Deep River (Utada Hikaru album)
| Deep River | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Utada Hikaru | ||||
| Released | June 19, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 2001–2002 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:54 | |||
| Label | Toshiba-EMI | |||
| Producer |
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| Utada Hikaru chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Deep River | ||||
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Deep River is the third studio album (fourth overall) released by Japanese singer-songwriter Utada Hikaru, released in June 19, 2002. It sold just over 2.35 million copies in its first week of release[1] (surpassing 2,026,870 units by First Love and 3,002,720 by Distance in their respective debut week), charting at #1 on the weekly, monthly and yearly Oricon charts. Deep River is ranked as Japan's 5th highest album in debut sales, and 8th in the all-time album sales in Japan.[2]
The final track, "Hikari", would be her first single to reach #1 on the Oricon Weekly Singles chart three times, and the Japanese version of the theme song for Square Enix's RPG video game, Kingdom Hearts. The English version, "Simple and Clean", (released in her COLORS single), also accompanied promotion of Kingdom Hearts in overseas versions. The album was cited by many fans and critics as Utada's most acclaimed work, as well as achieving the Triple Crown at the 17th Golden Disc Awards in Japan.[3]
According to IFPI, the album is listed at #18 on the Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2002.[4]
Track listing
All tracks written by Utada Hikaru.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sakura Drops (SAKURAドロップス Sakura Doroppusu)" | 4:58 |
| 2. | "Traveling" | 5:14 |
| 3. | "Shiawase ni Narō (幸せになろう, Let's Be Happy)" | 4:46 |
| 4. | "Deep River" | 4:37 |
| 5. | "Letters" | 4:48 |
| 6. | "Play Ball (プレイ・ボール Purei Bōru)" | 4:14 |
| 7. | "Tokyo Nights (東京NIGHTS)" | 4:43 |
| 8. | "A.S.A.P." | 4:56 |
| 9. | "Uso Mitai na I Love You (嘘みたいな I Love You, The Dubious I Love You)" | 4:49 |
| 10. | "Final Distance" | 5:38 |
| 11. | "Bridge (Interlude)" | 1:09 |
| 12. | "Hikari (光, Light)" | 5:02 |
All songs were arranged by Kei Kawano and Utada Hikaru, except for the following:
- 1. "Sakura Drops" – arrangement: Utada Hikaru and Kei Kawano (the order of the name was changed)
- 7. "Tokyo NIGHTS" – with string arrangement: Kei Kawano
- 8. "A.S.A.P." – arrangement: Yuichiro Honda, additional rhythm track arrangement: Kei Kawano and Utada Hikaru
- 10. "Final Distance" – with string arrangement: Neko Saito
Singles
| Date | Title | Peak position | Weeks | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 25, 2001 | "Final Distance" | 2 | 13 | 582,120 |
| November 28, 2001 | "Traveling" | 1 | 21 | 856,140 |
| March 20, 2002 | "Hikari" | 1 | 13 | 598,130 |
| May 9, 2002 | "Sakura Drops / Letters" | 1 | 10 | 686,720 |
Charts
Deep River – Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)
| Release | Chart | Peak position | Debut sales | Sales total | Chart run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 19, 2002 | Oricon Daily Albums Chart | 1 | |||
| June 19, 2002 | Oricon Weekly Albums Chart | 1 | 2,350,170 | 3,605,000 | 56 |
| June 19, 2002 | Oricon Yearly Albums Chart | 1 | |||