Deep Dive: Utada Hikaru Part Seven (This Is the One)

    The sound she made her own and complexity she forged like she's a blacksmith with a sword is gone here on This Is the One. Utada completely abandons everything she knew before to make a record that was very of its time in both sound and commercial sensibilities. She pushed herself in an adult-contemporary direction with her seventh album and second English album.

    This album sees Utada make a return to R&B but with a more contemporary feel that was very 2009. I compare this record to other R&B records at the time because the pop scene was in a transitionary period back then. R&B and hip-hop were fading out while dance pop and electro pop were utterly dominating the scene. Though we saw some projects that would try to appeal to both worlds. Beyoncé's I Am... Sasha Fierce, and Trey Songz's Ready both share similarities with This Is the One in sound and subject matter at times. Both of those albums are R&B with crossover appeal which is what Utada was going for here, but it's kind of a mixed bag.

    There's times that the Utada we know and love shine through, and those moments carried the album in 2009 and still carry it to this day. Out of all her studio records, this one feels most stuck in the past. And due to the dance pop takeover, it aged quickly. That doesn't make it unenjoyable, but it does make it forgettable. The fans forget about this album a lot and make jokes about it. Just glance through Utada's subreddit. 

    Utada teamed up with popular producers at the time, Stargate (who has worked with mega stars like Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, Neyo, and Rihanna) and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart (who has also worked with Rihanna and Carey). And the Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel touch is all over this record. Though you can really tell where Utada took the reigns on songs like "Me Muero" and "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - FYI". Whereas she experimented to the nines with the previous Exodus, This Is the One feels more straight-forward and to the point.

    Utada has never been a to-the-point artist. She takes her time on the journey and reaches the destination when she wants us to. Her quirks are still present here though few and far in-between, but she always felt like she was so afraid to fully embrace and display them to the west. The result was an album that she wanted to chase commercial success with and even implied it as a breakthrough with its title.  

    Whereas Beyoncé, Songz, and even Carey had similar topics they discussed on their respective 2008-2009 albums like love, sex, and not-so-humble brags, Utada had a different approach at times. Though she called their bluff with love and sex ("Dirty Desire," we are talking about you), she also forged her own melancholy path at times ("Me Muero" and "Apple and Cinnamon"). The album gives off the vibe and impression that the narrator for all the songs is a Manhattan woman who is upper class and lives in high rises with doormen, goes to art galleries, and drinks red wine from crystal glasses. Which is a good thing. She struck a good balance thematically with universal themes of love, sex, and infidelity with other, more singular themes like the tackling of the mundane, high society, and story telling.  

    That was a super long introduction. So without further ado, let us dive deep.

    I really hope no one gets the impression that I hate this album by how passionate I am about it. I still listen to this album regularly. The songs are so fun to sing along to. I regularly listen to several tracks here and love some of them. It's just kinda an odd spot in Utada's discography. You could argue that Exodus falls into similar territory, but This Is the One is really the odd man out. There's not much driving forward here, but sacrificing to appeal to the average listener which feels weird for Utada to do. She usually wins the listener over with likeability and then hits them with uniqueness but they don't shy away from it, they think "oh my gosh! This is so cool!" And there's not much of that here. 

    We see that with the very first track and lead single, "Come Back to Me." It has very little Utada sensibilities though they're there (like that piano intro is very Utada). It was designed to be instantly likeable and radio-friendly. Lyrically, there's not much special about it. Though this song is from the point of view of the offender who committed infidelity which is a fun take to see. Though it doesn't do a crazy amount with that POV. 

    "Me Muero" is a endearing song about the mundaneness of the every day. Like that day off you have when you have no plans and you lament on things like missed opportunities. It's well written lyrically. I've always had a soft spot for this song due to its relatability. Plus it's catchy. The intro of the song is unique and draws you in. 

    "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - FYI" is this album's bread and butter. Undeniably the best song of the bunch and just delectable overall. It samples Sakamoto Ryuichi's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" from the film of the same name. See? We've kinda gone full circle since that Ultra Blue album photoshoot. "Lawrence" has been sampled a lot into various pop and R&B songs. Right off the top of my head, R&B singer AI sampled it for a song from her second album, Original AI. I'd argue that "FYI" does it the best as it doesn't overly rely on the sample, but the sample does give it that same strikingly beautiful atmosphere that the original displays in full sacred force. It's just a very clever use of the sample from one genius to another. And it's a subtle way of Utada to pay homage to her Japanese heritage. 

    "Apple and Cinnamon" is another one of the album's only tracks where Utada and her producers split its identity 50/50. The music feels familiar like already covered ground at times, but Utada took the reigns and made it more original. The lyrics are all her though including the "started out so simple and innocent/chemistry like apple and cinnamon" hook. It's another one of my favorites here.

     "Taking My Money Back" is very 2009. There's not much to latch onto here. The song had me singing like I understood adult relationships back then though. Her vocal performance is very nice.

    "This One (Crying Like a Child)" is kind of a title track. Utada gives the album name a shout out during the bridge. It also fills a bit filler-ish. Utada gives a compelling vocal performance here though. I think one of the strengths of this album is its shorter length. It's 10 tracks, and all the songs are B-rank or above. We're already at the album's halfway point here.

    We get some adrenaline injected back into us with "Automatic Part II." A callback to Utada's debut single. It's high tempo R&B. And probably the rawest track on the album which contrasts to the high polish of its part one. Utada messes around with vocal effects here. The composition is one of the most interesting on the album.

    Utada works hard to sell "Dirty Desire" to us as a raunchy, sexy number. It falls a little flat though that doesn't keep us from bopping along to this song. I think she just had fun with this one. The hook "during my 9 to 5/I'm thinking 6 and 9's" is the best hook on the album. It's danceable R&B with a cool bridge right before the outro. 

    "Poppin'" is in the same vein as "Dirty Desire." Her falsetto vocals during the chorus are a nice change of pace that shows off her vocal talents. It has a secret-agent vibe. And her spoken-word bridge is sexy. She lets the deepness of her voice take the spotlight here. 

    "On and On" is another favorite of mine from the album. The "intoxicated, emancipated, unapologetic" hook is smart and fancy. The chorus is just groovy and fun to sing along to. The vocal production is nice here too. The vocals are solid throughout the whole album and possibly better than Exodus. 

    Overall, there's a lot to like here, but also a lot to feel ambivalent about. In a way, I think the album's sound is a slight throwback to First Love though through a diluted 2009 lens. There's just not much strong material here enough to make it breakthrough to new audiences like everyone had hoped. Promotions for it suffered like for Exodus and this became Utada's first (and so far, only) album to miss the top spot of the Oricon charts. The singles were okay, but they should have pushed "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - FYI" and "Apple and Cinnamon." The album should have been pushed towards Adult Contemporary audiences as it was too mature for us teenagers back in 2009 to enjoy fully.

    Even with its problems, there's still a soft spot to be had for this album. And it all has to do with moments where Utada lets herself shine through the most. 

Rank: B Rank. Yeah, you heard Utada right. They're all hers. All the stars in the sky.

Recommendation: It's good for a car ride around the block

Standouts:

    Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence - FYI

    Apple and Cinnamon

    On and On