Hikaru Utada on Hiatus

Singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada has announced on her web diary on Monday that she will go on an indefinite hiatus from her musical career starting next year. Before she takes time off, she will release her Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol. 2 album this fall. This will be her first "best-of" album in six and half years, and it will include her recent songs such as "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro," "Be My Last," and "Beautiful World," as well as new material.

Utada explained in her Monday message that since she began her musical career at the age of 15, there is a part inside her that stopped growing. When she will return to music is still undetermined, but she said that she feels it will probably be after she has had time to grow a little as a person and naturally wants to share her music again. She added that she does not know if it will take two years, five years, or however long it will be.

Utada is an internationally known, bestselling pop artist born in New York City and raised in Japan and the United States. Past works include her debut album, 1999's First Love, Kingdom Heart's Hikaru and Sanctuary, and Evangelion's Beautiful World and Kiss & Cry. She recently released a U.S. album entitled, This is the One, and toured the U.S. and U.K. last year. [Source: ANN]