Maps of Music

Heart Station (2008)

Where the lyrics of Heart Station take you, and where it was really made.

Heart Station was worked on at the same time as Utada's English-language album This Is the One, which came out the following year.

Key places

Final album compositions recorded at Bunkamura Studios (2008)

Recording site Bunkamura Studios — Matsui Atushi recorded the final album compositions at Bunkamura Studios and EMI Music Japan studios in Tokyo. The final songs were also mixed at Bunkamura Studios by Goetz B. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Heart Station: seventh studio album and fifth Japanese-language album by Hikaru Utada
• Released March 19, 2008 by EMI Music Japan sublabel Eastworld; global release March 26, 2008
• Issued as a physical CD and as a digital download
• Eighth consecutive studio album fully written and produced by Utada
• Co-production completed by Teruzane Utada and long-time collaborator Miyake Akira

Background

• Recorded between 2006 and 2008
• Worked on while recording This Is the One (2009), the ninth studio album and second English-language studio album
• Announced October 23, 2007; Utada confirmed via their blog two new albums in development, one Japanese-language and one English-language
• About 60 percent of the album was recorded at the time of that blog entry
• Final songs mixed at Bunkamura Studios by Goetz B
• Mastered February 1–6, 2008 by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound Studios, New York City; ninth consecutive Utada album mastered by Jensen

Recording

• Demo versions recorded at Utada's home in Tokyo, with some songs mixed the same day
• Final album compositions recorded by Matsui Atushi at Bunkamura Studios and EMI Music Japan studios in Tokyo

Cover

• Artwork photographed by Japanese photographer Mitsuo
• Front cover features a close-up of Utada in a white polo shirt

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born January 19, 1983 in New York City to Japanese parents; mother Keiko Fuji was an enka singer, father Teruzane Utada a record producer.
• Began writing songs at age 10 and moved to Tokyo at age 11; performed as Cubic U from 1996.
• Signed with Toshiba-EMI; English debut album Precious (1998) under Cubic U.

Members

• Solo artist, known mononymously as Utada; later performed under the name Hikaru Utada.

Career

• Japanese debut First Love (1999), Japan's best-selling album of all time.
• Distance (2001) sold three million copies in its first week; Deep River (2002) followed.
• Exodus (2004) marked an English-language push in North America under the name Utada.
• Returned to Japan with Ultra Blue (2006) and Heart Station (2008); This Is the One (2009) followed.
• Long hiatus after 2010 Wild Life tour; returned with Fantôme (2016) and Hatsukoi (2018).
• Wrote theme songs for the Kingdom Hearts series, including Face My Fears with Skrillex.
• Bad Mode (2022) was the first bilingual album; Science Fiction (2024) celebrated 25 years since debut.
• Over 40 million records sold; came out as non-binary in 2021.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone Japan: editor gave the album five stars, citing its "extremely high" quality
• Rolling Stone Japan editor praised Utada's songwriting and composition and picked "Beautiful World" as the best song
• Amazon: a member highlighted the singles as the better cuts and recommended "Boku wa Kuma" as the top track
• CD Journal: a staff member chose the singles as the best songs and called the quality "lavish"
• The Japan Times: Daniel Robson criticized the apparent lack of innovation and noted that at least half the album was filled with singles
• The Japan Times: Daniel Robson picked "Fight the Blues" as the best track and called the single productions "lazy"
• Hot Express: Tetsuo Hiraga gave a mixed review, praising the production on most tracks but calling most of the music "tiring"
• Hot Express: Tetsuo Hiraga concluded that the album offers "some impact" to the listener
• Selective Hearing: staff praised the composition and single releases and concluded the album is "totally worth picking up"
• AllMusic: did not review the album; staff member David Jefferies named several tracks among Utada's greatest songs

Records

• Oricon Albums Chart: debuted at number one on the Daily and Weekly charts with 480,081 units in the first week
• Second week: number two, 135,857 units
• Stayed inside the top 10 for 10 consecutive weeks and 55 weeks on the album charts
• Oricon Style 2008 year-end: fifth best-selling album, 997,536 units
• Billboard Japan Top Album Sales Chart: number one in the week of March 31, 2008
• Japan: RIAJ million certification for one million shipments; Oricon Style total 1,011,373 units
• South Korea: failed to chart on Gaon but certified platinum by Gaon, over 10,247 units
• United States: failed to chart on Billboard 200 but reached number 58 on the iTunes Top Albums chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The album was not promoted with a concert tour, but some tracks were performed on Utada's Wild Life concert tour in December 2010.
• The first single was "Boku wa Kuma", released on November 22, 2006, with selected formats including a photo book of Utada's drawings.
• On December 2, Tower Records ranked the album second best-selling of 2008, behind Namie Amuro's Best Fiction.
• "Fight the Blues" was the only digital single and was scheduled for March 26, 2008, but was pushed back to April 8.
• "Celebrate" was originally titled "Yakekuso" (やけくそ, Desperation).

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact