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Utada Hikaru beguiles Tetris foes
Japanese pop star vanquishes 26 of 30 opponents playing Nintendo's puzzler Tetris DS at a promo event over the weekend.
By Walt Wyman, GameSpot
Posted Aug 14, 2006 4:26 pm PT
Utada Hikaru, the Japanese pop star best known to gamers for her songs from the Kingdom Hearts franchise, trumped 26 of 30 Tetris challengers in a Nintendo-sponsored event over the weekend in Japan.
;)
Nintendo hosted an event called The Tetris Battle at the Tokyo International Forum on Saturday, according to Japanese Web site ITmedia. Members of the Club Nintendo fan club who won a Nintendo promotional contest each challenged the Japanese pop icon in a round of Tetris DS.
Utada--a self-proclaimed Tetris aficionado since the age of 5--lost her first two games, but she rebounded, winning 26 of her next 28 bouts. She also defeated a Nintendo developer in an exhibition match. The 23-year-old singer blamed the unfamiliar Nintendo DS system she used at the event for her slow start. Before her winning streak began, a shocked Utada reportedly exclaimed, "Are you serious?... This is impossible!"
Besides Tetris, Utada has other ties to video games. She contributed the single "Easy Breezy" for the first Nintendo DS advertising campaign in Japan and sang the theme songs "Simple and Clean" and "Passion" for Square Enix's action role-players Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, respectively.
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good for her, she shows japanese pop stars that the best they can get out of their lives is beating some horny nerds at a tetris fiesta and i'm sure that doesnt affect her carrear what so ever (that was sarcasm for all you stupid people out there)
Posted Aug 22, 2006 4:23 pm PT
OMG I love Utada and her new album Ultra Blue. Everybody I know has it.
Posted Aug 16, 2006 10:08 pm PT
I say "Button", you say "Mashing"! Indeed, a Tetris aficionado...
Posted Aug 16, 2006 12:11 am PT
Where can I get her Number? She's a total babe..lol. I didn't know she also say the Kingdom Heart songs.. She has an amazing voice :-) Power to my Asian People..haha
Posted Aug 15, 2006 8:09 pm PT
In Japan she is one of the biggest singers, which is why it is easy to find her
Posted Aug 15, 2006 12:06 pm PT
After I bought her greatest hits collection I've been a fan. I'm glad that she is popular enough to find on itunes and allofmp3.com. The japanese version of the song is called Passions and the english version is called sanctuary, but yess they are the same song, just in different languages.
Posted Aug 15, 2006 10:33 am PT
That sarcasm com? Just kidding.
But I think its great also.
Posted Aug 15, 2006 9:49 am PT
I love the song "Santuary" that song is the best... i even have it on my ipod.. thats the only song that i got from a soundtrack on my ipod!
Posted Aug 15, 2006 8:31 am PT
I have both versions of Simple & clean, are you sure the KHII was called Passion? I beat the game last night and that's not what it named it in the credits ;o. It was something like "Sanctuary"
.
Posted Aug 15, 2006 8:15 am PT
Utada's a great artist for gaming.. now becoming a gamer herself?! She's amazing
Posted Aug 15, 2006 8:14 am PT
Her songs use to be good but they're okay now, how is this news? I thought they were going to announce a new game endorsed by her or something.
Posted Aug 15, 2006 6:51 am PT
Haha, another reason why Utada is currently my favorite artist.
Posted Aug 15, 2006 5:11 am PT
They have a video somewhere of her whooping someone... it was so awesome. XD
Posted Aug 15, 2006 5:06 am PT
power to the chix i suppose. i know a few girls that are good at tetris/dr. mario......guess lots of girls are 'puzzle gamers'
Posted Aug 15, 2006 4:48 am PT
[This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]
Posted Aug 15, 2006 3:44 am PT
I recently added the music videos to "Hikari" and "Passion" (the songs from KH1&2) to my Gamespot videos so check em out if you wanna see her in action.
Posted Aug 15, 2006 3:06 am PT
[This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]
Posted Aug 15, 2006 3:04 am PT
Too bad she's married already. Well, that's another guy that must be wiped off the face of the planet, nyahahaha.
Posted Aug 15, 2006 2:51 am PT
Wow i am impressed
I like First Love in english myself, Simple And Clean should have been on the CD
Her English CD isn't BAD...BUT it is NOWHERE near her Jpop CD's
Posted Aug 15, 2006 2:38 am PT
Digital Devil: ...um I wasn't aiming that at you, I was talking to the guy who posted the article.
I also wanna mention that she's pretty much american too, she was born and raised in New York. Her music career actually started in the US as Cubic U at the age of 13. It's after that didn't work out that she went back to Japan and tried to make it there (and succeed incredibly). In 2004 she tried to make a comeback in the US with the release of Exodus but Def Jam, the label publishing the CD wanted to make her into an R&B, hip-hop singer and even though some of the songs on the CD were produced by some really talented people like Timbaland it just didn't sound right. Also they didn't even put "Simple and Clean" on the CD which could easily have helped the album sell way more. She should just have translated a bunch of her jpop songs into english, it would have been way better for her. I would have loved an english version of "Sakura Drops".
Posted Aug 15, 2006 2:33 am PT
A Celebrity and A GOOD gamer
what a Nice combination and i LOOVE the KH songs.
Posted Aug 15, 2006 2:22 am PT
Point i was tryin to make is, people say girls can't play
Honestly yes they can, i dont see why people say they can't
Posted Aug 15, 2006 1:51 am PT
Digital-Devil
Girls can kick a$$ in any game
Anyone seen the Frag Dolls?
You know they are a joke right?
Posted Aug 15, 2006 1:21 am PT
I know what her first name is, and all about the song
I just call her that because not many people know that
Posted Aug 15, 2006 12:44 am PT
I don't mean to nitpick, but Hikaru is her first name. I know in Japan they put last names first but this is Gamespot and not Japan and doing so will confuse people. Also the name of the theme song to Kingdom Hearts II in America is "Sanctuary", "Passion" is the name of the Japanese version. If you intended to name the Japanese versions then the first song should have been refered to as "Hikari". Sorry if that seemed obnoxious but I just had to say it.
Posted Aug 15, 2006 12:13 am PT
ChancreScolex
Agreed
My gf could be called geeky cause she has to wear glasses and likes games
Posted Aug 14, 2006 11:13 pm PT
Orasion, nerdy chicks are freaking hot (SOME OF THEM SOOOME!!) you best recognize!!
Posted Aug 14, 2006 11:09 pm PT
She was my biggest crush of all time o.o
From the age of about 12-13 to about 18 lol
Posted Aug 14, 2006 10:37 pm PT
Those who are bashing news like this, boy would Gamespot be boring if you were the editor.
Posted Aug 14, 2006 10:36 pm PT
Ah, the most beatiful woman in the world also has the best singing voice, and plays tetris. You absolutly cannot get any better than her. NOBODY.
Posted Aug 14, 2006 10:32 pm PT
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