Utada has been and is currently making a fast-paced West-coast American promotional tour. She has been making radio appearances all across the west:
(Note we don't have all the interviews from these stations... yet)
March 18:
@ 106.1 Kiss FM in Seattle
@ C89.5FM in Seattle [SeattleWeekly blog] [U3blog pic]
[UPDATE]@ KUBE 93 in Seattle [video]
@ Z100 Music Station in Portland (Thanks to Mick Lee from Z100 for letting us know)
@ KWYL in Reno, Nevada
March 19:
@ KDND 107.9 The End in Sacramento [video2] [video3] [pics]
[UPDATE]@ KSFM/102.5 in Sacremento (Recorded interview) [video]
@ KBMB/103.5 in Sacremento (Recorded interview)
@ KNGY in San Francisco
@ KYLD in San Francisco
@ KMVQ in San Francisco
@ in LA
Monday March 23:
@ 'On Air With Ryan Seacrest' + performance [UPDATE]: Looks like this won't be live, but a pre-recorded interview/performance for a later date.
Tuesday March 24:
@ performance on KTLA's morning news [source] [VIDEO]
Last Week, Utada visited Z100 Radio station in Portland. From that visit they have an 8x10" autographed picture of Utada. They are auctioning off this item to raise money for SOLV, an environmental-volunteering orgnaization. Its for a good cause, so please consider bidding. Auction ends in two days!
So Tuesday was a long and busy day for Utada...
KTLA Morning News
She had to be in makeup at 5am to get ready for her performance on KTLA Morning News in L.A. She sang 'Me Mureo' at about 8:26am, which which then cut off by a commercial break. Then at 8:56am, she sang 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence-FYI' [video], which also got partially cut by commercial. Gene Simnons said 宇多田さいこです！ in Japanese to Utada. At 9:34am there was a quick interview and then she sang 'Come Back To Me' [video][mirror].
Sephora Hollywood Listening Party
And then the big event for many Californian fans. At 6pm the Sephora Hollywood was packed, waiting for Utada to arrive. A KIIS FM DJ MCed the event. There was an interview, some audience Q&A, during the playback of her songs, she would sing along, waved back and interacted with fans. Then, the MC said that 'everyone would get a photo with Utada' (which did not happen). Soon after, she was rushed out in order to catch her plane to NYC.
Many people who attended felt it was not properly organized and that the people running the event were not prepared to deal with such a large crowd. (read more experiences here)
The lesson for the NYC and Miami Sephora events, *GO EARLY and make sure you get a wristband!* ... and dont forget to print your SIGN! [UPDATE] Its 10:30am NY time, and there seems to be quite a line-up already
Videos: [Entering Sephora] [Utada Intro] [Utada Arrival] [Utada interview start] [Interview touring/FYI] [Interview MCML-FYI] [Listening to MCML-FYI] [Utada Swaying to MCML-FYI] [Interview A&C1] [Interview A&C2] [Interview Me Muero] [Listening to CBTM] [Utada Audience Q&A!] [Utada interview short clip] [Utada posing with radio host]
[cucupan's blog report]+[flickr photos]
UPDATE: High Quality photos from Pacific Rim Photo Press [pics] [slideshow]
Hikki Blog Message
In her latest message, Hikki apologizes for having to leave before finishing taking photos with fans and not being able to say goodbye. She hopes that tomorrow's appearance goes smoother.
Ryan Seacrest
ryanseacrest.com was updated today with news of Utada's performance. The Seacrest staff member writes, "Monday, she treated us to an exclusive intimate performance for ryanseacrest.com (see it on the site soon)." This is quite the disappointment if her performance is only for the ryanseacrest.com website, instead of being broadcasted on Ryan Seacrest's nationally syndicated radio show.
Blackbook Magazine Interview
A new interview, "Japanese Superstar Utada Hikaru on Life in New York" has been posted on blackbookmag.com. This is an interesting article where she talks about Life in New York, Socks, and her boyfriend.
