is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer

Hikaru Utada , also known mononymously as Utada, is a Japanese and American singer, songwriter, and producer. She is considered to be one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan. She is best known by international audiences for w ...

. It was released via

Epic Records Japan Epic Records Japan is a Japanese record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Its founder was Shigeo Maruyama. Between 1978 and 1988 the label operated as a wholly owned subsidiary: Epic/Sony Inc. () was established in August 1978

and

Sony Music Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...

on November 26, 2021, as one of the several singles for her eighth Japanese studio album, '' Bad Mode'' (2022). The track serves as the main theme for the TBS Friday night drama ''Saiai''. It's co-produced by Utada and the British music producer

A. G. Cook Alexander Guy Cook (born 23 August 1990) is an English record producer. He first became known as founder of the influential record label PC Music in 2013; its signees included Hannah Diamond, GFOTY, Danny L Harle and Felicita (musician), Felici ...

Critical reception

"Kimi ni Muchū" was well received by music critics. Music critic Koremasa Uno pointed out the similarities between "Kimi ni Muchū" and Utada's 2008 track " Stay Gold" in the prelude and chord progression. Nanami Ikusa of ''Numero Tokyo'' praised the track's production and said "this is a sound that can only be produced by Hikaru Utada among Japanese artists today." Reio Fujii on an InterFM radio program said: "When I first listened to it, I really enjoyed listening to the simplicity of the arrangement. I'm attracted to it. Because it's simple, her singing voice resonates very much.

Promotion

The music video for "Kimi ni Muchū" premiered on YouTube on December 9, 2021, the 23rd anniversary of her debut in Japan. The video uses part of the performance and behind-the-scenes clips from her online concert "Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from

Air Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producers George Martin, John Burgess (record producer), John Burgess, Ron Richards (producer), Ron Richards, and Peter Sullivan (rec ...

" in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, which was made available on the release day of ''Bad Mode'' on January 19, 2022.

Track listing

;Digital download / streaming # — 5:54

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from an E-ontokyo press release. *

– songwriting, production, full vocals, keyboards and programming, vocal recording *

– production, programming *

Steve Fitzmaurice Stephen Fitzmaurice is an Irish mixer and producer based in London, England. His credits include albums for Depeche Mode, Seal, Sam Smith, Ian Brown, Kylie Minogue, Mónica Naranjo, Sting, Paloma Faith, Olly Murs, The Kooks, Alicia Keys, U2, ...

– mixing (at Pierce House, London) * Yuya Saito – vocal track editor (at ABS Recording, Tokyo) * Jody Millina – bass synth

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

References

{{Authority control 2021 singles Hikaru Utada songs Songs written by Hikaru Utada 2021 songs