. March 02, 2007 - MUSIC FIGHTER-"Flavor of Life-Original Version"
  6. August 31, 2007 - tv asahi, MUSIC STATION-"Kiss & Cry"
  7. September 01, 2007 - TBS, CDTV-"Beautiful World"
  8. September 03, 2007 - Fuji TV, HEY!HEY!HEY!-"Beautiful World"
  9. September 06, 2007 - TBS, Utaban-"Beautiful World"
  10. September 07, 2007 - tv asahi, MUSIC STATION-"Beautiful World"
  11. September 07, 2007 - Nihon TV, Music Fighter-"Beautiful World"
  12. February 18, 2008 - Fuji TV HEY!HEY!HEY! -"Heart Station"
  13. February 22, 2008 - TV Asahi Music Station -"Heart Station"
  14. February 22, 2008 - Nihon TV Music Fighter -"Heart Station"
  15. February 23, 2008 - TBS CDTV -"Heart Station"
  16. February 28, 2008 - TBS Utaban -"Stay Gold"
  17. March 16, 2008 - CX Domoto Kyoudai -"Flavor of Life"
  18. March 23, 2008 - NTV Music Lovers -"Fight the Blues," "Flavor of Life-Ballad Version," "Celebrate," and "Boku wa Kuma."
  19. March 31, 2008 - HEY!HEY!HEY! Music Champ's Spring Live Special -"Prisoner of Love"
  20. April 04, 2008 - TV Asahi's Music Station Special -"Prisoner of Love"
  21. April 16, 2008 - SMAPxSMAP Special Guest Performance Medley -"Aoi Inazuma (SMAP)," "Flavor Of Life," "Boku wa Kuma," "Can You Keep A Secret?," "Traveling," "SHAKE (SMAP)," and "Prisoner Of Love."

[edit] 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

[edit] Japan Sales Rankings(Physical)

Release Chart Peak Position First Week Sales Sales Total Chart Run
March 19, 2008 Oricon Daily Albums Chart #1
March 19, 2008 Oricon Weekly Albums Chart #1 480,081 925,217 12 weeks*
March 19, 2008 Oricon Monthly Albums Chart #1
March 19, 2008 Oricon Yearly Albums Chart

For more detailed Oricon Album chart rankings on Heart Station, visit ThePPN:Heart Station (album).

[edit] All physical sales chart rankings

Chart Peak
position
United World Chart (Albums) #1
Oricon Daily Albums Chart #1
Oricon Weekly Albums Chart #1
Oricon Monthly Albums Chart #1
Oricon Yearly Albums Chart 2008 TBD
Itunes Japan Top 100 Albums[94] #1
Billboard Japan Top Albums #1
G-Music Combo Chart[95] (Taiwan) #2
G-Music J-POP Chart[96] (Taiwan) #1(3 weeks)
Taiwanese International Albums Chart[97] TBD
HMV Asian Chart (Singapore) TBD
HMV Hong Kong Album Chart (Japanese)[98] #1(5 weeks)
HMV Hong Kong Top 40 Album Chart (Asian)[99] #1
HMV Hong Kong Top 40 Album Chart (Global)[100] #7
Soundscan Albums Chart (CD-Only)[101] #1
Weekly Hanteo Pop Albums Chart(Korea)[102] #5
Daily Hanteo Pop Albums Chart (Korea)[103] #4
Itunes US Top 100 Pop Albums #56
Country Certification Sales
Japan million 925,217
South Korea 4,132[104]
Taiwan TBD TBD
Hong Kong TBD TBD
Singapore TBD TBD
World - 1,000,000[105]

[edit] Korean ranking (Monthly)[106]

