Utada Hikaru at Sephora New York City

All of you know how big of a fan of Utada Hikaru I am, and I was so psyched to have an opportunity to see her in person for the Utada at Sephora New York City Listening Party. Of course I would have liked to see her in concert, but it was awesome listening to her speak in English and do a short Q&A session. She recently released a new English album This is The One. Please support it in itunes or buy the album when it comes out! My favorite song on it is Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, FYI. Yes, some of you remember how obsessed I am with that song and even used it as Nadeshiko's Theme. :) Ah, sychronicity. Anyhow, I love the remix of the lovely tune.

Utada Hikaru probably introduced me to J-Pop in the first place, and her songs will always hold a sentimental value for me. Moreover, I admire her because she actually writes her own songs and lyrics. She started out so young too, and she's been through so much, and if there is a role model for aspiring singers, Utada Hikaru is one. She even has brains--she got into Columbia University though she took leave because she already has an awesome career going. Ah, she's only a couple years older than me, and she's already done so much in life; how inspiring!
She looked very beautiful and very petite! Click on the photos if you want to see larger quality. There was a mob of fans waiting outside and it was pretty cold. I felt very blessed to be able to see her inside. And I was lucky enough to be front of the line when she was passing by, so I have a short clip of her entering. (Kya, she was literally a hand's reach away from me!)



If you didn't know, Hikki was born in New York, so she's bilingual. In her interview, she was amazingly sweet and humble, but you can definitely tell she's a confidant, mature woamn. It seems like she likes drawing as well-- I loved the part where she said that she would haved liked to pursue art if she wasn't into music. There was a girl who asked her what advise she would give to an aspiring singer, and I loved Hikki's response. She said basically that no matter what other people say, it's important to know what you think of yourself. I'm paraphrasing, but she was met with a tremendous cheer. Of course my favorite moment was when she sang a line from Little Mermaid's "Part of Your World" when asked what were her inspirations growing up. Oh my gosh, I knew I loved her--she loves Disney too!



And of course, I was lucky enough to get a clip of that. It's in the second half of the clip. She sings a line of Metallia too. Lol. You will also hear Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, FYI playing in the background for a while.

I got a signed poster and a little Utada bag (and a bunch of Sephora samples). Anyhow, Utada Hikaru is such an awesome individual on top of being a talented singer and songwriter, and I hope her a long, illustrious career both in Japan and internationally. And remember to check out her US album!

"First Love"

Today's theme is "first love" or hatsukoi, befitting for the day after Valentine's Day. Does everybody recall their first love? Or are you still waiting for it? What is first love? The first person you have a puppy crush on, or the first person that your heart really is moved by? For some reason, first love always has more of a bittersweet tinge to it though it may begin with that innocent, warm, giddy feeling. I ask because today, I met my first love for the first time in 5 1/2 years. The last time I saw him was high school graduation. For some reason, I knew back then I would not see him again until I graduated from college. The thing about "one-sided love" is that you can't find closure. If you date someone and break up, that's sort of a closure. But with unrequitted love, there is no way to end... It just lingers then only fades with time.

I guess the character "Li Meilin" of Card Captor Sakura grew to portray this unrequitted love in a moving manner quite uncommon in an elementary school student, and also makes the anime all the more profound. In a sense, Meilin's healing process in "New Trials" sort of conveys my own healing process as well. Meilin fell in love with young Syaoran at age 5 and dreamed to become his bride someday. Some may wonder what can someone so young know about love. But I feel like when you are young and naive, your love can be purest. In this society, most people grow more jaded with love the older you get. Love becomes less of its true essence and more of analyzing materialistic factors like wealth, looks, school and job. Syaoran's first and only love is Sakura (his crush for Yukito doesn't really count). In contrast, for someone like Touya, his first love was Kaho, but his "OTL," one true love, is Yukito. I guess with Sakura, I always debate how genuine her love for Yukito was. Though it's hard to compare, I always feel like Meilin giving up on Syaoran hurt more than Sakura giving up Yukito (though I may be biased because I was routing for Syaoran and Sakura in the first place.)

In real life, I know people who have dated someone for a couple years, but afterwards are unsure that they truly "loved" their partner. On the other hand, their are those whose love never were expressed, never acted upon--yet is that still love? I say yes. My best friend is 24 and she started dating an exchange student from Japan and is now doing long distance. I think she's had numerous crushes before, but I really believe this boy is her real first love. Well, I guess my conclusion is that "first love" can take many shapes and forms and can come to people at different periods in life. After all, everybody has their own pace.

Anyhow, my "first love" started when I was twelve and took almost ten years to completely fade. Of course, it's not like I only liked him, and there was other stuff in between. But today, after seeing him, I realized why my heart has been frozen in time. It seems like his presence overshadows every other guy's. Secondly, I have been over him for a long time, but it was good to finally see him and confirm this. In a sense, I have lost that innocence of a 12-year-old falling love for the first time, that doki doki feeling. Thirdly, I always thought that "this person has potential in him to be really great," and I am so glad that he lived up to my expectation.

Today's song is the quintissential J-pop song by Utada Hikaru, one of my favorite female artists. "First Love" is from her first album and perhaps one of the most popular J-pop songs out there.