Passion (Hikaru Utada song)

Single infobox
Name = Passion


Artist = Utada Hikaru
from Album = Ultra Blue
Released = December 14,2005
Format = CD, DVD, Regular Single
Recorded = —
Genre = Pop
Length = 10:17
Label = EMI Music Japan
Writer = Utada Hikaru
Producer = Utada Hikaru
Reviews =
Last single = "You Make Me Want to Be a Man"
(2005)
This single = "Passion"
(2005)
Next single = "Keep Tryin'"
(2006)

"Passion" is a single by Utada Hikaru. It was released in Japan on December 14, 2005, with a price of ¥1,575 (roughly 13.62 USD) and includes a DVD of the "Passion" music video. This is the sixth single of Utada's to have a DVD Single as well, also the second single to have the DVD included in the single release as a CD+DVD package. A ¥1,050 (roughly 9.08 USD) version was also released, which contains only the audio CD in a paper case. Despite this single reaching #11 on the World Charts for single sales, this single did not even chart on the airplay chart. This single charted for 16 weeks. As this single sold 112,345 copies in 2006, it was the #91 single of the year [ [http://wiki.theppn.org/Passion_%28Utada_Hikaru%29 Passion (Utada Hikaru) - Wiki.theppn ] ] .

This is her 15th Japanese-language single (21st overall) and has also featured in the game "Kingdom Hearts II", developed by Square Enix and Buena Vista Games."Passion"'s music video was filmed in China by her then husband, combined with an animation segment in the beginning of the video created by Koji Morimoto. Utada Hikaru had also done a previous song for the game "Kingdom Hearts" entitled "Hikari" in Japan and "Simple and Clean" in North America, therefore making "Passion" its successor.

In an interview, Utada Hikaru said, "It's like... as if 'Hikari' was the dawn, and 'Passion' has a concluding or 'dusk' feeling to it. The lyrics of 'Passion' show how phases of the past, present and future of the character in my song relate to each other." [http://www.kh-2.net/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1134621611&archive=&start_from=&ucat=4&/]

Music video

The video was partially shot in China. The introduction of the video is an animation by Koji Morimoto with a render of a character that is supposedly a symbol of Utada.

Lyrics

One interesting feature of the song is the use of reversed lyrics. Three reversed phrases are heard at least once, which are "I need more affection than you know," "I need true emotions," and "So many ups and downs."

Different versions

It is worth noting that the version of "Passion" found in this single differs slightly from the version used for "Kingdom Hearts II", which is missing the last verse, and also has the added lines, "Hito shirezu/My heart's a battleground" (Hidden Away/ My heart's a battleground.) It has been titled the "~opening version~" on the "Kingdom Hearts II" soundtrack.

For the International Release of "Kingdom Hearts II", Utada Hikaru also recorded an English version of this song, titled "Sanctuary".

"Sanctuary" is the theme song for the video game Kingdom Hearts II's international release. The "~opening version~" of the song is played during the opening movie; the "~after the battle~" version is played after defeating the final boss of the game, much like the theme song of the first Kingdom Hearts, "Simple And Clean". The arrangements of the two songs differ in some aspects, much in the same nature as Simple And Clean did in comparison to its "Hikari" counterpart.

"Sanctuary", as of August 2008, has received no sort of official release on CD or for download.

"Sanctuary", like "Passion", includes several instances of reversed lyrics throughout the song; these lyrics are the only official backwards lyrics. Played throughout the song is "I need more affection than you know"; in the "battleground" stanza, "So many ups and downs" and "I need true emotions" are played.

Track listing

*CD Version
# Passion ~single version~ - 4:36
# Passion ~after the battle~ - 5:57

*CD+DVD Version CD Tracklist
# Passion ~single version~ - 4:36
# Passion ~after the battle~ - 5:57 DVD Tracklist
#Passion ~single version~ (Music Video)

Charts

"Passion" - Oricon Sales Chart (Japan)

References

External links

* [http://www.kh-n.com/ "Kingdom Hearts" Network]
* [http://kh2.co.uk/ "Kingdom Hearts" Ultimania]