Fantôme | ||||
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Studio album by Utada Hikaru | ||||
Released | September 28, 2016 (Japan) September 30, 2016 (Taiwan) |
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Recorded | 2012–2016 | |||
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Length | 49:45 | |||
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Producer |
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Utada Hikaru chronology | ||||
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Singles from Fantôme | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
JpopAsia | 9.5/10 |
MuuMuse | (positive) |
Unrecorded.mu | 70/100 |
Fantôme is the sixth Japanese studio album (ninth overall) by Japanese–American recording artist, Utada Hikaru. Although Utada announced an indefinite hiatus from the public eye in August 2010, she continued writing and composing material with the help of her father, Utada Teruzane, and long-term collaborator, Miyake Akira. Musically, Fantôme is a collection of tracks that emphasize acoustic and stripped-down instrumentation, alongside influences of pop, electronic, and R&B music. The lyrical content delves into themes of grief, sadness, love, and death, mostly influenced by the death of her mother, singer Keiko Fuji, her second marriage, and the birth of her son in 2015.
Commercially, Fantôme experienced success in Japan, winning Album Of The Year at the Japan Record Awards and reaching the top of the Weekly Oricon Albums Chart with sales of 253,000 units, becoming her eighth consecutive Japanese-language album to top the said chart. Successful throughout digital outlets, the record also managed to enter record charts in the United States, her first Japanese release to do so. In order to promote it, the album's singles "Sakura Nagashi", "Hanataba wo Kimi ni", and "Manatsu no Tōriame" were released prior the album's announcement, whilst "Michi" and "Nijikan Dake no Vacance" were distributed through digital retails.
In July 2015, Utada announced on her blog that she had given birth to a baby boy and was working on a new album during the pregnancy. In March, it was revealed by her team that she had returned from her five-year hiatus with two new digital singles, "Hanataba wo Kimini" and "Manatsu no Tooriame", and a campaign called "New-Turn", with songs downloaded by Japanese fans via digital music services having part of their sales donated to planting cherry trees in areas damaged by the by 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. On July 12, 2016, Utada has posted on her Instagram account that she had finished recording for the album. On August 8, 2016, the cover and track listing were revealed on Utada's website. For the first time, Utada used Japanese titles for all the songs on the album.It was released physically in Japan, and digitally worldwide on September 28, 2016 by Virgin Records and Universal Music Japan, her first record to do so since EMI Music Japan was merged to Universal Music Japan in 2013. The album was released in two formats: a physical SHM-CD and a digital download.