Non Local Chart
Month April 2008
Position
#8

[edit] References

  1. ^ HEART STATION/宇多田ヒカル 2008年03月19日発売
  2. ^ U3MUSIC October 23, 2007
  3. ^ http://utada-online.net/blog/?p=153#comments U Blog
  4. ^ U.Blog » Utada on TOWER Records Mag Cover
  5. ^ Tower Records Japan : Tower
  6. ^ U3 Blog
  7. ^ U3 Blog
  8. ^ Hikki's Web Site
  9. ^ Amazon.co.jp ベストセラー: 音楽の中で最も人気がある商品です。情報は1時間ごとに更新されます。
  10. ^ U.Blog » MUSICA: 2 Album Track Titles
  11. ^ U.Blog » “HEART STATION” Tracklist Revealed
  12. ^ Hikki's WEB SITE
  13. ^ U.Blog » Canadian Release of “HEART STATION”
  14. ^ ShopEMI.com : Utada Hikaru : "Heart Station"
  15. ^ CapitolMusic.ca
  16. ^ 宇多田、全新原創專輯 HEART STATION
  17. ^ 81.3 FM J-WAVE : TOKIO HOT 100
  18. ^ http://www.mtvjapan.com/tv/program/rg_worldchartexpress_1.html
  19. ^ CDTV
  20. ^ ZIP-FM 77.8
  21. ^ FM802
  22. ^ Kiss-FM KOBE [Hit Chart]
  23. ^ fmosaka.net〜FM OSAKA〜
  24. ^ TOYAMA COUNTDOWN TOP50 | FMとやま
  25. ^ Music Lounge リクエストチャート
  26. ^ (Japanese) 「着うたフル®」・「着うた®」なら「レコ直♪」 - デイリーランキング
  27. ^ (Japanese) 「着うたフル®」・「着うた®」なら「レコ直♪」 - 着信メロディダウンロードランキング
  28. ^ (Japanese) 「着うたフル®」・「着うた®」なら「レコ直♪」 - トータルダウンロードランキング
  29. ^ (Japanese) 着うた(R)/着うたフル(R)/着信メロディ 無料・先行・最新楽曲が充実のオリコン・モバイル
  30. ^ (Japanese) dwango.jp | 着うたフル(R)＆着うた(R)無料検索
  31. ^ (Japanese) dwango.jp | 着うたフル(R)＆着うた(R)無料検索
  32. ^ 81.3 FM J-WAVE : TOKIO HOT 100
  33. ^ e-hon CD／ＨＥＡＲＴ ＳＴＡＴＩＯＮ／宇多田ヒカル
  34. ^ U.Blog » Album Title: “HEART STATION”?
  35. ^ U.Blog » Official: Album Title “HEART STATION”
  36. ^ U.Blog » Utada: ROCKIN’ ON Japan Coming Soon
  37. ^ U.Blog » Official: Album Title “HEART STATION”
  38. ^ SPACE SHOWER TV.COM｜SPECIAL PROGRAM スペシャルプログラム｜V.I.P.─宇多田ヒカル─
  39. ^ フジテレビ
  40. ^ http://www.emimusic.co.jp/hikki
  41. ^ Hikki's WEB SITE
  42. ^ U.Blog » “Fight The Blues” O.A. 03.03!
  43. ^ Hikki's WEB SITE
  44. ^ U.Blog » “HEART STATION” Magazine Release Schedule
  45. ^ 宇多田ヒカル 「Heart Station」Special Site
  46. ^ U.Blog » All “HEART STATION” Singles Blog Parts Available
  47. ^ 宇多田ヒカル 「Heart Station」Special Site
  48. ^ U.Blog » 45 sec. “Fight The Blues” Preview
  49. ^ livedoor ニュース - 宇多田ヒカル初、CDとデジタル配信で異なるマスタリング
  50. ^ U.Blog » “HS”: Separate Physical/Digital Mastering
  51. ^ Hikki's WEB SITE
  52. ^ きくちＰの音組収録日記 - フジテレビ
  53. ^ U.Blog » “Domoto Kyoudai” Episode Filming Tonight
  54. ^ U.Blog » More info on “HEART STATION” Tracks
  55. ^ TOWER Records Magazine + New Info from Gyao Magazine | Hikki Station
  56. ^ U.Blog » “Music Lovers” Taping 03.16
  57. ^ U.Blog » 04.04 Music Station: “Prisoner Of Love”
