Heart Station (song)

"Heart Station" is a song by Japanese musician Hikaru Utada, which was released as a double A-side single alongside her song "Stay Gold" on February 20, 2008.[1] The title track for her album Heart Station, the song was heavily promoted on radio stations, for three weeks it was the number one song on the newly established Billboard Hot Top Airplay chart, despite only managing to reach number two on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.

"Heart Station"
Single by Hikaru Utada
from the album Heart Station
ReleasedFebruary 20, 2008 (2008-02-20)
Recorded2007
GenrePop
Length4:37
LabelEMI Music Japan
Songwriter(s)Hikaru Utada
Producer(s)Hikaru Utada, Akira Miyake, Teruzane Utada
Hikaru Utada singles chronology
"Stay Gold"
(2008)		 "Heart Station"
(2008)		 "Prisoner of Love"
(2008)
Music video
"Heart Station" on YouTube

Background and development

In February 2007, Utada released "Flavor of Life", the theme song for the drama Hana Yori Dango Returns, which became one of her most commercially successful singles, selling over eight million downloads and becoming the second most digitally successful song of 2007 globally.[2][3] This was followed by a second single in 2007, featuring the songs "Beautiful World", the theme song for the animated film Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, and "Kiss & Cry", a song used to promote Nissin Foods' Cup Noodles.[4]

In October 2007, Utada's song "Stay Gold" was unveiled in Kao Corporation's Asience shampoo commercials.[5] It was released as a ringtone on December 7, managing to be downloaded 250,000 times a month after its release, and was promoted at radio stations in mid January 2008.[6]

During the process of writing the song, Utada decided to make the song have a theme of "heart electric waves", likening emotional signals to radio signals. She decided on this because she felt that radio stations had a hand-made, analog, loving and warm feeling to them, which resonated with the song matter.[7]

Promotion and release

The song was used in commercials for cellphone music store Recochoku from late January 2008, which featured Utada dancing in a bear suit fastened in the shape of her stuffed teddy bear, Kuma Chang.[8]

Due to the radio theme of the song's lyrics, the advertising campaign for the song focused on FM radio airplay. It was released to radio stations across Japan on January 21, and a special website was created for the song in order to make it easier for people to request the song on the radio.[9][10] In later February, the song reached the top of the Billboard Hot Top Airplay chart, and manage to stay there for a total of three weeks.[11][12] Despite this, the song peaked only at number two on the composite Japan Hot 100 chart, behind boyband Arashi's "Step and Go".[13]

In February, Utada went on a promotional campaign to promote the song, appearing on several music programs to perform the song: Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ on February 18,[14] Music Station and Music Fighter on February 22,[15][16] and at Count Down TV on February 23.[17] She was featured in many music and fashion magazines in Japan to promote the single, including issues of Pia, Patipati, CD Data, What's In? and Pop Teen.[18]

Music video

The music video for the song was released on February 4, 2008. It was her first video in a year since "Flavor of Life (Ballad Version)" to feature herself personally (after animated videos were released for her other 2007 singles, "Kiss & Cry" and "Beautiful World").[19] The video was directed by Masashi Mutō,[19] a director who had worked with such musical acts as Mika Nakashima and L'Arc-en-Ciel, however had not worked with Utada before.

The music video featured Utada wearing white headphones as she rides a subway train. Surrounding her are other subway users, who are immobile, and are either shown as black silhouettes or fast blurs. Mutō and Utada gave the video a theme of "gaze", and tried to focus on Utada's expressions and mannerisms as she rode among the other subway patrons.[19]

Critical reception

CDJournal reviewers were positive, praising in particular the song's backing vocals reusing the melody line (described as having a "tender floating-feeling"), and Utada's arrangement. They felt that the song expressed sweet, sour and painful emotions, and praised the lyric "kokoro no denpa todoitemasu ka?" ("Do my heart's radio waves reach you?") in particular as "touching the heartstrings", as if a hand were stretching out and softly touching the listener.[20][21] Takayuki Saito of Hot Express felt the work established Utada further as a sound creator, and praised her vocals, lyrics and the general "high level of perfection".[22]

Listen.jp reviewer Shigefumi Koike praised how the song showed off Utada's "adventurous spirit" while remaining an easily listenable pop song. He felt that the most notable aspect of "Heart Station" was how Utada's raw, unprocessed vocals created a strong feeling of warmth. Koike felt that both "Stay Gold" and "Heart Station" were a "magnificent" display of Utada's "futuristic" abilities as a sound creator, and that both songs showed off the emotive qualities of Utada's vocals and had great "ambient sound arrangements".[23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Hikaru Utada.

