Utada Hikaru to Release Two Digital Singles

Singer-songwriter Utada Hikaru will release two digital singles in July.

The first of the two, Oozora de dakishimete, will be released on July 10th. Oozora de dakishimete is Utada Hikaru's first single from EPIC Records Japan, a division of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The second digital single, Forevermore, will be released on July 28th.

Drummer Chris Dave, who was chosen last year as one of the “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time” in Rolling Stone magazine, worked on both singles.

Oozora de dakishimete aired in Japan in a TV commercial for Suntory’s natural mineral water. Since it’s airing, Utada Hikaru has garnered such attention that her commercial had over one million views on YouTube within 10 days of its release.

In a behind-the-scenes interview, she explains about filming the commercial and the featured track as follows:

"Last time, I was already working on the track (michi) for my album release when I received the offer to feature in a commercial. But this time, we had gotten an offer before working on the song, so I kept imagining how the commercial might look as I wrote the song. In Oozora de dakishimete, the lyrics talk about being 'reunited by someone you thought you’d never see', in a 'place in the clouds', 'in the big sky', 'in the blue skies'. When I went to film the actual commercial, the setting was actually on a mountaintop and was surrounded by fog. So I felt really immersed in the lyrics.”

Forevermore will be used as the theme song for TBS Networks’ Sunday Theater drama series, “Gomen, aishiteru” (I’m sorry, I love you).