Bad Mode
Bad Mode is the eighth Japanese-language studio album by Japanese and American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It is Utada's first bilingual album release, with songs recorded in both Japanese and English. The album was released on the Sony Music Japan sublabel Epic Records Japan digitally on January 19, 2022, and was released physically on February 23. It marked their first album release in four years since Hatsukoi.
Six previously released songs were confirmed for the album, including title track "Bad Mode", the Shiseido commercial theme song "Find Love", the Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time theme song "One Last Kiss" and the Kingdom Hearts III theme song "Face My Fears". The album includes collaborations with a variety of producers, including Skrillex and Poo Bear, A. G. Cook, and Sam Shepherd. Describing the record's themes, MTV wrote that Bad Mode is largely about "growing up, self-love, self-partnering, and acceptance". It utilizes various musical styles including pop, jazz, electronica and R&B.
Bad Mode received critical acclaim from music critics, with The Japan Times calling it a career highlight. It was named one of the best albums of the year by various music publications including Pitchfork and Slant Magazine, while "Somewhere Near Marseilles" was ranked within the top 10 on both publication's lists of Best Songs of 2022. Commercially, the album received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan within a month of its release with over 100,000 copies sold.
Background and packaging
Two physical versions of Bad Mode were released: a standard audio CD, and a limited edition CD/DVD/Blu-ray bundle that includes the regular audio CD, five music videos, and the full recorded concert Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from Air Studios. The concert was recorded at London's Air Studios, with bassist Jodi Milliner as the bandmaster. Sound engineer Steve Fitzmaurice worked in sound recording and mixing, and David Barnard in the video direction. Hikaru Utada's son, who was six years old at the time of the album's release, participated in the album, having violin credits in "Bad Mode" and vocal credits in "Not in the Mood" under the name The Artist's Son. He also appears on the album cover.Composition
In contrast to their past albums, Bad Mode revolves around Utada's relationship with themself. They state that most of the songs were written during the COVID-19 pandemic and containing reflections on being a mother, surviving through difficult times, and working to improve their own state of being and relationships with other people. In writing the songs, Utada drew inspiration from the show RuPaul's Drag Race, explaining that its message "if you can’t love yourself, how are you going to love somebody else?" was meaningful to them. They also explained that they learned a great deal from using live instrumentation on their previous albums Fantôme and Hatsukoi, and expressed a desire to create "something sonically very weird again", as with their past album Exodus.Promotion
Despite having no tour to promote the album, Utada performed for the first time in the famous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 17, 2022, being a part of the 88rising label block, singing some old hits and "Face My Fears" from Bad Mode, and a new song called "T", released after the concert ended for streaming, in 88rising's EP Head in the Clouds Forever. In response to fan requests, the concert Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from Air Studios was released on June 9, 2022, for streaming on Netflix as Utada's first digital live album.In September 2022, Utada performed "Somewhere Near Marseilles" live at the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise zoo. An accompanying video of the performance was released exclusively on Spotify as part of their five-year anniversary celebration of the service launching in Japan.
Accolades
| Critic/Publisher | List | Song | Ranking | |
| Gorilla vs. Bear | Top 50 Songs of 2022 | "Somewhere Near Marseilles" | 5 | |
| Pitchfork | The 100 Best Songs of 2022 | "Somewhere Near Marseilles" | 10 | |
| Resident Advisor | The Best Tracks of 2022 | "Somewhere Near Marseilles" | Placed | |
| Slant Magazine | The 50 Best Songs of 2022 | "Somewhere Near Marseilles" | 6 | |
| The Fader | The 100 Best Songs of 2022 | "Somewhere Near Marseilles" | 42 | |
| NPR | The 100 Best Songs of 2022 | "Bad Mode" | 32 | |
| Pitchfork | The 100 Best Songs of the 2020s So Far | "Somewhere Near Marseilles" | 18 |
Personnel
Musicians- Hikaru Utada – production, writing, vocals, keyboards, programming ; piano, additional drum programming, additional keyboards and programming, shaker, Korean WaveDrum, vocals recording
- Nariaki Obukuro – production, keyboards ; programming, vocals recording
- Sam Shepherd – production, keyboards, programming ; Rhodes piano, piano
- A. G. Cook – production, keyboards, programming, remix
- Skrillex – production, programming ; writing, mixing
- Poo Bear – production, writing
- Jodi Milliner – writing, bass, synth bass, Moog bass & Juno pad
- Ben Parker – guitar, acoustic guitar
- Reuben James – Wurlitzer piano, acoustic piano, piano
- Will Fry – percussion
- Leo Taylor – drums
- Ash Soan – percussion
- Freddie Gavita – trumpet
- Soweto Kinch – saxophone
- Chris Dave – percussion
- Yuta Bandoh – string arrangement, conducting
- Ensemble FOVE – strings
- Darren Heelis – additional drum programming
- Tom Norris – additional drum programming, mixing
- Nobuaki Tanaka – additional programming
- The Artist's Son – violin, vocals
- Steve Fitzmaurice – recording, mixing, additional instrumental recording
- Masahito Komori – vocals recording, strings recording, vocal tracks editing
- Yuya Saito – vocal tracks editing
- Darren Heelis – additional recording, vocal recording assistance, additional engineering
- Marek Deml – recording, additional vocals recording
- Matt Jones – additional engineering assistance
- Randy Merrill – mastering