UTADA RETURNS TO THE U.S. FOR 8-CITY CROSS-COUNTRY TOUR IN SUPPORT OF HER LATEST ISLAND ALBUM, THIS IS THE ONE

PRESS RELEASE- Worldwide pop icon Utada, who holds the record for the past decade as the top-selling Japanese-American female pop artist of all-time, has scheduled an 8-city U.S. tour in support of THIS IS THE ONE, her most recent album on Island Records, featuring the Top 5 Billboard Dance track, “Come Back to Me.”

The tour will open in Honolulu on January 15th, continue with shows in Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Las Vegas, work its way east through Chicago and Boston, and wrap up at Irving Plaza in New York City on February 8th.  DJ Mike Rizzo will open all dates for Utada.  An additional show was announced for London, England on February 12th and sold out in just 5 hours. (Please see tour dates below).  The tour also coincides with the release of a “Dirty Desire” album track remix to dance radio and clubs by tour mate DJ Mike Rizzo.

THIS IS THE ONE is the latest English-language album for New York-born Utada, the follow-up to Exodus, her Island Records English-language debut (released 2004).  Both Exodus and THIS IS THE ONE debuted at #1 on the Oricon Japanese national chart, giving Utada an astounding total of eight consecutive #1 debuts in that market.

In support of the release of THIS IS THE ONE last May, Utada made a memorable early-morning interview appearance on New York’s Z-100 with Elvis Duran, setting the scene for jam-packed album signing events at Sephora Stores in New York, Los Angeles and Miami!

26-year old singer-songwriter, arranger, and producer Utada, who writes all her own music, has achieved record-breaking success since her 8-million selling premiere solo album First Love was issued in 1999 – holds the all time record for biggest-selling album ever for a Japanese-American pop artist-male or female.

THIS IS THE ONE extended her run to the U.S., when it debuted here at #20 on the iTunes overall Album chart and #2 on the iTunes Pop Album chart – making Utada the first Japanese-American artist to break the Top 20 Album chart on iTunes.  Utada also claimed her first debut on the R&R Rhythmic chart and her first ever debut on any R&R format chart with her single “Come Back to Me.”

As Island Records celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2009, Utada fits in perfectly with the label’s long-standing tradition of introducing unique artists with international followings.  Born and raised in Manhattan and educated at Columbia University, the bi-lingual Utada is closely tied to Japan: Her mother, Keiko Fuji, was a successful Japanese enka (ballad) singer, and her father, Utada Teruzane, an accomplished musician who is now his daughter’s manager and co-producer (as ‘Sking U’).  Living between New York and Tokyo, Utada had written and recorded her first song by age 11, and signed a major label deal and released her first Japanese album (as ‘Cubic U’) by the time she’d graduated from junior high.  In the decade to follow,  she became one of the most successful and acclaimed pop singers in Japanese music history.

UTADA On-tour

Date                      City                                   Venue
Jan.      15              Honolulu, HI                     Pipeline Café
19              Los Angeles, CA              House of Blues
21              Seattle, WA                      Showbox
24              San Francisco, CA            Fillmore
30              Las Vegas, NV                 House of Blues

Feb.     2  Chicago, IL                       House of Blues
5                Boston, MA                      Paradise
8                New York, NY                 Irving Plaza
12              London, Eng.                    Islington Academy

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