I found 'Come Back to Me' rather boring and pretty much a typical, safe R & B song. So, i'm not too fond of the song. But i'm still looking forward to the album release. I'm not sure what to expect. I just hope she can deliver musically in her upcoming album. But hey, if she does get promoted more and finds some success, that would be pretty cool.

I'm still got hope maybe just 1 song in her new album really show her real music ability.
And sry a bit off topic Taiyou a girl wow I thought u were a man.

Positive expectations comes up

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Wow, I have a feeling that a good majority thinks i'm a male. xD It's alright.

well...from the interview she had with the guy from the examiner...he said that "come back to me" is set to hit pop radio soon so early promotions...already something exodus didnt have...this might be the year...coincidentally...thats the title of her album..i think she also waited for this moment to come where she sweeps in and mesmorizes the american ears as well...

but not me taiyou...i knew all along ^_^ kudos

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I don't mean to single you out because I think that was just a kind of throw-away comment, so don't feel that the following is about you necessarily, but I run into that kind of sentiment nearly anytime Utada approaches the US market and English music, and I just can't help but find it completely laughable.

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Watch out for people that overuse the "sellout" sentiment:

They didn't cry "sellout" when she signed a major record deal

They didn't cry "sellout" when Utada became one of the biggest pop music acts in the world

They didn't cry "sellout" when she lent her music to commercials, TV shows, and videogames

They didn't cry "sellout" when she endorsed consumer products

No. When did they cry "sellout?"

They cried "sellout" when she made Exodus, though it's by all accounts her most daring album

They cry "sellout" when she makes a pop-ballad single that--- now let's be real here--- would fit right in on any of her other albums

These people who do this are not actually concerned with Utada's artistic integrity. Rather, they're credibility queens that care about using Utada's relative obscurity to help their posturing of being a hip connoisseur of discriminating taste, completely oblivious to the fact that all that's really happening is Utada's simply crossing over from one hyper-commercial mainstream area to another.

Because if these people were truly sincere in their supposed interest in their artists not selling out, they wouldn't be following one of the planet's highest-selling, biggest money-making mainstream performers in the first place.

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I'm just going to copy-and-paste that every time I encounter somebody like that on the web, because I'm tired of dealing with their nonsense. I recommend anybody that feels similar to do the same.

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I registered just for this comment. I'm usually a lurker, but I definitely had to get a username so I could tell you that you summed up this mentality perfectly. Although I would add that these people rely on the word "sellout" in the musical sense -- making music to sell -- without regard for the whole definition. I don't think this can be argued (while still keeping in mind the list you posted). For her most recent tie-in songs, Beautiful World was something she wanted to write because of her love for Neon Genesis Evangelion. "Prisoner of Love" for HS I cannot surely say. I'll venture to say that thought "hey, why not?" instead of "hmmm, how much money can I make off of this?" She genuinely enjoys making music and is probably rich enough that she does not need to rely on tie-in songs for money. Publicity, yes. Money, not so much. I would also argue that although she is mainstream in the sense of being "established" as a big-selling artist. But in terms of the music, I would not argue this. She has more in common, I think, with people outside of the mainstream artistically these days. Some people may argue that this is untrue for, say, any number of the songs from her first three albums (myself included -- that was her "musical adolescence": at times derivative and at times original). While there are mainstream sounds there, she still had something different to distinguish herself as a musician. And yes, Exodus is probably the most daring (which isn't to say that her recent music has not been so -- she has her own musical personality that can be clearly heard even if the music is not as jarring as what appears on Exodus) work to date.

Furthermore, just because she worked with Stargate and Tricky this time does not mean that she is making music to make money. She has stated that the album has an overall mainstream sound. Whether this is actually true or not (I don't know what her conception of "mainstream" is) is yet to be seen (although Come Back To Me is pretty "mainstream" with more than a hint of Utada essence -- it is precisely because of this that it reminds me of much of First Love, even the title track itself, an idea that she has actually said she agrees with) Mainstream music does not preclude personality, originality, or creativity. Acceptance among other conventional work does not necessarily mean conformity. That's the problem with using the word "mainstream" for this type of discussion -- the musical climate at any given time in the so-called mainstream is not black and white. I can name a number of mainstream artists that are definitely not mainstream in the popular connotation. I think many people automatically associate "mainstream" (a word often bandied about) with "crap". That is nothing but musical snobbery -- the very same mentality that you sum up so perfectly above. Not to mention much of the Western online J-Music community as a whole is extremely hypocritical in embracing arguably mainstream J-Music as so original and amazing (so "deep" and "meaningful"!) while many dismiss "all American music" as crap -- even though many of the artists they listen to are identical in sound to the American artists they so despise.

Again, I enjoyed your post -- a voice of reason among the many short-sighted, dismissive, and just plain not thoughtful Utada fans on the Interwebs.

why is that guy going to say things about selling out when he is a supporter??? and he still wants to give her a listen on the album she's going to be a sellout from...hmm...quite strange i might say...

and i feel apologetic for bashing on her exodus album...hey i understand what i said about it and it was brave of her to do something like attempting to release an english album into mainstream directly...think about all that the time she put forth into it for majority of people putting in negative remarks towards it...that shouldve took her down...but no..her resiliency brought her back to IDJ and another release of an english in under way...thats a character worth admiring...to give a second at what wasnt so well handled, i believe...so im really hoping that this one blows everyone out of their minds...here comes another star into mainstream music...AMERICA!!!...not the preferred japanese, for the time being

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That's one of the most flattering things I've ever read online

You're also right, both in that Utada's recent intentions have not necessarily been monetary driven, and that there is plenty of room for artistry and creativity in even the most mainstream of music, and Utada often demonstrates that in spades.

I do think that, though she doesn't get driven by money per se, she's certainly determined to achieve a high level of commercial success, which is just as much a factor of the "sell out" phenomenon. It's certainly why she's gunning for big-name producers on her English albums: she wants to be big and successful there. There's nothing wrong with this, I'm just struck by the hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance of fans that are indignant over it.

I've been through my share of internet fan communities of varying interests, and this kind of "fan ownership" is pretty universal. It does seem to be particularly intense on Utada sites, and I think that has a lot to do with the more sensible fans actually being in Japan and visiting Japanese fansites, so that leave us with English-speaking fans that are a combination of young and geeky, which both have pretty pretentious qualities.

Well, this has become quite the derail! I think we've covered this subject enough for now, I hope it hasn't permanently made the thread off-topic.

I couldn't add any ore to what you guys have said, its very wonderful.

Back to the top, since Utada herself has spoken of her work resembling her "First Love" era makes me very excited. Though I don't own that album myself Utada's R&B side. She's got the perfect voice for it and she always manages to bring out a really catchy and deep R&B song. But of course I'm looking forward to the Pop side of the album to, and to hearing her new English work. I liked Exodus though some of the songs aren't my favourites some of them really were a joy to listen to.