Imagine my surprise when I learned (via DJRicoMixshow) that Utada had a new single up on her record label’s home page! Admittedly, my first musical run-in with Utada came just before she released her major label debut English album, Exodus back in 2004. The album fared poorly in the mainstream US music market, peaking at 160 on the Billboard Hot 200. She had more success on the dance charts, where her single “Devil Inside” made it all the way to number one on the Billboard’s Dance Radio Airplay chart. “Exodus ’04” was a modest dance hit as well, peaking at 24 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
From the sounds of it, “Come Back To Me” is a fairly standard R&B/Pop ballad. It’s piano introduction is nice and it’s clear that she’s got chops. I don’t ever think that Hikaru Utada’s chops have ever been the issue, after all the 25 year old singer is a top selling artist in Japan with 5 Japanese-language albums under her belt. She just needs to release the right song, pair up with the right producers/songwriters and she’s perfectly capable of having a mainstream pop success. I think that the U.S. is ready for a talented Asian pop singer!