"Heart Station" / "Stay Gold" single
No.TitleLength
1."Heart Station"4:37
2."Stay Gold"5:15
3."Heart Station" (original karaoke)4:38
4."Stay Gold" (original karaoke)5:15
Total length:19:45

Personnel

Personnel details were sourced from "Heart Station" / "Stay Gold"'s liner notes booklet.[24]

  • Goetz B. for 365 Artists – mixing
  • Atsushi Matsui – recording
  • Akira Miyake – production
  • Yuzuru Tomita – additional programming
  • Hikaru Utada – all vocals, arrangement, keyboards, production, programming, writing
  • Teruzane Utada – production

Chart rankings
Charts (2008) Peak
position
Japan Billboard Japan Hot 100[13] 2
Japan Oricon weekly singles[25]
  • "Heart Station" / "Stay Gold"
 3
RIAJ Reco-kyō ringtones Top 100[26] 9

Sales and certifications
Chart Amount
Oricon physical sales[27]
  • "Heart Station" / "Stay Gold"
 77,000
RIAJ cellphone download certification[28] Platinum (250,000)
RIAJ PC download certification[29] Gold (100,000)
RIAJ physical certification[30]
  • "Heart Station" / "Stay Gold"
 Gold (100,000)

Release history
Region Date Format Distributing label Catalog codes
Japan January 21, 2008[10][31] Ringtone, radio add date EMI Music Japan
February 20, 2008[1][32][33] CD single, digital download TOCT-40200
South Korea Digital download Universal Music Korea
Taiwan August 31, 2008[34] CD single Gold Typhoon 5099920619220

References
  1. "HEART STATION / Stay Gold Single, Maxi". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  2. AFP (January 24, 2008). "Online music sales grow 40 percent in 2007: IFPI" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 19, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  3. 宇多田ヒカル、デビュー以来全アルバムがミリオン達成 [Hikaru Utada has her first digitally million album] (in Japanese). Barks. March 13, 2008. Archived from the original on August 29, 2014. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  4. "Beautiful World / Kiss & Cry". Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  5. 新曲『Stay Gold』花王ヘアケアブランド「アジエンス」新TVCFタイアップ決定！ (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. October 4, 2007. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  6. 宇多田ヒカルの新曲「Stay Gold」試聴スタート [Trial listening starts for Hikaru Utada's new song "Stay Gold"] (in Japanese). Natalie. January 7, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  7. 宇多田ヒカルが全国のFM局とコラボレーション (in Japanese). Barks. February 21, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  8. 宇多田ヒカル、“ポンポンクマちゃん”映像が解禁！ (in Japanese). Barks. January 25, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  9. 宇多田ヒカル「HEART STATION」特設ページがオープン (in Japanese). Natalie. January 25, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  10. 「HEART STATION」1/21〜O.Aスタート！ (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. January 15, 2007. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  11. "Japan Billboard Hot Top Airplay". Billboard (in Japanese). February 27, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  12. "Japan Billboard Hot Top Airplay". Billboard (in Japanese). March 5, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  13. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). February 27, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  14. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ". (in Japanese). February 18, 2008. Fuji Television. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  15. 主演者ライナップ　2008/02/22 (in Japanese). TV Asahi. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  16. "Music Fighter". (in Japanese). February 22, 2008. Nippon Television. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  17. "Count Down TV". (in Japanese). February 23, 2008. Tokyo Broadcasting System. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  18. 「HEART STATION / Stay Gold」記事掲載メディア一覧 (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. February 20, 2008. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  19. ヒカルの視線に釘付け!「HEART STATION」PV完成 (in Japanese). Natalie. February 4, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  20. "宇多田ヒカル / HEART STATION / Stay Gold" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  21. "宇多田ヒカル / HEART STATION" (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  22. Takayuki Saito. "HEART STATION / Stay Gold" (in Japanese). Hot Express. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  23. 新作レビュー ＨＥＡＲＴ　ＳＴＡＴＩＯＮ／Ｓｔａｙ　Ｇｏｌｄ (in Japanese). Listen.jp. Archived from the original on March 21, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  24. Heart Station / Stay Gold (Media notes) (in Japanese). Hikaru Utada. Tokyo, Japan: EMI Music Japan. 2008.CS1 maint: others (link)
  25. "HEART STATION/Stay Gold" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  26. "レコード協会調べ　2月度有料音楽配信チャート（「着うた（R）」）＜略称：2月度レコ協チャート（「着うた（R）」）＞" (in Japanese). RIAJ. 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  27. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  28. レコード協会調べ 3月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: March Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. April 20, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  29. レコード協会調べ　10月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: October Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. November 20, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  30. ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2008年2月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (February 2008)] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. March 10, 2008. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  31. 「HEART STATION」1/21〜着うた(R)先行配信開始！（レコ直♪先行） (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. January 21, 2007. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  32. 「HEART STATION」着うたフル・PC配信スタート！ (in Japanese). EMI Music Japan. February 20, 2007. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  33. "Heart Station" (in Korean). Bugs. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  34. "宇多田 / HEART STATION/Stay Gold". Books.co.tw. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
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