Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Written while they were finishing their 2008 Japanese-language album Heart Station, This Is the One is singer, songwriter, producer, and Japanese megastar Utada's second attempt to cross over to the English-speaking market, and a much more reasonable one at that. While the English-language album Exodus tried to be everything at once, Utada the performer is clearly defined here with slick, polished production supporting their songs rather than dominating them. The opening ballad, "Come Back to Me," is everything good about Utada all in one, with simple, precious lyrics and a delicate melody sharing space with a clever idea, which in this case is the bombastic piano intro that's straight out of classical music. Clever ideas are Utada's secret weapon as "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence -- FYI" combines the classic Ryuichi Sakamoto movie theme it's half-named after with contemporary R&B-flavored come-ons, as in "FYI: We're gonna be up all night." The sexually charged "Poppin'" would be a much lesser song without the smart arrangement that wonderfully re-creates the spy movie sound of the '60s rather than becoming a James Bond-biting cliché. Describing a couple's compatibility as "Apple and Cinnamon" makes the Tori Amos-like cut a standout, but most of their lyrics are riddled with clichés with plenty of "whispers in the dark" and whatnot. This means the epic, emotional "Sanctuary" suite that closes the album has to rely on arrangement and delivery, and Utada nails both, combining the grandness of a Disney song like "A Whole New World" with the angst of, remarkably, Nine Inch Nails. Big behind-the-scenes names like Chris "Tricky" Stewart and Antonio "LA" Reid point to the urban-meets-pop attitude of the record, but Utada will not be overshadowed. This album is theirs alone and when placed next to Exodus, it's aptly titled.
© David Jeffries /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From kr133.33/month
Tor Erik Hermansen, ComposerLyricist - Mikkel S. Eriksen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - PHIL TAN, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kuk Harrell, Producer - StarGate, Producer - Utada, Producer, Co-Producer, MainArtist - Hikaru Utada, ComposerLyricist - Sking U, Producer, Co-Producer - Atsushi Matsui, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Masahito Komori, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Tor Erik Hermansen, ComposerLyricist - Mikkel S. Eriksen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - PHIL TAN, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kuk Harrell, Producer - StarGate, Producer - Utada, Producer, Co-Producer, Programmer, MainArtist - Hikaru Utada, ComposerLyricist - Sking U, Producer, Co-Producer - Masahito Komori, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Mikkel S. Eriksen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - PHIL TAN, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kuk Harrell, Producer - Ryuichi Sakamoto, ComposerLyricist - StarGate, Producer - Don Goodrick, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Utada, Producer, Additional Keyboards, Co-Producer, Programmer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Sking U, Producer, Co-Producer - Atsushi Matsui, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Tetsuro Sawamoto, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Tor Erik Hermansen, ComposerLyricist - Mikkel S. Eriksen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - PHIL TAN, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - StarGate, Producer - Utada, Producer, Co-Producer, Programmer, MainArtist - Hikaru Utada, ComposerLyricist - Sking U, Producer, Co-Producer - Atsushi Matsui, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kouichi Ishida, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Christopher Stewart, ComposerLyricist - Jaycen Joshua, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dave Pensado, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kuk Harrell, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Andrew Wuepper, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Randy Urbanski, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - C. "tricky" Stewart, Producer - Chris 'Tek' O'Ryan, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Utada, Producer, MainArtist - Hikaru Utada, ComposerLyricist - Brian "B-Luv" Thomas, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Roxanne Estrada, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Sking U, Producer, Co-Producer - Atsushi Matsui, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Masahito Komori, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Tor Erik Hermansen, ComposerLyricist - Mikkel S. Eriksen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - PHIL TAN, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - StarGate, Producer - Chris 'Tek' O'Ryan, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Utada, Producer, Co-Producer, MainArtist - Hikaru Utada, ComposerLyricist - Sking U, Producer, Co-Producer - Atsushi Matsui, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Masahito Komori, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Christopher Stewart, ComposerLyricist - Sean Hall, ComposerLyricist - Jaycen Joshua, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kuk Harrell, Producer, Co-Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Andrew Wuepper, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - C. "tricky" Stewart, Producer - Chris 'Tek' O'Ryan, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kelly Sheehan, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Utada, Producer, MainArtist - Hikaru Utada, ComposerLyricist - Brian "B-Luv" Thomas, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sean K. "Sep" Hall, Producer, Programmer
