HikkiattheTopofJapanesePopScene 宇多田光之流行物语 Utada won the “PowerPlay5” on dozens of nationwide FM stations ． It is still freshly remembered that on the week of its release, her single set the record of ranking No ． 1 in frequency of airplay6 on FM and AM stations in both the Kanto and Kansai7 regions． And it＇s a well － known fact that “Automatic time will tell”amazed8 everybody, achieving the extraordinary distinction9 of being ranked highly on various sales charts for both 12cm discs and 8cm discs, including the Original Confidence (Ori－Con) chart10． Her following second single “Movin ＇ on without you”(released February 17, 1999), a commercial song for Nissan Terrano11, earned the top position as it appeared in the Original Confidence chart ． And her debut album, “First Love” (March 10, 1999 release), sold out at record stories prior to its official release date． In addition to instantly ranking No．1 on the Ori－Con chart, it also set new records for “Highest Initial Points for a Debut Album”，and“Highest Initial Points for an Original Album12”． In the May 10 issue of Ori－Con, it became No．1 on the All Albums Chart． Five months after her debut, Utada climbed to the top of the Japanese pop music scene． After the title track13 of “First Love” became the main theme14 for TBS network＇s weekly drama “Majo no Joken” (To Be a Witch), it was released as a single． Together with the drama the song continues to give heart－throbbing excitement to all the audience． The first live performance15 as “Utada Hikaru” were held on April 1 and April 2 with a full invitation system． Each host radio station was swarmed16 by applications from fans ． Each performance ...
