Bad Mode

Bad Mode (Japanese: BADモード, Hepburn: Baddo Mōdo) is the eighth Japanese-language studio album (eleventh overall) by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It is Utada's first bilingual album release, with songs recorded in both Japanese and English. The album was released on the Sony Music Japan sublabel Epic Records Japan digitally on January 19, 2022, and was released physically on February 23. It marked their first album release in four years since Hatsukoi (2018). Six previously released songs were confirmed for the album, including title track "Bad Mode", the Shiseido commercial theme song "Find Love", the Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time theme song "One Last Kiss" and the Kingdom Hearts III theme song "Face My Fears". The album includes collaborations with a variety of producers, including Skrillex and Poo Bear, A. G. Cook, and Sam Shepherd. 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 critical acclaim from music critics, with The Japan Times calling it a career highlight. It was named one of the best albums of the year by various music publications including Pitchfork and Slant Magazine, while "Somewhere Near Marseilles" was ranked within the top 10 on both publication's lists of Best Songs of 2022. 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.