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Christopher Stewart, ComposerLyricist - Jaycen Joshua, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dave Pensado, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kuk Harrell, Producer, Co-Producer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Andrew Wuepper, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Randy Urbanski, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - C. "tricky" Stewart, Producer - Chris 'Tek' O'Ryan, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bojan Dugic, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Utada, Producer, MainArtist - Hikaru Utada, ComposerLyricist - Brian "B-Luv" Thomas, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Angie Romasanta, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Sking U, Producer, Co-Producer - Atsushi Matsui, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Masahito Komori, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Tor Erik Hermansen, ComposerLyricist - Mikkel S. Eriksen, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Josh Houghkirk, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - PHIL TAN, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kuk Harrell, Producer - StarGate, Producer - Utada, Producer, Co-Producer, MainArtist - Hikaru Utada, ComposerLyricist - Sking U, Producer, Co-Producer - Atsushi Matsui, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Masahito Komori, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Christopher Stewart, ComposerLyricist - Sean Hall, ComposerLyricist - Jaycen Joshua, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kuk Harrell, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Andrew Wuepper, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - C. "tricky" Stewart, Producer - Chris 'Tek' O'Ryan, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Utada, Producer, MainArtist - Hikaru Utada, ComposerLyricist - Brian "B-Luv" Thomas, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Roxanne Estrada, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Sean K. "Sep" Hall, Producer
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Hikaru Utada, Producer, Vocals, Recording Arranger, Programming, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Kei Kawano, Keyboards, Recording Arranger, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Akira Miyake, Producer - Utada Sking Teruzane, Producer - Hironori Akiyama, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Kazuhide Tsunemi, Programming, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2003 EMI Music Japan Inc.
Utada, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Matthew Rodhe, Programmer
℗ 2006 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Utada, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Matthew Rodhe, Programmer
℗ 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group
Album review
Written while they were finishing their 2008 Japanese-language album Heart Station, This Is the One is singer, songwriter, producer, and Japanese megastar Utada's second attempt to cross over to the English-speaking market, and a much more reasonable one at that. While the English-language album Exodus tried to be everything at once, Utada the performer is clearly defined here with slick, polished production supporting their songs rather than dominating them. The opening ballad, "Come Back to Me," is everything good about Utada all in one, with simple, precious lyrics and a delicate melody sharing space with a clever idea, which in this case is the bombastic piano intro that's straight out of classical music. Clever ideas are Utada's secret weapon as "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence -- FYI" combines the classic Ryuichi Sakamoto movie theme it's half-named after with contemporary R&B-flavored come-ons, as in "FYI: We're gonna be up all night." The sexually charged "Poppin'" would be a much lesser song without the smart arrangement that wonderfully re-creates the spy movie sound of the '60s rather than becoming a James Bond-biting cliché. Describing a couple's compatibility as "Apple and Cinnamon" makes the Tori Amos-like cut a standout, but most of their lyrics are riddled with clichés with plenty of "whispers in the dark" and whatnot. This means the epic, emotional "Sanctuary" suite that closes the album has to rely on arrangement and delivery, and Utada nails both, combining the grandness of a Disney song like "A Whole New World" with the angst of, remarkably, Nine Inch Nails. Big behind-the-scenes names like Chris "Tricky" Stewart and Antonio "LA" Reid point to the urban-meets-pop attitude of the record, but Utada will not be overshadowed. This album is theirs alone and when placed next to Exodus, it's aptly titled.
© David Jeffries /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 13 track(s)
- Total length: 00:52:24
- Main artists: Hikaru Utada
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Mercury Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 2009 UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ 2009 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.