Ultra Blue is the fourth Japanese studio album by Utada Hikaru, released in 2006. It debuted at #1 on the Oricon daily, weekly and monthly charts and sold 500,317 copies in its first six days of sales. Ultra Blue had sold more than one million copies worldwide and almost four million digital single tracks and ringtones as of July 13, 2006 according to EMI. Ultra Blue was also a strong online digital seller. After two months of digital downloads, Ultra Blue remained in the top ten album downloads in Japan's largest online music store, iTunes Japan. This album also became the fourth most downloaded album on iTunes Japan of the year and won an "Album of the Year" title at the 2007 Nihon Golden Disk Awards. On July 30, 2007, EMI Group released its Annual Report for 2007, and in it reported that Utada's album Ultra Blue had sold 1.3 million units worldwide, making it EMI Music's 10th-best selling album of 2006. Despite its success in terms of promotions, "Ultra Blue" is Utada's least commercially successful Japanese album to date in terms of physical sales, until it was surpassed by Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2 in 2010. Utada went on a nationwide Japan tour called Utada United 2006 to support the album.
Promotion
Taiwanese promotion
This album is her most heavily promoted album in Taiwan since her compilation album, Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 1. Pre-order receipts were made available 2 weeks before the Taiwanese pressing of Ultra Blue. Those who pre-ordered received a Japan imported Ultra Blue poster packaged in a transparent cylindrical tube. Commercials were aired often on buses, MRT stations, as well as local channels helping to promote the album, playing "Blue" in the background. One of its tag-line was, "The whole world is waiting, Utada Hikaru, Ultra Blue". Also, Toshiba-EMI of Taiwan collaborated with Yam.com and created an Ultra Blue blog similar to Utada's Japanese blog. The website held an essay contest about "You and Utada Hikaru". Toshiba-EMI Taiwan also held a private premier listening press party by inviting an ambassador from the Japan branch of Toshiba-EMI to represent the absent Utada. For what seems to be the final wave of promotion, the company put together a short "Blue" music video to air in between show blocks on various channels. The video consisted of pictures of the Ultra Blue booklet, the commercial clip of Ultra Blue and also a scene from the "Colors" video. The album debuted and stayed at the #1 spot in the G-Music Combo album charts for three consecutive weeks, with its debut week accounting for 26.39% of the total album sales in Taiwan for that week, charting for a total of 15 weeks.
North America promotion
This album is perhaps her heaviest Capitol Records promoted album since her Cubic U album, Precious. After the physical CD was released in Japan on June 14, 2006, the album was made available on iTunes to Japan and other countries, including the United States and Canada, on June 28, 2006. It was also released on the UK edition of iTunes. In Canada, the physical CDs for Ultra Blue and Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol.1 were released on July 11, 2006. In the United States, the physical CDs for Ultra Blue and Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol.1 were released on September 19, 2006. The B-sides of "Colors" and "Passion" were not included in this album, but in her English album This Is the One.
Track listing
All songs are written, composed and arranged by Utada Hikaru, except "Colors".
