If there was anyone you could call a true queen of J-pop, its most definitely Utada Hikaru. Shes one of the best selling artists in Japan of all time, with her debut album hitting almost 10 million copies sold. For many Western fans, she was one of the first Japanese artists to become truly popular, largely in part to a little song called Simple and Clean from the first Kingdom Hearts game. Her latest album Hatsukoi came out last year and in support, she embarked on her first full Japan tour in 12 years; Laughter In The Dark. It completely sold out, and shes big enough to play stadium-sized venues. In a surprising announcement, when home and digital release details came out for a live filming of the tour, it included a Netflix announcement. The concert was filmed at the legendary Makuhari Messe in Chiba and was the final stop of her Laughter In The Dark tour. An absolutely much watch performance to be sure. Shes a living legend for good reason; Utada Hikaru has one of the best voices in the world and the charisma to back it up. I was lucky enough to catch her live in New York City almost 10 years when she did a small string of shows in the states. To this day, I havent forgotten a single moment of that night. I fell to the ground in awe when she busted out Passion from Kingdom Hearts II and doubly so when she encored with Simple and Clean. Theres a reason why her combined singles sales are well into double-digit millions, why her entire recent tour completely sold out, why she was chosen to represent the enormously popular Kingdom Hearts and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Hikaru Utadas Laughter In The Dark Tour releases on Netflix and other platforms June 26 2019.
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