I don't think we have to worry about hikki retiring she would have told us straight up just because she mentioned the idea of retiring @ 28 doesn't mean she is going to because of her annoucement she just wants a break and that's totally understandable. Its that simple

I'm Hikki's age (and an only child, too), and if she's anything like me, her past statements don't necessarily mean anything. I think a lot of my personality comes from being an only child, so I'll make some broad assumptions about Utada that might be totally off-base. But just for the sake of conversation, here's my opinion.

When I think about things in the future, they tend to STAY in the future. For instance, I always thought I'd want to get married later in my 20s. Now I'm in my late 20s, and I'm starting to think I'd rather wait til my early 30s. When I'm in my 30s, maybe I'll want to wait til I'm 40... Get what I mean?

Maybe when Hikki was younger, she wanted to quit music at age 28. Maybe she wanted to major in neuroscience. But one possibility (again, if she's like me) is that once she actually went to university, it wasn't as easy or fun as she expected, so she lost interest in it (temporarily). I know the article you guys quoted, about her wanting to go into the neuroscience field, and if I remember correctly, that interview took place before her lone semester at Columbia. (Edit: I read the article again & it seems like the interview happened during her first/only semester-to-my-knowledge.)

I adore Hikki, but I know from personal experience that when something comes really easy for you earlier in life (i.e. Hikki's fame), sometimes you can't help but expect that everything will be that easy forever. (This is certainly true in my life.)

The other thing you should probably realize is that when you're 18, you still have your "whole" 20s ahead of you. It seems like such a long time, and you feel so certain that by the time you near 30, you'll be happy to leave your 20s behind because you've been in them for so long. But it's a lot different in reality, at least for me. My 20s have FLOWN by, and I don't feel like I've done much at all.

I admit that it probably IS different for Hikki, since she started an actual career at such a young age. She might be a little burned out, especially if she was non-stop creating music since she was a teen. I don't have experience with that kind of thing, so I really can't say.

But I do know that if you love something, even if you try to leave it for a while, it's hard to abandon it forever. If Hikki really loves making music, I'd be surprised if she could really give it up for good. I think if she does end up retiring permanently, then music probably isn't her greatest passion.

Raygungirl thanks for sharing,...........

I would like to broaden the discussion and diversify a tad, when or how does a parent know when to let go, when does a Dad stop being a manager and start becoming a father, at 15 I did not want unnecessary ?family? intrusions, how can I put this, adolescence should be a period of increasing independence, however there is a temptation for parents to live there ambitions though their siblings, how can a teenager deal with becoming a superstar, the point is Utada?s parents had the same struggles of finding a natural balance in their fame, so are we to assume as parents they can achieve, understand and shape the same foundations for their children?s futures, I find it very difficult to accept or believe that parents of any child prot?g? can differentiate between their dreams and that of their offspring.
With a highly demanding career as a musician, artist and importantly ?A? list celebrity status how could Utada indentify the invisibles, the emotional strings that attach a 15 year old to their parents, the balance of fame and parenting for a teenager is an impossible question to answer, is there a balance between the two, and how as a family does one define the cost???

That's a good point, Pips. My family definitely has a history of trying to live vicariously through their children, so I wonder if that's common problem with families in general. Do you think that maybe Utada never really wanted to get into the music business?

From what I can gather from interviews, it seems that Utada saw her parents in the music business and didn't think it looked like too great of a job. But fast-forward to her teens and that's what she ended up doing. Maybe Utada didn't want to be in the music business as a kid, but because she's the child of her parents, she has the same interests as them and eventually realized she loved music, too. I'm not sure I believe she was coerced into becoming a musician by her parents. I think she genuinely wanted to perform. But that's just my opinion. :)

It'd be very hard to work with parents in a professional sense. My father is deceased, so I won't guess at what it'd be like to work with him, but my mother would be a nightmare to work with. Especially to have her manage me? That would be extremely stressful. I've never been able to glean anything about Utada's relationship with her parents based on interviews, so I don't know if stress could be a factor in her "taking a break." That would be interesting though.

I know the feeling, I love my parents to bits, and appreciate all they do for me, standing the cost of college fees and their emotional support...it?s when Mum and Dad explain how they had to save for their first home, living in a ?cardboard box?, could only afford baked beans on toast, not sure how to take that, the eating or the inevitable trapped wind, mercifully neither smoke, and they recant tales of struggling at college to qualify for a grant, having to work to fund accommodation.

I sometimes feel obliged to do well, and my parents expectations are high, both feel I should have no difficulty ?staying on task? and maintain consistency of performance, and developing the necessary social skills/abilities, when if they feel I am not performing according to expectations, their stress out, insist I should focus more, I can feel the harshness in the voice, they bear down harder, I sometimes want understanding and a hug that all ??..Before the Utada London Gigs in February, I felt the pressure ratcheting up and up, and it become too much, and I needed to take a break. luckily the University allowed me time to adjust??.

For a fifteen year old Utada, I can?t imagine what the expectation and pressure must have been like, with the phenomenal success of first love, Utada had to attend school whilst attempting to fulfill a recording contract!!!....
That is a tough nut to crack, homework and song writing, allot to cope with, I am not surprised that Utada now wants to catch up with human activities??
I think Hikki was surrounded by a world of music that ultimately inspired Hikki to become a musician, and learnt from the pressures experienced by her parents to build a buffer to prevent the same pitfalls befalling her success and emotional wellbeing.

Yes I can?t imagine Utada parents coercing, both have managed to provide an environment indicative for Hikki?s artistic freedom, also allowing Utada to focus on her development as a successful musician, any deviation from that behavior would have had a noticeable impact on Hikki?s career and the whole U3 business?..

Hikki is breaking on a high, with a clear sense of purpose,?..Top of my wish list is to hear the new songs Hikki is currently recording , Hikki has blogged they will reflect ?recent feelings???.

I once had a driving lesson with my Mother, once in the car it was like sitting next to a cross between Attila the Hun and Sarah Palin ???..