Singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada
Photo By Sponichi
Singer Hikaru Utada (41) will appear on Nippon Television’s “with MUSIC” broadcast on the 13th (7:56 after Saturday). There was a scene in which he talked about his “classmate” who debuted with the same record company in 1998.
Utada and singer-songwriter Ringo Shiina (45) both made their debut with Toshiba EMI in 1998, and the following year, in 1999, they performed together on stage at an event. On this day’s program, they performed their 2016 collaboration “Two Hours Vacation” for the first time on TV.
Utada said of Shiina with a smile, “We’re good friends,” and explained their relationship by saying, “We’ve been working together on the same label ever since we debuted at the age of 17, so we’ve been seeing each other from time to time, like having meals together with our kids.”
“I have a lot of respect for them, and I see them being compared even though they are quite contrasting. They may be contrasting, but I think there are a lot of similarities.” When Yumiko Udo, a freelance announcer and MC of the program, asked her, “In what ways are we similar?”, she answered, “It’s like we’re seriously joking around. We both have a lot of fun when we talk, so we’re both laughing a lot.” .
Regarding Shiina’s musicality, he has the impression that she is “honest.” “I think he’s like a director, not just a producer.I think people think of him as someone who puts a lot of effort into the music because he’s thinking about the overall appearance. If you look at the gender and the content of the lyrics, it’s changing naturally. I think it’s an honest change, and it’s not calculated.” Utada analyzed it from his perspective.
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