Word: utada
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Sept. 17 and runs until Dec. 12 of dozens of screen paintings, silk scrolls and works of calligraphy. Produced over three centuries, they include some of the most significant yet little-known works by several of Japan's most famous artists. "This is a rare opportunity," says Shinsuke Utada, a professor emeritus at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. "To have major artists from many different eras is not something you see in every temple or shrine. The priests of Konpira had an eye for good art for a very long time...
...Utada enjoys adding traditional Ja-panese touches to her image. Says Utada: "In my most recent artist photo shoot, I said, 'I want to wear a Japanese summer kimono.' At first everyone was like, 'Are you sure?' Because people don't really wear it for artist photos. I've never really seen a musician wearing it." But she did it anyway. She's also taken to wearing traditional Japanese wooden sandals, or geta, with blue jeans...
...Even as she embraces Japanese culture, Utada is preparing to tackle the English-speaking market. As a first step, she is taking a temporary leave from school to focus on establishing her career in the U.S. She recently performed a song called Blow My Whistle, which was included on the sound track of the movie Rush Hour 2. Produced by the Neptunes, one of the hottest American hip-hop production duos around, the song features a cameo from gangsta rapper Foxy Brown. Utada said her producers were worried at first that she and Brown might not be a good...
...American music industry is ruled by stereotypes: whites rock, blacks rap and croon soul, and few dare to cross the color line. There are hardly any Asian pop acts of prominence in the U.S. (no wonder some see Utada as mysterious). Utada is mounting a challenge to the status quo. On Blow My Whistle, her voice is more resonant than on her Japanese-language songs, and the track boasts beats that are more forceful. She leaves no doubt: she's got Mary J. Blige, 125th Street-type soul...
...There's another twist. Although she's been billed on other releases outside Japan as "Utada Hikaru," the credits on Blow My Whistle bill her as "Hikaru Utada"?using the Western custom of listing the surname last. Says Hikaru: "I just figured it's a good way to separate my English and Japanese personae." After the interview, she sends a follow-up e-mail that begins, "This is Hikaru Utada. (Or is it Utada Hikaru ... oh, whichever!)" She is still a freshman. She'll work things...