Two of Japanese singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada‘s seminal English-language records, 2004’s Exodus and 2006’s This Is the One, are receiving their first-ever remaster. Both LPs will be released in a new, limited-edition format via Island Def Jam this week; they’re available on both streaming and, in Japan, as a 2CD set with bonus tracks, and on vinyl. It’s also the first time either of the records have been pressed to wax.
Although Exodus was Utada’s fifth studio album, and came out the same year as their first greatest hits compilation, it represented their formal introduction to American audiences, an audience she would continue to endear for years to come. The genre-spanning LP wove together electronic, dance, R&B, and avant-garde sonics; Timbaland contributed production to two tracks and handled remix duties on a third, while Jon Theodore, at the time the drummer for The Mars Volta, lent his talents to “Kremlin Dusk.” A remix of the single “Devil Inside” became a club smash, rising from dance floors around the country to the top spot on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs, becoming Utada’s highest U.S. chart placement at the time.
Five years later, This Is the One arrived as a full-blown A-list pop album. It brought together producers Stargate, who has worked with the likes of Rihanna and Beyoncé, and Tricky Stewart, known for his successful collaborations with Britney Spears and Mariah Carey. The LP peaked at No. 69 on the Billboard 200, placing Utada among a small number of Japanese artists ever to reach the chart’s Top 100. Its lead single “Come Back to Me” reached No. 5 on the Dance Club Songs chart, while “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence – FYI,” nodded to Utada’s Japanese-American pop crossover lineage by building on the celebrated Ryuichi Sakamoto composition of the same name.
After decades in the spotlight, Utada continues to regularly release music. In March, she collaborated with British star Charlie Puth on the song “Home,” and their most recent album, Bad Mode, arrived in 2022. In 2024, they also embarked on the Science Fiction tour, which celebrated the 25th anniversary of the release of their debut LP with multiple shows across Asia.
