First Love (album)
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First Love
Studio album by Hikaru Utada
Released	March 10, 1999
Recorded	August-November 1998
Genre	J-Pop, R&B
Length	54:37
Label	EMI Music Japan
Producer	Akira Miyake, Teruzane Sking, Hikaru Utada
Hikaru Utada chronology
Precious (1998) First Love (1999) Distance (2001)
Singles from First Love
"Automatic / time will tell" Released: December 9, 1998 "Movin' on Without You" Released: February 17, 1999 "First Love" Released: April 28, 1999

First Love is the official debut album by Hikaru Utada, released on March 10, 1999.

First Love is the best-selling CD album in Japanese music history. It sold over 7.65 million (estimated by Oricon),^[1][2][3] or 8.53 million (estimated by RIAJ)^[4]copies in Japan alone.

It is also the only CD certified 8x Million (32x Platinum) by RIAJ.^[5]

It sold over 2 million in its debut week^[6] , and topped the Oricon Weekly Album chart 6 times.

Track listing

All songs are written by Hikaru Utada, except for a line "I see a red door and I want to paint it black" from "Amai Wana ~Paint It, Black~".("Paint It, Black" is written by Mick Jagger & Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones).

Singles

The single "First Love" is released after the album's release, considered a recut single.

Charts

First Love - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

Personnel

All Japanese names are in Western order (given name before family name).

• Hikaru Utada (vocals)
• Akira Nishihira (arrangement, keyboards & programming)
• Kei Kawano (arrangement, additional keyboards)
• Shinichiro Murayama (arrangement, keyboards & programming)
• Toshiyuki Mori (arrangement, keyboards & programming)
• Jun Isomura (arrangement)
• Tsuyoshi Kon (guitar)
• Yoshiaki Kusaka (guitar)
• Hironori Akiyama (guitar)
• Yuji Toriyama (guitar)
• Masayoshi Furukawa (guitar)
• Yuichiro Honda (guitar)
• Yuichiro Goto (strings)
• Jullian Hernandez (additional chorus)
• Nobuhiko Nakayama (synthesizer programming)
• Takahiro Iida (synthesizer programming)
• Masayuki Momo (synthesizer programming)
• Taka & Speedy (rhythm arrangement, rhythm programming)
• Akira Miyake (producer)
• Teruzane Sking Utada (producer)
• Hidenobu Okita (director)
• Masaaki Ugajin (all vocals' recording)
• Masaaki Ugajin, Masashi Kudo, Seiji Motoyama, Takehiko Kamata, Bob Allecca, Mike Brown (back track recording)
• Hotoda Goh (mixing)
• Ted Jensen (mastering)

Miscellanea

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (June 2007)

• "Interlude" was made into a song called "Kotoba ni Naranai Kimochi" on her Distance album.
• The song "Never Let Go" features the same beat used in "Take Him Back" by Monica, and was originally used in Sting's "Shape of My Heart". Hikaru said that Monica so inspired her with her R&B that she decided to use that beat.
• "First Love" was featured in a popular Japanese drama, Majo no Jōken (Forbidden Love).

• Utada wrote a message in English at the back of the booklet. The message is:

To everybody who's a part of the Virgin Division, especially the Miyake room; the engineers and assistant-engineers who spent late nights and mornings for me in the studio; the arrangers, programmers and musicians who laid down these great tracks;all the FM and AM stations who gave me support(and airplay!), and Global Rights;I know I don't get to say this often,so.... THANK YOU!!!! Goh-san! keep your mixes hot! and thanks for the surprise e-mails (＊^^＊)♪ Mom,Dad,I guess I'm followin' your footsteps and carryin' on the family business after all. I know few families are lucky enough to have what we have. And to my friends(you should know who you are!),I hope I tell you often enough, how much I love you; thanks for the love and support. Keep it real.

Everyone who's reading this, thanks for picking up my album!! Ma-i-do-a-rii～～
Luv,
Hikaru+

References