Maps of Music

This Is the One (2009)

Where the lyrics of This Is the One take you, and where it was really made.

This Is the One was the last album Utada released with Island Records and under the Western name Utada.

Key places

Recording at Bunkamura Studio (2009)

Recording site Bunkamura Studios — Bunkamura Studio is listed as a recording location for the album. The source says the recording took place in New York, Atlanta and Tokyo. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at studio TERRA (2009)

Recording site Studio TERRA — studio TERRA is listed as a recording location for the album. The source says the recording took place in New York, Atlanta and Tokyo. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in New York (2009)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — The album's recording is recorded as having taken place in New York. It was one of three recording cities named in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Atlanta (2009)

Recording site DARP Studios (Atlanta) — The album's recording is recorded as having taken place in Atlanta. It was one of three recording cities named in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording in Tokyo (2009)

Recording site Tokyo — The album's recording is recorded as having taken place in Tokyo. It was one of three recording cities named in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Third English studio album (eighth overall) by Hikaru Utada
• Released by Island Records: US digital on 24 March 2009, physical on 12 May 2009
• Japan release was originally set for 4 March, then moved to 14 March
• Released only in North America, Japan and some parts of Asia
• Japan: topped the Oricon International Album chart; weekly chart peak number 3
• US Billboard 200 peak: number 69
• Supporting album for the 2010 tour Utada: In the Flesh 2010
• Last album with Island Records and the Universal Music Group at that time
• Last album released under the Western stage name Utada

Background

• 23 October 2007: Utada wrote on their Japanese blog that they were making demos for an English album while finishing their fifth Japanese studio album
• Ningin interview, 3 February 2009: Utada said they wanted to make a 'mainstream' album, and the result was more R&B influenced
• Kiwibox interview, 20 February 2009: the title came from a more mainstream sound, and the album would be the 'breakout' album
• 2013: EMI Music Japan merged with Universal Music Japan after the global merger of the two groups
• Fantôme, the sixth Japanese album, was the last release with Universal Music Group as a whole before the move to Epic Records Japan
• 2026: Universal Japan released a remastered version on 24 June 2026 in CD, vinyl and digital formats
• The album was later pulled from stores over vocal mastering errors on 'Dirty Desire'; it was re-released on CD and digital platforms on 4 September 2026

Recording

• Utada worked with several artists; Stargate and Christopher 'Tricky' Stewart produced tracks
• 'Apple and Cinnamon', a Stargate track, was published early
• Recording took place in New York, Atlanta and Tokyo; 10 songs were written for the project
• Stargate's studio session lasted roughly one hour; most of the rest was done by data transfer between Japan, New York and Norway
• 9 January: Utada's blog said the album was nearing completion
• 31 January: the track sequence was decided and mastering was soon to begin
• WHAT'S IN? magazine revealed the track titles 'Poppin'' and 'Automatic Part II'

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

• Bleu Magazine (Adam Benjamin Irby): called it an exceptional album that could, with the right promotion, bring life to a stale American pop scene
• AllMusic (David Jeffries): gave a positive review; said Utada's identity as a performer is clearly defined, with production that supports the songs rather than dominating them
• AllMusic: said most of the lyrics are riddled with clichés
• AllMusic: said the big-name producers do not overshadow Utada, and the album is Utada's alone
• AudioScribber (Michael Botsford): gave six out of ten; the main issue was the obvious influence of American R&B
• AudioScribber: called it an undeniably cute and charming album, and said it would have scored higher if it had aimed less at the mainstream
• The Japan Times (Daniel Robson): panned the album, saying that hiring superproducers made the music bland, accessible and predictable
• The Japan Times: noted some good songs and said the album was practically x-rated at times

Records

• Japan: debuted at number 3 on the Oricon Weekly chart with 77,832 copies in its first week
• Japan: debuted at number 1 on the Oricon Foreign Album chart and stayed there for six consecutive weeks
• US: debuted at number 178 on the Billboard 200 and number 6 on the Top Heatseekers chart, selling 5,000 units, driven by downloads
• US: re-entered the Billboard 200 on the issue dated 30 May 2009, peaking at number 69 with 6,915 units
• US: fell to number 137 the following week with 3,873 units
• US: total over 16,000 units, below the debut album Exodus, which sold more than 55,000 copies
• Worldwide: sold 300,000 units

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The original Japan release was set for 4 March 2009 and was pushed back to 14 March.
• The 'Dirty Desire' remixes were released on 21 December 2009; no music video was made, and promotion was minimal, mainly used for the In the Flesh 2010 tour; the song peaked at number 16 on the US Dance Club Songs chart.
• Radio tours on the US West Coast began on 18 March; listening parties were held at Sephora stores in Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
• Utada performed on LA KTLA Morning News on 24 March and on the CBS program The Early Show Saturday Edition on 28 March.
• A standard version with ten tracks and no bonus tracks was released in countries such as South Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong; the Japanese version has an altered track listing.
• Due to vocal mastering errors for "Dirty Desire", the album was later pulled from stores.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact