"Addicted to You" is a song by Japanese-American recording artist

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...

from her second studio album ''

Distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects or points are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two counties over"). ...

'' (2001). It was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

on September 6, 1999 by

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. When ...

. "Addicted to You" was written by Utada and produced by

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

; this is Utada's first collaboration with American producers and composers. The single artwork was shot by American photographer

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

and features two black-and-white figures of Utada. Musically, "Addicted to You" is an R&B song. "Addicted to You" received positive reviews from music critics, many who highlighted it from the parent album; one music critic viewed the single as "

nostalgic Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", a Homeric word, ...

". It achieved commercial success in Japan, with a peak position of number one on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

and a Million certification by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

(RIAJ). The single remains the fourth highest selling single in first week sales, and the thirty-ninth best selling single in Japan. A music video was shot in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, and featured Utada inside a club.

Background and release

"Addicted to You" was written by Utada and produced by

; this is Utada's first collaboration with American producers and composers. The song was recorded in mid-1999 at Flyte Tyme Studios,

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

and mixed at Flyte Tyme,

Edina, Minnesota Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota. Edina began as a small farming and mil ...

. Darnell Davis played the keyboard and Alex Richbourg played the drums. There are two versions of the track: the Up-in-Heaven mix and the Underwater mix. EMI did not originally select "Addicted to You" as the lead single as they feared it would not make an impact in Japan. The song was then re-composed in order to appeal more to the Japanese audience. "Addicted to You" is an R&B song. "Addicted to You" was released on September 16, 1999 in CD format by EMI, as the lead single for the singer's second studio album ''

'' (2001). The cover sleeve features two shots of Utada, one being a close-up of Utada's face and the second being a long shot of them, and was photographed by American artist

, his only collaboration with Utada up until his death in October 2004 as a result of a

cerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as cerebral bleed, intraparenchymal bleed, and hemorrhagic stroke, or haemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain, into its ventricles, or into both. It is one kind of bleed ...

. The CD featured the instrumental and radio edits of both versions.

Critical reception

"Addicted to You" received positive reviews from music critics. Editor-in-chief for ''

Rockin'On Japan ''Rockin'On Japan'', often stylized in all caps, is a monthly magazine that covers the Japanese music scene and various cultural events in Japan, such as art venues and culinary expos. History The magazine was founded in 1972, and focused on prov ...

'' magazine Kano said that the song was "exceptional" and commended their collaboration with Jam and Lewis. Yonemoto Hiromi from ''Yeah!! J-Pop!'' was positive in his review, feeling that the composition sounded "nostalgic"-like. A staff review from ''CDJournal'' discussed Utada's first

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

compilation ''

Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1 ''Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1'' is the first compilation album by Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential ...

'' and commended Utada's "fine" vocal delivery and composition. Ian Martin from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

also commended Jam and Lewis' collaboration, saying that "providing stark contrast to the cheap, tinny sound that characterized much Japanese pop of the previous decade, with "Wait & See" and "Addicted to You" both featuring the production talents of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis." Miko Amaranthine from ''

Yahoo! Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...

'' listed the song at number four on his Top Ten Hikaru Utada songs, stating ""Addicted to you" is one of my favorites for a slightly greedy purpose ..When I listen to this song, I am reminded how much I love my marriage and am thankful I do not have to play the "dating game"." At the 15th Annual Japan Gold Disc Awards, "Addicted to You" and Utada's previous singles " Automatic" and " Movin' on Without You" received the award for "Song of the Year".

Commercial response

"Addicted to You" debuted at number one on the Japanese

, Utada's second number-one single since " Movin' on Without You" (1999), and stayed in the chart for fifteen weeks. First week sales sold over one million units, making it the second-highest selling single in the first charting week behind

Mr. Children , commonly referred to by their contracted nickname , are a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1989. Consisting of Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki, they made their major label debut in 1992. They are one of t ...

's "Nameless Poetry", but both positions were replaced by

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with it ...

's "Everyday, Katyusha" and "Flying Get" in 2011. The song was certified Million by the RIAJ for shipments of one million units, selling 1.7 million units in total. "Addicted to You" is the thirty-ninth best selling single in Japan music history and Utada's second best selling single behind " Automatic/Time Will Tell". According to Oricon, the song was Utada's fourth million-selling single. "Addicted to You" reached number one on the Japanese ''

Count Down TV (also known as CDTV) is a Japanese late-night music television program, broadcast on TBS since 1993. The program is shown weekly, and features a Japanese music video hit chart countdown, live performances from musicians and music information. ...

'' Chart for two weeks, and remained on the chart for thirteen weeks. This was their fourth consecutive number one on the chart, following " Automatic/Time Will Tell", " Movin' on Without You", and "

First Love First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

". In the Annual 1999 Count Down TV chart, "Addicted to You" was placed at number five.

Promotion and other appearances

Wataru Takeishi is a prolific Japanese music video director. Takeishi has created videos for Japanese superstars such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Every Little Thing. Most Expensive Music Videos Three videos that Takeishi directed appear on the list of most expensiv ...

directed the accompanying music video, which was filmed in

and featured Utada inside a nightclub. The music video was included on Utada's ''Single Clip Collection Vol. 1'' (1999). "Addicted to You" has been included in four of Utada's live Japanese tours concert: ''Bohemian Summer 2000'', ''Utada Unplugged'', ''Utada in Budokan 2004-2005'', and '' Utada United 2006''. The live versions were then released on a live DVD for each tour.

Track listing

CD single #"Addicted to You" (Up-in-Heaven mix) – 5:19 #"Addicted to You" (Underwater mix) – 6:17 #"Addicted to You" (Up-in-Heaven mix) (Instrumental) – 4:08 #"Addicted to You" (Underwater mix) (Instrumental) – 5:21

Personnel

* Hikaru Utada – songwriting, composition * Jerry Jam and Terry Lewis – arrangement, instruments, production, composition * Teruzane Utada – arrangement, production, composition * Akira Miyake – arrangement, production, composition * Steve Hodge – guitar, recording * Alex Richbourg – drums * Darnell Davis – keyboards * Indoh Mitsuhiro – recording * Ugajin Masaaki – recording * Richard Avedon – recording Credits adapted from the promotional CD single.

Charts and certifications

Charts

Certification

Notes

References

{{authority control Hikaru Utada songs 1999 singles Oricon Weekly number-one singles Songs written by Hikaru Utada Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis EMI Music Japan singles 1999 songs