Maps of Music

Exodus (2004)

Where the lyrics of Exodus take you, and where it was really made.

Exodus was the album that finally let Utada release English-language work under the Utada name, after years of recording in Japanese at home.

Key places

Recording begins in New York (2004)

Recording site The Hit Factory — After the contract was signed in New York City, recording of the studio album began straight away at this studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Second English-language album and fifth overall by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada
• Released September 8, 2004 by Island Records under the name Utada
• Their first English-language album, Precious, was released under the name Cubic U
• Dance and electronic music at its core, with elements of electronica, avant-garde, alternative and glitch music
• Majority of the tracks written, composed and produced by Utada, with contributions from Timbaland, Danja and Teruzane Utada
• Lyrics told from a third-person perspective about human stories, with love, prostitution, lust, heritage and break-ups as themes
• Released worldwide on October 5, 2004; released in Japan on September 8, 2004

Background

• Utada had released three Japanese-language studio albums before this: First Love, Distance and Deep River
• All three achieved massive success in Japan, and the debut is the best-selling Japanese album of all time
• In 2001 Island Def Jam approached Utada to record "Blow My Whistle" with Foxy Brown for the film Rush Hour 2
• The song was written by Utada with Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo
• In 2003 Island CEO Lyon Cohen wanted to sign Utada, and the deal was signed in 2004
• The contract was signed in New York City, and recording of the studio album began right after the signing
• During 2002 to 2003 Utada was diagnosed with a benign ovarian tumour that needed surgery and treatment
• Utada also married director Kazuaki Kiriya, which stopped recording for a time

Recording

• Utada made most of the album alone and described locking themselves away to work on it
• In a 2009 interview Utada called the album a very experimental work, saying they felt like a mad scientist in an underground laboratory
• Lyrics were first written in English and then rewritten in Japanese for the Japanese tracks

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born January 19, 1983 in New York City to Japanese parents; mother Keiko Fuji was an enka singer, father Teruzane Utada a record producer.
• Began writing songs at age 10 and moved to Tokyo at age 11; performed as Cubic U from 1996.
• Signed with Toshiba-EMI; English debut album Precious (1998) under Cubic U.

Members

• Solo artist, known mononymously as Utada; later performed under the name Hikaru Utada.

Career

• Japanese debut First Love (1999), Japan's best-selling album of all time.
• Distance (2001) sold three million copies in its first week; Deep River (2002) followed.
• Exodus (2004) marked an English-language push in North America under the name Utada.
• Returned to Japan with Ultra Blue (2006) and Heart Station (2008); This Is the One (2009) followed.
• Long hiatus after 2010 Wild Life tour; returned with Fantôme (2016) and Hatsukoi (2018).
• Wrote theme songs for the Kingdom Hearts series, including Face My Fears with Skrillex.
• Bad Mode (2022) was the first bilingual album; Science Fiction (2024) celebrated 25 years since debut.
• Over 40 million records sold; came out as non-binary in 2021.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• AllMusic gave three out of five stars and praised the album's diverse mix of urbane, modern and almost avant-garde electronica and dance music
• Rob Carolan of Stylus Magazine gave a positive review, writing that it is not a pop masterpiece but a decidedly good record
• Isaac McCalla of Dancemusic on About.com gave a positive review, calling some songs radio-friendly and others more chilled-out
• Elysa Gardner of USA Today gave three stars out of four and compared Utada to an early stage of Madonna
• JPop-Go gave a positive review, describing the album as Utada's break from overly polished commercial pop
• Most contemporary critics were positive, complimenting the experimentation and the vocal delivery on certain tracks
• Critics were divided on the lyrics, and some felt the production aimed to attract a wider Western audience

Records

• Exodus peaked at number one in Japan and sold over one million units there
• Certified one million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ)
• Largest debut of a foreign-language album in Japanese history, with 523,761 units at debut
• Shipped 1 million copies in Japan on September 8, 2004, breaking a record previously held by Mariah Carey
• Peaked at number 160 on the Billboard 200 in North America
• Sold more than 55,000 units in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan
• Peaked at number five on the US Top Heatseekers albums chart
• Lead single Devil Inside peaked at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, Utada's biggest US hit
• Easy Breezy did not chart on any singles chart
• Exodus '04 peaked at number twenty-four on the Hot Dance Club Play chart
• You Make Me Want to Be a Man peaked at number 227 on the UK Singles Chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The first single Easy Breezy was the first to use the name Utada, which had been used for English releases
• On February 23, 2005, Utada held a one-night showcase at Skylight Studios in New York and sang songs from Exodus
• Elton John called Utada an interesting girl and said she could be the first Japanese recording artist to really make it in the West
• A remastered version of Exodus was announced in April 2026 by Universal Music Japan, scheduled for June 24, 2026
• A Universal Music Japan reissue of Exodus came out in Japan on September 20, 2006, under Universal International

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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