ULTRA BLUE was Utada Hikaru’s 4th studio album. It was released on June 14, 2006 and reached number 1 with sales of over 500,000 copies, and remained the top album the second week with sales of 157,000+. The album would go over to sell over 1.3 million copies in total. This was also the highest studio album by a female artist in 2006. ULTRA BLUE was also her first album to show Hikki’s more experimental pop/dance tune. This album featured all singles from COLORS(2003) to Keep Tryin’(2006). Even though it was released 4 years after her third studio album it wasn’t really the first album she released in that amount of time. In 2004 she released her compilation album, which was the highest selling album of 2004 and her English debut album Exodus. So really it was two years since she had released an album. And this is the only album, so far, not to have an eponymous track, in other words a track with the same name as the album.

Tracks:
1. This Is Love
2. Keep Tryin’
3. BLUE
4. Nichyo no Asa
5. Making Love
6. Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro
7. COLORS
8. One Night Magic feat. Yamada Masashi
9. Kairo
10. WINGS
11. Be My Last
12. Eclipse (Interlude)
13. Passion

Review:
This Is Love is the first track on this album. The song begins with the keyboard playing. This is the perfect example of her new pop/dance tone music. The chorus is very catchy and upbeat. It’s a wonderful song and very popular, it was released as a digital single about two weeks prior to ULTRA BLUE’s release and was used to promote the album. It’s very upbeat and a somewhat fast. I love how Hikki also uses English throughout the song. The lyrics talk about how wanting “Unexpected love to deprive her of her freedom, and giving them cold kisses and warm words, This Is Love.” This was the perfect way to begin Ultra Blue.

Keep Tryin‘ was the last single to be released on this album and it’s a fantastic addition. The lyrics are a bit humorous but that’s great. The lyrics tell us all to Keep Tryin’. It was her best song in terms of digital sales until it was surpassed. The chorus was so upbeat and sounded so wonderful. And what’s better is that the PV for this song was so great. It’s already been reviewed here.

BLUE, Hikki’s favorite color and also the ballad from which the album gets part of its name from. This song is a fast, up tempo, and up beat song, even for a ballad. The keyboard again can be heard playing throughout the song. The lyrics are quite interesting but are still wonderful as always. Naturally the chorus here is the best part, and it is so catchy, a huge plus. English again is used throughout the song. The lines “Darling, darling, ah… Questions make me blue Darling, darling, ah… Tell me something good” help you get a clear idea about why the song is named as it is.

Nichyo no Asa, lit. Sunday Morning, is one of my favorite songs. For some reason some people really don’t like this song. I think it’s good, but everyone is free to think what they think. Anyway it has a constant clap beat during the bridge which adds to it. You can hear the synth in the song, which makes it even better. The lyrics are nice once you know them and throughout the song, two parts are all sung in English. The chorus sounds great, and is a bit catchy. The Sunday refers to the Sunday of Christmas 2005. A great song that shows Hikki’s new style of music.

Making Love is a sweet song, very playful, and sweet. It begins with the piano keys and then turns into a somewhat synth/dance song. The chorus is so catchy and it sounds so upbeat and happy. The lyrics are interesting, and I say that because it refers to some adult stuff, I’ll leave it at that. Otherwise a great song with a funny bridge.

Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro, lit. When Someone’s Dreams Come True, a piano driven ballad of sorrow. This lovely ballad consists of the piano and violins and a cello is seems, and it is her only all Japanese single, as no English is used. The chorus is so amazing and Hikki manages to deliver with those vocals of hers. The music was fantastic and was so beautiful, and reminiscent of some classical music. It is such a wonderful addition to this album. It’s been reviewed here.

COLORS, the first single of ULTRA BLUE also showed Hikki’s fans her new direction in music. This song has helped to add to her new style of music. The chorus is my favorite part of the song and the lyrics are so beautiful. The lyrics talk of seeing the blue sky and that COLORS seem to fade beneath the fluorescent lights, among a few other things. The most notable thing is the music which you can tell is the ethereal soung. Everyone needs to listen to this song. Come see its review here.

One Night Magic feat. Yamada Masashi, this is her first collaboration with a Japanese artist. This song is another example of her new type of music. It starts off with her singing and then Yamada singing a little part of the song, even though his part is minor. The chorus is upbeat and happy. You can also hear her singing “Oh baby give it up!” in the chorus. I can’t help but wonder why Yamada is even here in the song. He really just backs up Hikki while she singles, but that’s okay too.

Kairo, lit. Sea Route. This song is amazing and truly epic, if you can call a song epic. Whenever I hear this song I think of someone sailing across the open seas. I can honestly say that I love this song, the only problem is that it is so short, and I mean it, only 3:35. But the one problem was determining what the chorus was, I guess you could tell but it’s really hard. Still this song is pure bliss and seems mythical and is in an atmosphere of transcendence. A beautiful song on Hikki’s part.

WINGS, the second B-Side released over the course of the ULTRA BLUE singles, the first being Simple And Clean. This song features a lovely chorus backed by the piano. Here the lyrics are a little laid back and yet still sound great. The chorus sounds great, and it’s surprisingly catchy. This song has been reviewed here.

Be My Last, an acoustic ballad. This is an acoustic abllad that adds a nice ring to the album and a must have on the album. It also serves as a good example of Hikki’s adult/more mature side of music. The chorus was phenomenal and Hikki sounded great. The acoustic guitar also sounded amazing and it’s not hard to see why it’s a fan favorite. It’s been reviewed here.

Eclipse (Interlude) is the interlude that is in an atmosphere of synth. It prepares you for the final track while helping ease transition from an acoustic song to a song with reversed lyrics. It would’ve been a bit better if Hikki said some words, but then it wouldn’t be an interlude I guess. Not bad for an interlude though.

Passion, a fan favorite, is the last song on the album. Passion is one of Hikki’s most known songs to her overseas fans, along with Sanctuary. This song has reversed lyrics along with beautiful lyrics and music. The lyrics talk about remembering and how the future is shining far away. The chorus is catchy and the last verse is especially good. I can honestly say that it was such a good idea to end her album with this final, magical note. It’s been reviewed here.

Overall Review: ULTRA BLUE is one of Hikki’s best albums to date, maybe not in terms of sales, but in terms of variety and quality it is. This album is the perfect example of what her new style of music has become, which is fine for me. It had one of her best songs in terms of sales and one of her best songs in terms of digital sales, to that point. What more could you want? Finally all the songs were great and I could actually listen to all of them, unlike some other albums. No need to be BLUE at all.

Final Grade: 100A+