On September 28, 2016, 宇多田ヒカル (Hikaru Utada) released Fantôme. It was their sixth Japanese-language studio album and the first since HEART STATION, released eight and a half years earlier.
The intervening years had not been completely silent. Utada’s second singles collection, which included new material, appeared shortly before regular activities were suspended at the end of 2010. The new song 「桜流し」 (“Sakura Nagashi”) followed in 2012, while live recordings, anniversary editions and a tribute album kept the catalogue active.
Utada had nevertheless stepped away from the usual cycle of albums, promotion and public appearances to concentrate on life outside the music industry. During that period, their mother, singer Keiko Fuji, died, and Utada later became a parent.
The return becomes an album
Regular activity resumed in April 2016 with two digital singles. 「花束を君に」 (“Hanataba wo Kimi ni”) was selected as the theme song for NHK’s morning drama Toto Neechan, while 「真夏の通り雨」 (“Manatsu no Tōriame”) accompanied the television news programme NEWS ZERO.
Fantôme arrived five months later with eleven tracks: those two singles, “Sakura Nagashi” and eight newly written songs. The album also included collaborations with Ringo Sheena, KOHH and Nariaki Obukuro.
The response confirmed that the long wait had not weakened Utada’s place in Japanese pop. Fantôme spent four consecutive weeks at number one on the Oricon album chart, a first in their career. By the end of 2016, it had sold an estimated 569,963 physical copies and ranked third among the year’s albums, despite being released at the end of September. Oricon
Songs that stayed
The album’s release campaign produced several lasting entries in Utada’s catalogue. As of August 2026, “Hanataba wo Kimi ni” and the opening track 「道」 (“Michi”) both remain among their ten most-streamed songs on Spotify, with more than 76 million and 61 million streams respectively. Spotify figures
For its tenth anniversary, we invite you to return to Fantôme’s eleven tracks, beginning with “Michi” and ending with “Sakura Nagashi,” the song released while Hikaru Utada was still on pause.