Exodus by 宇多田ヒカル

Exodus is the second English language album (fifth overall) by Japanese singer-songwriter Utada, released on September 8, 2004 by Island Records. After being discovered in North America by Island CEO Lyon Cohen when she contributed to the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack, he was very interested in signing Utada to his record label and she eventually accepted the offer. She traveled to Los Angeles, California to sign the contract and began recording the studio album straight after her signing. However, during the time frame from 2002 and 2003, Utada was diagnosed with a benign ovarian tumour that needed surgery and treatment. She also married her then-husband Kazuaki Kiriya, which stopped recording temporarily. Musically, Exodus incorporates several musical genres including dance music and electronic music, whilst also incorporating several elements from electronica, avant-garde, alternative and glitch music. Exodus is her first studio album to have full English-language tracks since her album Precious under the alias Cubic U. The majority of the tracks on the album were written, composed and produced by Utada herself but also received help from American rapper Timbaland, Danja and her father Teruzane Utada. Lyrically, the album deals with several human-related stories from a third-person perspective. Themes incorporated inside the album is love, prostitution, lust, her own mixed heritage and break-ups. Upon its release, Exodus received positive reviews from most contemporary music critics. Many critics complimented the composition experimentation and Utada's vocal deliveries on certain tracks. However, critics were divided towards the lyrical content and felt the production and album was only trying to attract a wider audience through the Western market. Commercially, Exodus was a commercial success in her native Japan, peaking at number one and sold over one million units in the country, making it the highest selling English studio album there. It was certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). In North America, Exodus suffered and only peaked inside the top 200 on the Billboard 200. Four singles were released from the album. The first single "Easy Breezy" failed to gain success in both Eastern and Western territories, but the following single "Devil Inside" peaked at number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs, making it her highest charting effort regarding any Billboard chart. The final North American single "Exodus '04" charted moderately in America overall, while the lead UK single "You Make Me Want to Be a Man" failed to achieve higher success in that region as well. To promote the album, Utada had commenced her Utada Hikaru In Budokan 2004 tour.