Hikaru Utada – «Distance» альбомы және жетістіктері

Distance is the third studio album by Japanese singer Hikaru Utada. Toshiba EMI released it on March 28, 2001, making it her second release with the label. Utada wrote and co produced the majority of the album, alongside previous collaborators Akira Miyake and her father Teruzane Utada, as well as new collaborations with American producers Rodney Jerkins and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Distance, like its predecessor First Love (1999), is influenced by pop music and R&B, with additional hip hop, rock music, reggae, and techno influences from Western music. Music critics praised the overall sound and production quality of Distance, earning her numerous awards and recognitions as a result of its critical success. Prior to its release, Distance was scheduled to coincide with the release of Ayumi Hamasaki's greatest hits album A Best (2001), which Avex Trax had organised. This resulted in extensive coverage in both Japanese and Western music media. Despite its marketing and competition, Distance was a huge commercial success, debuting at number one on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart with the highest ever first week sales in music history, and eventually becoming one of Japan's best selling albums. To promote the album, Utada released four singles. All four songs were successful in the Japanese market, selling over a million copies and becoming best sellers. The album's lead single, "Addicted to You," remains one of her best selling releases to date. She then performed two shows in Japan: Bohemian Summer 2000 and a special Unplugged event, both of which resulted in live releases. Furthermore, a video collection titled Utada Hikaru Single Clip Collection Vol. 2 was released, which included all of the album's music videos.

First Love, Utada's debut studio album, was released in 1999 via Toshiba EMI. First Love, which she co wrote and produced with her father Teruzane and Akira Miyake, was a commercial success throughout the year, becoming the best selling album in Japanese music history. With a string of successful singles, Utada quickly rose to prominence in Japan, where he was ranked fifth on the Tokyo Hot 100's Top 100 Artists of the 20th Century, as voted on by stations and listeners. Following the album's release, Utada began working on Distance. She enlisted the help of her father and Miyake in the album's production, in addition to her own songwriting and recording. Utada collaborated with American producers Rodney Jerkins, and duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis on the album, which included the songs "Wait & See (Risk)", "Addicted to You", and "Time Limit". According to Ian Martin, writing for AllMusic, the tracks produced by Jerkins, Jam, and Lewis had a "rich production" as opposed to the "cheap, tinny" sound of Japanese pop at the time. The song received high marks for its production quality and sound, with praise towards its producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Commercially, it reached number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for shipments of over 1.6 million. To date, it is Utada's best selling single. The album's second single, "Wait & See (Risk)", was released on April 19, 2000, with a physical edition that included a few B side tracks and remixes. Critics also praised the single's sound and production value. It reached number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and was the album's second single to receive quadruple RIAJ certification. On June 30, 2000, the songs "For You" and "Time Limit" were released as double A side singles. Both tracks had music videos, with Utada performing the song live. It received positive reviews from critics and debuted at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart. The single was certified triple platinum by RIAJ after shipping over 1.2 million units in Japan. The fourth and final single from the album, "Can You Keep a Secret?" debuted on February 16, 2001. The song was promoted during the 2001 Japanese television drama series Hero, in which Utada appeared as an actor. It received positive reviews from publications and debuted at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart, earning her final triple platinum certification from RIAJ. It also received platinum and gold certifications for exceeding 250,000 digital downloads and 50 million streams, respectively. Utada performed two shows in Japan to promote the album. The first was the Bohemian Summer 2000 show, which was released live on December 9, 2000, several months before Distance. A special Unplugged event began in 2001, followed by a live release in November of the same year. Furthermore, a video collection titled Utada Hikaru Single Clip Collection Vol. 2 was released, which included all of the album's music videos as well as behind the scenes footage for each video.

Distance was re released worldwide on January 23, 2019, via digital and streaming services, with a double vinyl edition re issued in Japan by Universal Music on March 10, 2022. Toshiba EMI had scheduled the album's release date for March 28. At the same time, Japanese record label Avex Trax planned to release A Best, the greatest hits album by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki. Avex's strategy was to compete with Utada's album, as both Hamasaki and Utada were prominent figures in Japanese pop music at the time. The announcement of both album release dates sparked widespread controversy in Japanese and Western media, with claims that the two singers were "rivals" in professional as well as personal circumstances. Both singers claimed it was a label sponsored campaign, with Hamasaki expressing her displeasure over a lack of material and creative control of A Best. Both albums received extensive promotion prior to their release on March 28, but both were extremely successful in terms of first week sales. In Japan, Distance eventually reached number one on the Oricon Albums Chart, while A Best debuted at number two. Distance sold over three million copies in its first week, becoming the fastest selling album in music history. It topped the charts for two non consecutive weeks before being dethroned by A Best in the second week. Distance had sold 4,404,000 units by the end of 2001, making it the best selling album of the year, with A Best coming in second. The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) certified the album quadruple million for selling more than four million copies, and Oricon reports that it sold more than 4.472 million in Japan. Oricon named it the best selling Japanese album of the 2000s, and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) ranked it as the tenth best selling record of 2001. The album is currently the fourth best selling album in Japan, trailing only Glay's greatest hits album Review and B'z The Best's "Pleasure" and Utada's studio album First Love, the best selling record in Japanese history. Distance also held the record for the fastest selling sales in a single week for 14 years, until 25 by British singer Adele broke it in November 2015.

Region Date Format(s) Label Ref. (Reference(s)) Japan March 28, 2001 Compact disc, CD, Cassette tape, Phonograph record, vinylToshiba EMI China 2001 CD Indonesia Philippines South Korea Taiwan Thailand Various January 23, 2019 Digital download EMI Music Japan March 10, 2022 Vinyl Universal Music Japan