HEART STATION / Stay Gold

"Heart Station/Stay Gold" is Utada Hikaru's 20th Japanese single (28th single overall). The single was released on February 20th, 2008, her first for 2008 with its first pressings featuring an official "Heart Station" sticker. "Stay Gold" debuted to radio on January 7, 2008, and on Recochoku download formats back in December 7 of 2007. 'Heart Station' debuted just two weeks post for Chaku-Uta Ringtone downloads on January 21, 2008, as well as for radio airplay.

Promotional efforts and tie-ins
"Stay Gold" was featured in Kao's Asience late 2007 "Prism Hair" Shampoo commercial. A brand new 2008 commercial (with a narrative and more cinematic presentation) begun airing on February 29, 2007 featuring the same song.

"HEART STATION" will be the 2008 commercial song for Recochoku. The "Heart Station" Recochoku commercial began airing on 12p.m. January 25, 2008 in Japan and features original footage and imagery of Utada shot last year in December 2007. The video, entitled "PON PON Kumachan," became available for download according to her Japanese site on the same day. On January 26, 2008, her official Japanese site launched a special "Heart Station" website with the single's information as well as blog parts to place the "PON PON KUMACHAN" video on fan's blogs. There are also links to several radio stations across Japan, presumably some promotional agreement between "Heart Station" and various FM channels, with some boasting individual "Heart Station" stickers, indicating each as a "special" Heart Station. The "flying" date of the single's release, February 19, 2008, caused some Japanese-resident purchasers to not only receive the first press edition grid of stickers, but also a bottle of ASCIENCE shampoo at some CD MAXI shops (the tie-in product of "Stay Gold"). The single debuted at #2 with 14,882 units sold its first 24 hours.

Heart Station Music Video
On February 1, 2008, Space Shower TV officially stated that Utada’s “Heart Station” music video will be directed by Japanese videographer Muto Masashi who has work with many popular artists. The video premiered on February 4, 2008 on VMC's Juke Box Japan. The full video indeed aired in Japan and made its way onto the internet across multiple sites and formats (most notably YouTube) on February 4, 2008. It has received positive reviews from most fans, as Utada actually appears in this PV throughout for the first time in a PV since 2007's "Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version-". Many fans have said that her eye movements are the true hidden meanings and is what makes this PV so mysterious, but others have deemed it as boring, likening it to the negative responses of Hikari, which also lacked the impressive special effects and aesthetics of the other Hikaru/Kazuaki video collaborations.

The video features Utada, simply attired in a white top, jeans, and white headphones, singing on a train filled with black-clad, mysterious people until she arrives at her destination(presumably the director's reference to another form of "Heart Station"). Less noticeable elements that relate to the song include the track lights that follow a heartbeat-like pulse as the train travels along. Also, when the video is shown in a first-person perspective of the viewer, the people appear to be pitch black but whenever it switches to Utada's perspective, us seeing through Utada's eyes, we see the passengers in full color.

The PV stayed at #1 for five weeks (from February 15, 2008-March 21, 2008) on Space Shower TV music video channel's Original Chart.

Radio and Digital Statistics
For the week of February 10, 2008, after debuting only about three weeks earlier at #40, "Heart Station" hit the top of J-Wave's Tokio Hot 100 Single Airplay chart and has so far, as of March 3, 2008, has been at that peak for three non-consecutive weeks and would later reach the #1 apex for the week of February 24, 2008 on FM Osaka 851's Top 100 songs and later Kiss FM Kobe's Hot 40 and Toyama's Top 50 Countdown. As of March 8, 2008, it's still charting well in the 10 or 5 of most all Japanese radio rankings. It also debuted at #1 on the HOT EXPRESS' Daily FM chart (on March 1, 2008, it would also again be at #1 for the second consecutive week ) and #4 on the Chaku-Uta All chart (which the song has a tie-in with). On March 1, 2008, HEART STATION would be #2 on the newly created Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, higher than its #3 debut on the Oricon Singles chart due to the fact its considerable airplay records were also accounted. It has been #1 on the Billboard Japan Airplay Charts for 2 weeks as of March 5, 2008. It has also been #1 on Hot Express' Weekly FM chart for three weeks thus far. According to a new Livedoor article, Utada’s latest single, “HEART STATION,” was the most played song on Japanese radio in the month of February. The song recorded 1,064 plays, the only song to cross the one thousand threshold that month. This also brings the monthly total airplay above her own previous record month of 1,037 plays for 2002’s smash hit “Traveling .” Oricon released their weekly NINKI chart on March 14, 2008, and Utada’s “HEART STATION” came in easily at #1. The NINKI chart does not reflect predicted sales, but gave an indication of the level of interest within the general Japanese public.

