Hikaru Utada -- Keep Tryin'

 

I'll have to admit that I haven't really been focused on singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada's（宇多田ヒカル） discography in the last twenty-odd years. My favourite time regarding her singles and albums was really in the late 1990s and early 2000s when she first made the scene in J-Pop.

So I have to say when I saw the above video's thumbnail with Utada giving the winning big thumbs-up, I was like "Whoa! Have I seen this video of hers?". And the answer was invariably NO. In fact, I barely remember her 16th single "Keep Tryin'" from February 2006 aside from the fact that it was used for a KDDI commercial.

But I have to say that this music video for "Keep Tryin'", updated by Utada's own YouTube channel, really does pop with the old-school parts and the CG. In fact, I think it would make for a fine cousin to the video for the singer's earlier hit "Traveling" from 2001. I've taken a look at it twice already today and she gives another tour-de-force performance in all of her different guises; truly a paean to cosplay. And I think the song itself is one of encouragement for all those in the service industry, so pretty good timing here considering that April is the one month in Japan when all of those fresh faces enter the companies. The melody by Utada is also something that has now grown on me with those distinct chord changes. It's definitely not the usual pop song.

Ah, here's the commercial. I do remember seeing the dancing silhouette of the squirrel. "Keep Tryin'" hit No. 2 on Oricon and ended up as the 82nd-ranked single for 2006. But it was also the No. 1 song of the year for iTunes. It's also been included on Utada's June 2006 album "Ultra Blue" which did peak at No. 1 and was the No. 7 album of the year.