Passion (Utada Hikaru song)

"Passion" is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer Hikaru Utada, taken as the fourth single from their studio album ''Ultra Blue'' (2006). It premiered on December 14, 2005, in two physical formats and for digital consumption, distributed by EMI Japan and EastWorld. "Passion", alongside its English counterpart "Sanctuary", were used as the national and international theme songs to the Square Enix video game ''Kingdom Hearts II'' (2005); the tracks serve as the successors to "Hikari" and its English counterpart, "Simple and Clean", which are found on Kingdom Hearts.

The creator of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, Tetsuya Nomura, sought to collaborate with Utada as they previously wrote "Hikari", alongside his prospects for to break into foreign and international markets. The conception of the two tracks were to emphasize a "dusk"-like vibe to the game, in comparison to "Hikari" which they described as the "dawn". Musically, "Passion" has been described by music commentators as a multi-genre tune, noting elements of alternative rock, ambient and "ethereal" music. The song's lyrics delve into themes of nostalgia, and discuses the circumstances of past, present and future.

Upon its release, both songs received critical acclaim from music critics, who strongly opined their musical departure and the Utada's progression in production and singing. Additionally, several publications ranked the songs on their year-end lists of 2005–06 and soundtrack lists. Commercially, "Passion" was successful in Japan, peaking inside the top ten on the Oricon Singles Chart and TBS's Count Down TV chart; despite this, "Passion"'s sales were much lower than previous releases. However, it was certified Gold in three categories by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).

An accompanying music video was directed in China by their then husband Kazuaki Kiriya, which depicts Utada in a dreamscape filled with animated clouds, figures and a cathedral-like architecture. The clip was inspired by numerous anime films and aesthetics, along with the atmosphere portrayed in ''Kingdom Hearts II''. The music video for "Passion" was generally well received, but critics questioned the lack of footage from the video game. In order to promote the single, Utada performed the tracks on television shows such as '' Music Station'' and '' Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ'', and has appeared on one concert tour: Utada: In the Flesh 2010. Since its release, "Passion" and "Sanctuary" have been widely considered as two of the best songs in video game history and has been recognized as a major factor in Utada's commercial rise in the western market.

Background and conception

In early 2003, The Walt Disney Company and Square Enix confirmed the sequel to ''Kingdom Hearts'' (2002). That July, the creator of Kingdom Hearts, Tetsuya Nomura, aimed to have the game in stores by 2004, but several legal issues regarding the approval of characters and aesthetics from the Disney franchise obscured this, such as the Tarzan world being denied due to a change in ownership. Regarding the theme song, Nomura only had Utada in mind as he felt they were part of the franchise's family, and felt that her music could break both foreign and international markets. But scheduling time with Nomura proved to be difficult, as Utada worked on their second English language album Exodus in her hometown New York City; they had been signed to Island Def Jam the previous year as their headquarters discovered her success in Japan.

''Kingdom Hearts II'' was publicly announced in July 2005, and Nomura confirmed Utada's second involvement with the series, "When we were creating the original game, there were a lot of factors that were influenced by Utada-san's theme song. That influence will once again be felt in ur development ofKingdom Hearts II ..." Nomura's second stance of choosing them over another singer was because he noted that fans from the first ''Kingdom Hearts'' associated Utada with the franchise. Regarding the song's concept and connection with the game, Utada derived their inspiration from the worlds and characters in ''Kingdom Hearts'' and received in-depth explanations and clues from Nomura. Conversely, Nomura noticed that Utada's theme song "Hikari" influenced several factors in creating the games.

Writing and recording

"Passion" and "Sanctuary" were already written by Utada prior to the game's release, but re-wrote certain aspects in order to represent elements of the game. Utada noted the game's visual aesthetics and storyline as a major influence towards the songwriting, and that the finished versions would lead up to the ending version of the track—which appears during the credits of the video. Utada made their second song appearance in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' as they felt the experience was better than "Hikari", which they believed was difficult to accomplish because of the "soulless vibe" the game has portrayed; though they believed the visual appearance was "crucial", the singer based their thinking process on the characters personalities instead. In a special interview with Oricon Style in December 2005, Utada talked about the process:

Utada first completed the lyrics to "Sanctuary" as they felt it was easier than writing it in Japanese. Furthermore, they said that they found it difficult to write the lyrics for "Passion". Retrospectively, Utada stated to Oricon Style that both of the songs' lyrics were some of their favorite lyrics to date. Knowing that the compact discs of the single would be insufficient with the lack of additional material, they decided to create a B-side track that was identical to the first song; this was titled the "After the Battle" version, the composition played during the credits of the game. They traveled to West Hollywood, California, to record their vocals at Westlake Audio Studios with Pat Woodward, whilst the Japanese version was recorded at Bunkamura Studios, Shibuya, Tokyo with Matsui Atushi. Additionally, they re-recorded her vocals for the "After the Battle" version in order to blend it with its new arrangement. The tracks were produced by Utada, with additional production credits to Akira Miyake and Utada's father Teruzane.

Composition

"Passion" is composed as a multi-genre tune that emphasizes the core elements of alternative rock, ambient and ethereal music. MuuMuse's Bradley Stern asserted that "Passion" was Utada's "most complex" recording, noting the use of "passionate drumming" and ambient sounds. He described Utada's vocals as having an "ethereal"-like vibe. David Jeffries of AllMusic compared it to " A Whole New World" and the work of Nine Inch Nails. With instrumentation of drums, keyboards, electric guitars and synthesizers, the track was distinctive for its overuse of echoing throughout the composition. Additionally, critics noticed the overlapping technique of Utada's singing, along with the use of reversing certain sections of her voice to hide messages within the song.

According to the sheet music on Musicnotes.com, which was published by the BMG Rights Management and Walt Disney Music Publishing, the recording is composed in the key note of F♯ major. It is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 109 beats per minute, whilst its chord progression develops in the sequence of B♭m7–Dm7–B♭m7–Dm7–Dm7–Dm. "Passion"'s lyrics delve into themes of nostalgia, and discuses the circumstances of past, present and future, which she noted was relatable to the characters in the video game. However, Yahoo! Music's Miko Amaranthine said "Passion" is "another love song that resembles a missing love but leaving life without him/her." Furthermore, "Passion", "expresses moments of nostalgic childhood memories that either fold or, sometimes intertwine" and eventually introduces a "new world". A member at Channel-Ai stated that the theme encompassed the parent album ''Ultra Blue'', but highlighted on "hope" more than "sadness". '' Vibes Mio Yamada said that the lyrics, "expressed weakness and strength simultaneously," and that the material was more mature than Utada's previous work.

Executive producers for ''Kingdom Hearts'' and head composer Yoko Shimomura said that the track needed to be more dramatic for the remaining of the accompanying score. In order to adapt to the remaining material on the soundtrack, Japanese musician Kaoru Wada arranged an orchestral version of "Sanctuary" and was performed by New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, which included the instrumentation of trumpets, several string sections and percussion.

Release

"Passion" premiered on December 14, 2005, in two physical formats and for digital consumption, distributed by EMI Japan and EastWorld. Subsequently, the single and its B-side "Passion" (After the Battle) were included on the ''Kingdom Hearts II'' soundtrack; the video game that also included the single as its theme song was issued on December 22 that same year. Global distributions of the CD single commenced on December 26, whilst South East Asian editions were made available in stores on December 28. The DVD version came with the music video, alongside an Obi {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous title ...