Ultra Blue

Ultra Blue (stylized in all caps) is the sixth album by Japanese–American singer Hikaru Utada, released on June 14, 2006, by EMI Music Japan. It is the first original Japanese language album under Hikaru Utada's name in four years since her third album Deep River (2002). While the arrangements for her album Deep River were done collaboratively, all but one of the songs on Ultra Blue were written, composed, and arranged solely by Utada, who also did the programming herself. In this album, the R&B elements that have been present since her debut are further diminished, and the majority of the songs have an electronic flavor with an emphasis on synth sounds. Utada also stated that with this album, she was able to "acknowledge all of her good and bad parts and express them without hiding them," and her choice of words in the lyrics became livelier and freer than before. Ultra Blue contains 13 songs, including 6 singles released between 2003 and 2006. The album sold 500,317 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 1 on the Oricon Albums Chart. By the end of the fiscal year it became 2006's best selling original album by a Japanese female soloist. During the first week of release in Taiwan, the album was responsible for 26% of Japanese music sales. It was also the fourth most downloaded album of the year on iTunes Japan, and was certified as a million seller by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. During summer 2006, Utada held a nationwide concert tour to help support the album titled "Utada United 2006."

In 2002, around the time of the release of her third album Deep River, Utada signed an exclusive contract with the record label Island Def Jam, and soon after the release of her single "Colors" in 2003, she began working on and recording an English language album under the Utada name. In the meantime, Utada held her Budokan tour "Hikaru no 5," and also released the hit single "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro," the theme song for the movie Casshern, and her first compilation album Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1. In autumn 2004, she released her first album Exodus under the name Utada, and in 2005 she restarted her activities in Japan, releasing the three singles "Be My Last," "Passion," and "Keep Tryin'" in autumn 2005, winter 2005 and winter 2006. Utada said that during the experimental process of arranging and experimenting with her own arrangements for Exodus, she was able to "try out what she wanted to do with the 'sound,'" and that after the album's production, she came to prefer "simple" sounds and arrangements. In an interview at the time of the release of "Be My Last," she said the following;

"Be My Last" and "Passion," which were produced in succession, are also placed consecutively on the album, with the interludes between the two songs representing the wild feelings of "anger" that were in the middle of the two songs. The title of the interlude is "Eclipse," which means "God's wrath," and when the eclipse is over, the song is followed by "Passion," which is positioned as a "blue sky" for Utada. The song is not only "blue sky" but also "light of hope" and "joy of understanding."

Compared to its predecessor Deep River, Ultra Blue features more songs with arrangements that emphasize Utada's own hammering synth sounds, with a variety of tones, and Japanese culture website Real Sound said; "Two patterns are used, one that stretches long in the background and the other that growls in the background, changing the song's different tastes in the songs." Real Sound also pointed out; "She uses two different patterns, one that stretches long in the background, and one that growls in the background." The album begins with "This Is Love," which incorporates a lot of techno/electro elements in its track production. The song, according to Utada, is a song in which she says she was able to incorporate her own worldview and sense of values, and deliberately take the lyrics out of the song in a way that she could not express herself before, and that she feels she has developed her own ability to express herself. Musically, "Keep Tryin'" is a pop song. Lyrically, the song discusses the theme of self empowerment, and talks about people doing the best they can at their passions. During the song's bridge section, a child's toy piano is playing; Utada reflected that its inclusion reminded her of a child's "admiration" and their questionable "future's." She stated that the "old" and "falling apart" piano playing was live instrumentation, which she bought from a random clerk at a toy department store. She labelled the composition as "gentle." The song "Nichiyō no Asa" is organically composed of several loops, Crafted as up tempo electro pop number, the song "Making Love" is about Utada's friendship with her best friend who suddenly had to move to Osaka, and it is a tune that reveals her own distorted side. "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro" was released before her U. S. debut, and its quiet composition, which incorporates mainly an acoustic piano and very few strings, allows the lyrics to stand more prominently. "Colors" is the oldest song on the album, and has a song like sentimentalism throughout over a track that also includes a two step beat, with a melancholic first half that picks up quickly in the chorus. The reason for including the song in this album is because Utada stated; "I decided to include it from the beginning because I didn't want to have all the singles on the album in case someone wants to listen to my song half a century from now or something." The ballad number "Kairo" combines strings that bring poignant and wistful imagery with an abstract rhythmic arrangement. According to Utada, the song expresses the thought of "rebirth, repetition, something starts, and when it grows up, you have to destroy it again, and life is a repetition of that," as well as the pain of such a repetition. "Passion" is the album's closing number and contains elements of genres such as alternative rock and ambient, with an impressive backing track of looping tom drums and whistles. The lyrics focus on the thought, "A person in the middle of the flow of time, facing either direction in that sphere, and it is the passion and zest for life within you that connects the past, present, and future all together." The song peaked at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart, and was certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for exceeding one million unit shipments. The albums second single, "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro," was released on April 21, 2004, through EMI Music Japan. It also peaked at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart, and was certified Double Platinum in Japan. "Be My Last" was released as the albums third single by EMI Music Japan on September 28, 2005. The song peaked at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart, and was certified Double Platinum just like its predecessor. "Passion" was released as the album's fourth single on December 14, 2005, and peaked at number four on the Oricon Singles Chart, while achieving a Gold certification in the country. The album's fifth single, "Keep Tryin'," was released on February 22, 2006, through EMI Music Japan. It peaked at number two in the country, and was certified Platinum. Platinum for full length cellphone downloads, and Gold for full length PC downloads. "This is Love" was the 9th most downloaded song on iTunes Japan during the year 2006.

Utada embarked on nationwide concert tour called "Utada United 2006" to promote Ultra Blue. It was Utada's second concert tour of Japan following her Bohemian Summer 2000 tour. The "Utada United 2006" tour ran from July 1, 2006, to September 10, 2006. A live DVD of the tour was released on December 20, 2006.