IDJ email
For those on the Utada Island Def Jam mailing list, they sent out an email today announcing the album is now digitally on sale and the upcoming Sephora appearances, plus a new widget.
Sephora Utada Listening Parties
Just reiterating information for those planning to attend the Listening Parties. The Sephora events are also 'makeup parties', so reservation is not specifically to meet Utada but to get your make-up done and get a free makeup kit. The first hundred or so people on this list at this event will get a free makeup and kit. Otherwise, it seems it will be a first-come-first-serve deal to get inside. So plan to arrive early.
-March 24 - Sephora Hollywood
Looks like this event will be a success. The 'makeup' reservation is full, but remember to get in its first-come-first-serve. 102.7 KIISFM radio station will also be there.
-March 25 - Sephora New York
The 'makeup' RSVPs for this event also look full. Still, first-come-first-serve to get in the listening party.
-March 27 - Sephora Miami
cynth84 Quote:
It's at Sephora on South Beach 721 Collins Avenue Miami, FL 33139. Cross streets: On Collins Ave, between 7th & 8th. She'll be there from 7-9pm where Power 96 (local radio station) will interview her and she will either be performing or it will be a listening party for her album.
I called the store and the info they gave me was the first 100 people are guaranteed to go inside and will receive a makeup gift bag and a wrist band to guarantee entry. Everyone else outside will be given another type of wrist band where when people come out they will be let in.
-KTLA Morning News - March 24
Utada will be on KTLA morning news early in the AM PST Tuesday!
-On Air with Ryan Seacrest
Looks like the interview and performance was simply pre-recorded today. From her recent blog post, she performed Come Back To Me, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence -FYI, and Me Muero tracks! Everyone keep an ear out for Utada on the Seacrest show in the coming days!
For more on the Sephora events, Read on...
Utada's latest Album, "This Is The One" is available for purchase now, to the North American market in digital form. The album is only $7.99 (may differ depending on where you buy) and comes with a digital booklet and the "Come Back To Me" music video. The track list different from the Japanese release and is the same as the earlier discovered track order on Amazon
Get it now from iTunes, Amazon, or other services.
For the week of March 23rd, 2009, Utada's music video "Come Back To Me" is featured as iTunes US's "Free Music Video of the Week" and is available for download for free.
www.Utada.com has been updated. There is a new section called Extras. A further note, the Tour section is now gone.
In the extra"s section, the following Widget is available.
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Utada posts a new vlog message during her rehearsal for the Ryan Seacrest performance!
This can also be viewed on Hikki's MySpace
Utada posts a new vlog message, searching for a 'pinky buddy' ...
This can also be viewed on Hikki's MySpace
On March 23rd, in New York, there will be an Album Release party for Utada's upcoming American album. Check out more details here for location, time, etc. It is unlikely that Utada will be making an appearance herself, as she is supposed to be on 'On Air with Ryan Seacrest' in LA on the same day and performing on KTLA the following morning.
Looks like the Sephora Florida Listen Party will be moving to the South Beach, Miami location.
Congratulations Utada! This Is The One comes out at No. 1 on the Oricon charts on its release day!
A review has also been posted here.
Thanks to UtadaHikaruFan2 for the heads up!
Back on February 10, UtadaNet user fkny7 approached our forum and asked us what sort of questions we'd like to ask Utada since he was doing an interview with her.
Many thanks to fkny7 for considering our member's questions and letting us know her answers!
You can view the interview video on Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=100289&videoChannel=3
Read the article on ABC News here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=7147352
A Z100 advertisement promoting the Sephora listening party on March 24th. This may mean that there will be live coverage on Z100 station on March 25th in New York City.
The advertisement also states at 'This Is The One' will be available "everywhere" March 24th (but it most likely means only digitally available).
Utada.com discography page states a May 12, 2009 release.
Utada.com has finally launched with a complete webpage including some new images.
Another notable item is the 'Tour' link in the navigation. Island Records must be looking into tours for Utada although there is currently no information on the page yet.
Sign up on the site and interact with the Utada community there as well =)
Go over and explore the site!