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Bad Mode (Japanese: BADモード, Hepburn: Baddo Mōdo) is the eighth Japanese-language studio album (eleventh overall) by Japanese-American singer Hikaru Utada. It is also her first bilingual album release, with songs in both Japanese and English. It was released by Sony Music Japan sublabel Epic Records Japan digitally on January 19, 2022, the same day as Utada's 39th birthday, and was released physically on CD and limited CD-DVD-BD format bundle on February 23. It marked her first album release in four years.

Bad Mode
Digital and standard cover
Studio album by Hikaru Utada
Released	January 19, 2022
Recorded	2018–2021
Genre	Pop[1][2] R&B[1][2][3] dance-pop[4] electronica[5]
Length	73:36
Language	Japanese English[1][2][6][5]
Label	Epic Japan Sony Japan
Producer	Hikaru Utada A. G. Cook Floating Points Nariaki Obukuro Poo Bear Skrillex
Hikaru Utada chronology
One Last Kiss (2021) Bad Mode (2022) Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from Air Studios (2022)
Singles from Bad Mode
"Face My Fears" Released: January 18, 2019 "Time" Released: May 8, 2020 "Dare ni mo Iwa Nai" Released: May 22, 2020 "One Last Kiss" Released: March 9, 2021 "Pink Blood" Released: June 8, 2021 "Kimi ni Muchū" Released: November 26, 2021

Six previously released songs were confirmed for the album track list, including the title track "Bad Mode", the Shiseido commercial song "Find Love" and the Kingdom Hearts III theme song "Face My Fears".[7] The album includes collaborations with a variety of producers, including Skrillex and Poo Bear, A. G. Cook, and Sam Shepherd.[8] Describing the record's themes, MTV wrote that Bad Mode is largely about growing up, self-love, self-partnering, and acceptance". It utilizes various musical styles, including pop, jazz, electronica and R&B.

Bad Mode received positive reviews from music critics, with The Japan Times calling it a career highlight.[6] Commercially, the album received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) within a month of its release with over 100,000 copies sold.

Background and packaging

The CD + DVD + Blu-ray release comes with the regular audio CD, five music videos ("Time", "One Last Kiss", "Pink Blood", "Kimi ni Muchū" and "Bad Mode") and the full recorded concert "Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from Air Studios".[9] The concert was recorded at London's Air Studios, with bassist Jodi Milliner as the bandmaster. Sound engineer Steve Fitzmaurice worked in sound recording and mixing, and David Barnard in the video direction.[8] Hikaru Utada's son, who is six years old at the moment of the album's release, participated in the album, having violin credits in "Bad Mode" and vocal credits in "Not in the Mood" under the name The Artist's Son. He also appears on the album cover.[3]

Composition

Differently from her past albums, Bad Mode revolves around Utada's relationship with herself.[10] Utada cites that most of the songs were written during the pandemic, in a reflective way of being a mother and surviving during the tough period. She adds that it's also about working on herself to improve the relationships she has with other people.[11]

Promotion

Despite having no tour to promote the album, Utada performed for the first time in the famous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 17, 2022, being a part of the 88rising label block, singing some old hits and "Face My Fears" from Bad Mode, and a new song called "T", released after the concert ended for streaming, in the 88rising's EP Head in the Clouds Forever.[12] Due to fans request, the concert Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from Air Studios was released in June 9, 2022, for streaming in Netflix and as Utada's first ever digital live album.[13]

In September 2022, Utada performed "Somewhere Near Marseilles" live at the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise zoo. An accompanying video of the performance was released exclusively to Spotify in part of their five year anniversary celebration of the service launching in Japan.[14]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Japan Times	[6]
Pitchfork	8.0/10[2]
PopMatters	8/10[4]
Sputnikmusic	3.5/5[15]

Track listing

Notes

• "Bad Mode" and "Pink Blood" are stylized in all upper case lettering.

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

• Steve Fitzmaurice – recording (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11), mixing (1–8, 10–12), additional instrumental recording (9)
• Masahito Komori – vocals recording (4, 5, 9), strings recording (11), vocal tracks editing (4)
• Yuya Saito – vocal tracks editing (1–8, 10–12)
• Darren Heelis – additional recording (5), vocal recording assistance, additional engineering (7)
• Marek Deml – recording, additional vocals recording (4)
• Matt Jones – additional engineering assistance (7)
• Randy Merrill – mastering

Charts

Chart performance for Bad Mode

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[16]	1
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[17]	1
UK Download Albums (OCC)[18]	83

Sales and certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[19]	Gold	144,000[20]

Release history

Release dates and formats for Bad Mode

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	January 19, 2022	Digital download streaming	Epic Sony Music Japan	[21]
	February 23, 2022	CD
	April 27, 2022	LP

References

External links

• Bad Mode on Hikaru Utada's official website

На других языках

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- [en] Bad Mode

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[es] Bad Mode

Bad Mode (Japonés: BADモード, Hepburn: Baddo Mōdo) es el octavo álbum de estudio en japonés (undécimo en general) de la cantante japonesa Hikaru Utada. Fue publicado digitalmente por el subsello Epic Records Japan de Sony Music Japan el 19 de enero de 2022. Las seis canciones lanzadas anteriormente se confirmaron para la lista de canciones del álbum, incluyendo el tema que da título al disco, la canción comercial de Shiseido «Find Love» y «Face My Fears», tema musical de Kingdom Hearts III.[6] El álbum incluye colaboraciones con una variedad de productores, incluyendo a Skrillex, Poo Bear, A. G. Cook y Sam Shepherd.[7]

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