News On Japan

J-pop megastar Utada Hikaru announces first concert tour in 12 years

Apr 26 (soranews24.com) - After a dozen years waiting, fans have a chance to see the Kingdom Hearts/Evangelion singer live, plus a way to boost their odds of getting tickets.

Following her major debut in 1998, Utada Hikaru quickly became one of the biggest stars in the world of Japanese pop music. But while many Japanese recording artists continue to churn out similar-sounding albums at a brisk clip until audiences tire of them, Utada took a different path.

Utilizing her multilingual capabilities, she recorded albums in English for international release, lived overseas, and took her time feeding the J-pop machine, waiting eight years between the release of Japanese-language albums Heart Station in 2008 and Fantôme in 2016. Now, the singer who’s perhaps best-known abroad for her theme song performances for the Kingdom Hearts and Evangelion anime and video game franchises has surprised fans by announcing that after a 12 year break, she’s going on tour again later this year.

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