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"Passion" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist and songwriter Hikaru Utada for her fourth studio album ''Ultra Blue'' (2004). The song was used as the theme song for the 2005 video game ''Kingdom Hearts II''. The song was written, composed and produced by Utada herself, while additional production was handled by Teruzane Utada and Akira Miyake. Utada had written and composed the song when she was approached to record another song for the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series, which she had contributed previously on the first video game. It also made an appearance on her 2010 greatest hits compilations: ''Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2'' and ''Utada the Best''. Spoken in both English and Japanese language, the lyrical content depicts the events of past, present and future and incorporates themes of love, hope and safety; When she accepted the offer to record the track, she found it difficult to write a Japanese-worded version of the "Sanctuary". "Passion" and "Sanctuary" received critical praise from contemporary music critics, who found it her most experimental track to date. Critics praised her vocal delivery and commended the production values, in contrast on her 2009 album ''This Is the One''. Commercially, "Passion" had suffered in Japan for being Utada's first Japanese single to miss the top spot on the Oricon chart. The song peaked at number four on the Japanese Oricon Singles, her lowest charting single and her first single to miss the top three position, but eventually tied with her 2006 single "Boku wa Kuma". The accompanying music video for the single "Passion" was issued for the single as well, directed by Kazuaki Kiriya. The video features scenes of anime culture that represents the image of Utada herself and features Utada in a grand hall, shot all by green screening effects and finishes with a paddock of running horses. During production, Utada had compared the video, choreography and set to 1997 animated action-fantasy film ''Princess Mononoke''. The video was positively received by critics for its comparison sets to the video game, but received minor criticism for the lack of video game inspiration and footage. ==Background== In 2004, Island Def Jam asked Utada to be part off the soundtrack for the American film ''Rush Hour 2''. She accepted the offer and recorded "Blow My Whistle", a duet with American rapper Foxy Brown and was written by Utada, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo with production held by The Neptunes. After Island had discovered Utada's successful musical career in her native Japan, Island offered Utada a record deal for an English-language album. After accepting the offer, ''Exodus'' (2004), the first English album by her, was released in September 2004. The album was a success, selling over one million units in Japan but only obtained limited success in the United States, charting at 160 on the Billboard 200. A year after the international release and promotion of ''Exodus,'' Utada moved back to Tokyo and returned to the Japanese music scene with her album ''Ultra Blue''. In early 2003, Disney and Square Enix executives had development plans for ''Kingdom Hearts II'' but did not provide specific details until July 2003. Tetsuya Nomura, the creative director of the series, engaged an early release for the game, but Nomura noted several obstacles particularly with Disney's approval of using characters and series; one of the prime examples were of ''Tarzan'' and Mickey Mouse, which the latter was approved and the first being declined due to management and provider changes. Nommura had said that he only had Utada in mind to record songs for the soundtrack because he believed she was an iconic singer that could break both foreign and international barriers. The announcement for the sequel was announced in July 2005, saying ""When we were creating the original game, there were a lot of factors that were influenced by Utada-san's theme song. That influence will once again be felt in (development of ) Kingdom Hearts II ()" Nomura chose not to have a different singer perform the second theme song because he believed fans associated Utada with ''Kingdom Hearts''. Utada derived her inspiration from the worlds and characters in ''Kingdom Hearts'' and she also received written explanations of the stories from Nomura.〔 Conversely, Nomura commented that Utada's theme songs influenced several factors in creating the games. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Passion (Hikaru Utada song)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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