"First Love" is a song by the Japanese-American singer-songwriter
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 ...
. It was released on April 28, 1999, as the third Japanese language single from her second studio album, ''
First Love'', which was issued a month previously. It was certified double platinum for 800,000 copies shipped to stores in Japan.
In a 2009 survey by Oricon, asking respondents what song they wanted to hear with a broken heart, "First Love" was voted in the top 10. "First Love" was performed during Utada's 2010 tour,
Utada: In the Flesh 2010. It was also performed during Utada's two-date concert series ''
Wild Life'' in December 2010. The song and "
Hatsukoi" from her
2018 studio album of the same name inspired the 2022
Netflix series ''
First Love''. In December 9, 2022, "First Love" was remixed alongside "Hatsukoi" in
Dolby Atmos.
Promotion
The song was used as the theme song for the Japanese drama ''
Majo no Jōken'', starring
Hideaki Takizawa and
Nanako Matsushima. "First Love" is featured in the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
rhythm game ''
Unison'', released in 2001.
Track listing
Personnel
* Hironori Akiyama – guitar
* Yuichiro Goto – strings
* Takahiro Iida – synthesizer programming
* Kei Kawano – arrangement, string arrangement, keyboards, programming
* Masayuki Momo – synthesizer programming
* Hikaru Utada – lyrics, music, vocals
* Goh Hotoda - mixing engineer
Charts
Certifications and sales
Release history
Juju version
"First Love" was covered by the Japanese R&B singer
Juju in 2010, on her cover album ''
Request''. It was the main promotional single, and was released as a digital download to cellphones on September 15, 2010.
Juju performed the song at ''
Hey! Hey! Hey!'' on September 20.
Charts
Release history
Other cover versions
*
Naoko Terai (1999, violin, album ''Pure Moment'')
*
Jessa Zaragoza (2000, on the album ''Siya Ba Ang Dahilan?'')
*
Cao Xue Jing (2004,
erhu solo, on the album ''Koiuta Erhu'')
*
Toni Gonzaga (2006, on the album ''You Complete Me''). Sampled the song for "We Belong"
*
Sotte Bosse (2007, on the album ''Innocent View'')
*
Scott Murphy (
Allister) (2008, on the album ''Guilty Pleasures 3'')
*
Ryō Nagano (
Apogee) (2008, digital single)
*
Yasushi Nakanishi (2008, on the album ''Standards 3'')
*
Jake Shimabukuro (2008, ukulele solo, DVD ''Ichigo Ichie'')
*
Makoto Hirahara (2009, saxophone, on the album ''Vocalese'')
*
Sing-O (2009, digital single)
*Starving Trancer feat. Maki (2009, on the album ''
Exit Trance
is a Japanese media company that acts primarily as a music publisher. The company was founded as a printing company in 2001, however later became a music company known as Quake Records in 2003. In 2005, the company was renamed to Quake Holding ...
Presents Dramatic Trance Memorial Daiichiwa'')
*
Hideaki Tokunaga (2010, on the album ''Vocalist 4'')
*
Eric Martin (2010, on the album ''Mr. Vocalist 3'')
*
Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...
(2010 on the album ''
Covered: Winter'')
*Repablikan (2013, covered, sung in
Tagalog
Tagalog may refer to:
Language
* Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines
** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language
** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language
* Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...
, 2022 on the album ''2011 Jejemon'')
*
May J. (2013, on the album ''Summer Ballad Covers'')
*
Zivilia (2017, single, sung in
Indonesian)
*
Kim Chae-won of LE SSERAFIM (2022, released on SoundCloud)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:First Love (Hikaru Utada Song)
1999 singles
Hikaru Utada songs
Songs written by Hikaru Utada
Contemporary R&B ballads
Japanese television drama theme songs
1999 songs
Songs about heartache
1990s ballads