Tracklist

1. Flavor Of Life
2. Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version-
3. Flavor Of Life (Instrumental)
4. Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version- (Instrumental)
5. Flavor Of Life -Antidote Mix- (CD Only Bonus Track)

This is Utada Hikarus 18^th single and was released on February 28, 2007. It has reached #1 on the Oricon Charts and has sold 650,510 copies. The ballad version of the song was used as an insert song for the drama Hana Yori Dango 2. On an interesting note, this song is a VERY popular one from Utada. It was released as a ring tone and is the highest sold ring tone in Japan history. It also has won many awards that I will not name. Look them up yourself.

Flavor Of Life is quite a mix of things. It consists of synth that you hear a lot in Utadas new experimental pop style, along with other light beats and an underlying string arrangement. I really enjoyed the English lyrics that can be heard during the Pre-chorus (“don’t worry, you’ll be okay” along with some others), and just the overall feel of the song. The lyrics are pretty sad and bittersweet, and this version shows the sweet part of it. The only problem I had with it was how stressed Utadas vocals were at times.

Flavor Of Life –Ballad Version- is the more well known version because it was used in a very popular drama. In this version, the song gets rid of all those synthetic sounds and replaces it with a wonderful piano and string arrangement. This song also shows the very bitter part of the lyrics. A problem I had with it though was Utada’s vocals. They sound good as always, but she strained a lot to reach those high notes. In a way, I guess it does add some emotion to the song.

On an interesting note, I just wanted to say how I found it weird listening to both songs in a row. I remember listening to the ballad version and right after, the original version. It felt so weird, as if the original version was in fast forward.

Overall Rating:

4 out of 5