"Stay Gold" was downloaded just over 250,000 times by the end of the December 2007 month, meaning it was the fourth in the monthly rankings for RIAJ's Chaku-Uta Ringtones. It had its greatest success at radio for debuting at #1 on Hot Express' Daily FM chart for the week it debuted, and reaching a high #7 on the Tokio Hot 100 Singles Airplay chart, but rather quickly descended most radio rankings it had peaked mostly in the Top 3, 20 or 40 of after achieving the latter peak, somewhat akin to "Kiss & Cry."The physical single shot straight onto iTunes Japan Albums download chart at #2 the same day it was released while the two A-sides "Heart Station" & "Stay Gold" debuted back-to-back in the Top 3 of Itunes Japan Top Songs at #2 and #3 respectively.

Tracklist

 * 1) "Heart Station"
 * 2) "Stay Gold"
 * 3) "Heart Station -Original Karaoke-"
 * 4) "Stay Gold -Original Karaoke-"

Charts
For more detailed listings and rankings of Heart Station/Stay Gold's sales, visit the ThePPN:Heart Station / Stay Gold.

TV Promotional Performances
On January 31st, 2008, several Japanese media sources announced that EMI was contacting potential audience members for her Fuji T.V. HEY!HEY!HEY! performance, set to be recorded on February 10, 2008 with the actual airing date on the 18th. Although it was originally purported that Utada would perform both A-Sides from this single at all the T.V. Venues, it has been reported that only "Heart Station" would be sung at TV Asahi's Music Station. The TBS Utaban episode promoting "Heart Station/Stay Gold" was shot in Japan February 12, 2008 according to one of Utada's blog messages. This would be the lone TV performance of "Stay Gold," according to the Japanese TV magazine, with all the others going to the single's other A-side, "Heart Station ."

In all of her performances of Heart Station, Utada has featured prominent ad-libbing in the beginning of the song and in the ending, in which she sings variations of the line, "This is from the bottom of my heart," twice. It is unknown if she will continue this pattern in future performances.


 * 1) 02.18 - Fuji TV HEY!HEY!HEY! - Heart Station
 * 2) 02.22 - TV Asahi Music Station - Heart Station
 * 3) 02.22 - Nihon TV Music Fighter - Heart Station
 * 4) 02.23 - TBS CDTV - Heart Station
 * 5) 02.28 - TBS Utaban - Stay Gold

HEART STATION/Stay Gold Magazine Promotional Schedule
発売日　　　雑誌名
 * 1) 1月17日(木)　ぴあ
 * 2) 2月 4日(月)　Gyao Magazine
 * 3) 2月 7日(木)　steady.
 * 4) 2月 9日(土)　PATIPATI
 * 5) 2月12日(木)　U-SIDE（※WEB)＜2/20追加
 * 6) 2月13日(水)　ＴＶ LIFE
 * 7) 2月13日(水)　TVぴあ＜1/28追加
 * 8) 2月14日(木)　CDでーた
 * 9) 2月14日(木)　ワッツイン
 * 10) 2月15日(金)　月刊ソングス
 * 11) 2月15日(金)　BIGLOBE（※WEB)＜2/20追加
 * 12) 2月20日(水)　TOWER
 * 13) 2月20日(水)　VA
 * 14) 2月20日(水)　TSUTAYA CLUB MAGAZINE＜1/28追加
 * 15) 2月20日(水)　oricon style（※WEB)＜2/20追加
 * 16) 2月20日(水)　goo音楽（※WEB)＜2/20追加
 * 17) 2月20日(水)　MUSICO（※WEB)＜2/20追加
 * 18) 2月20日(水)　MySound（※WEB)＜2/20追加
 * 19) 2月20日(水)　listen japan（※WEB)＜2/20追加
 * 20) 2月20日(水)　AOL（※WEB)＜2/20追加
 * 21) 2月20日(水)　au one ミュージック＜2/20追加
 * 22) 2月21日(木)　デジタルオーディオファン
 * 23) 2月21日(木)　MSN（※WEB)＜2/20追加
 * 24) 2月22日(金)　ORICON STYLE(雑誌）
 * 25) 2月23日(土)　月刊歌謡曲
 * 26) 2月23日(土)　Ray ＜1/18追加
 * 27) 2月24日(日)　TV navi
 * 28) 2月24日(日)　Invitation＜1/28追加
 * 29) 2月25日(月)　Music Master
 * 30) 2月25日(月)　スカパー！ガイド＜1/28追加
 * 31) 3月 1日(土)　ポップティーン