  58. ^ テレビ朝日｜ミュージックステーション
  59. ^ U.Blog » Utada on “Music Lovers” tonight
  60. ^ U.Blog » Music Lovers: 3 songs off of “HEART STATION”
  61. ^ Music Lovers
  62. ^ U.Blog » “Boku wa Kuma” @ Music Lovers
  63. ^ U.Blog » Utada on SSTV’s Chart Cobain
  64. ^ [ チャート★コバーン] SPACE SHOWER TV
  65. ^ U.Blog » “Take 5″ and “Niji-iro Bus” Track Info
  66. ^ Hikki's WEB SITE
  67. ^ Utada ringtone downloaded 700,000 times in 4 days - Tokyograph
  68. ^ ±§Â¿ÅÄ¥Ò¥«¥ë¡¢¡ÖFirst Love¡×Ã夦¤¿(R)̵ÎÁÇÛ¿®¡õ¡Ømixi¥â¥Ð¥¤¥ë¡Ù¤ò¥¸¥ã¥Ã¥¯!?¡Ê¥ê¥Ã¥¹¥ó ¥¸¥ã¥Ñ¥ó¡Ë - Yahoo!¥Ë¥å¡¼¥¹
  69. ^ みんなのうた
  70. ^ Yahoo!奇摩新聞
  71. ^ http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt200701/gt2007010504.html
  72. ^ http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070419-00000038-rbb-ent
  73. ^ Hikki's WEB SITE
  74. ^ Hikki's WEB SITE
  75. ^ Sanspo.Com > 芸能
  76. ^ U.Blog » “Prisoner Of Love” CD+DVD Single 05.21
  77. ^ 宇多田ヒカル : 宇多田ヒカル、注目のドラマ主題歌がシングル・カット / BARKS ニュース
  78. ^ U.Blog » “Prisoner Of Love -Quiet Version-” during “Last Friends”
  79. ^ U.Blog » U.Bits: “Fight The Blues” Tie-Up, “PoL” Chaku-Uta
  80. ^ 【オリコン】宇多田ヒカル、08年No.1スタートで6作連続1位！ ニュース-ORICON STYLE
  81. ^ U.Blog » “HEART STATION”: 480K First Week Sales
  82. ^ Oricon Weekly for 2008 week 13 - Wiki.theppn
  83. ^ Utada News, “Last Friends” Previews, & Site Updates | Hikki Station
  84. ^ NTV Music Lovers 03.23 + “HS” surpasses 350K | Hikki Station
  85. ^ Heart Station (album) - Wiki.theppn
  86. ^ Global Track Chart
  87. ^ U.Blog » “HEART STATION” Available and #1 on iTunes Japan
  88. ^ Billboard（ビルボード） - TUTAYA online
  89. ^ U.Blog » Utada @ Billboard Japan, iTunes Japan
  90. ^ U.Blog » “HEART STATION” on iTunes US
  91. ^ barks.jp
  92. ^ フジテレビ
  93. ^ テレビ朝日｜ミュージックステーション
  94. ^ U.Blog » “HEART STATION” Available and #1 on iTunes Japan
  95. ^ G-Music 風雲榜 (綜合榜)
  96. ^ G-Music 風雲榜 (東洋榜)
  97. ^ ICRT
  98. ^ HMV Hong Kong - Canto Chart
  99. ^ HMV Hong Kong - Top 40 Chart
  100. ^ HMV Hong Kong - Top 40 Chart
  101. ^ 週刊 CDソフト TOP20
  102. ^ http://www.hanteo.com/rank/chart.asp?Page=weekly&genre=pop
  103. ^ http://www.hanteo.com/rank/chart.asp?Page=daily&genre=pop
  104. ^ Monthly sales March, 2008.
  105. ^ week 14, 2008week 15, 2008 week 16, 2008week 17, 2008 week 18, 2008 week 19, 2008 week 20, 2008 week 22, 2008United World Chart. Retrieved April 25, 2008.
  106. ^ ㈜한터정보시스템 ▒ HANTEO.com ▒
v • d • e
Hikaru Utada
Japanese studio albums
First Love · Distance · Deep River · Ultra Blue · Heart Station
English studio albums
Compilations
Singles
Related articles