A short radio clip of Utada speaking on American radio and commenting Ayumi Hamasaki.
Press release from Utada's agency (2001), after the "competition" was started by obsessed fans and media:
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The album "Distance" continues to sell well thanks to your support and backing. I'd like to use this space to thank you first of all.
The sales situation has been talked about in some media in terms of "competition," which is not at all our intent.
Consequently, we have refused to accept interviews or make any comments on this matter. Music is not a game, nor something to be talked about on the basis of win or lose.
I feel sad about such thinking that negates other artists just because each favorite artist is the best. We think the diversity of the current music market in Japan is what makes it interesting. If Hikaru Utada were the only artist around, wouldn't the music scene be rather boring?
There are many things we should learn from the Western music scene, but I trust that there are "songs" which have roots in Japan's culture, and we'd like to continue pursuing Japan's popular songs.
Good sales is a very happy thing, but we aim at long-lasting, long-loved music. It's not just how many copies are sold, but how many times one CD is listened to.
I used to listen to one of my favorite CDs so many times it wore out. "First Love" achieved record sales of over eight million copies, but I'd rather continue to give my attention to how many times each one of you listened to it.
We'll do our best as we have done so far!
Akira Miyake
Toshiba EMI Ltd.
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No more words needed!
Download the whole radio show: ht*tp://sharebee.com/223cfef7
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Tags: 浜崎あゆみ Utada Hikaru Ayumi Hamasaki Radio USA Ayu Hikki EXODUS promotion Music
![Utada Hikaru commenting on Ayumi Hamasaki [RARE]](http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/a6lgSLNBvXc/default.jpg)
