Hikaru Utada was born on January 19th, 1983 in New York to a very musical family. Her mother Junko Utada was a famous Japanese singer during the 70s under the name Keiko Fuji, and her father Teruzane Utada became a music producer after marrying Junko. She was immersed in music from a young age, tagging along with her parents to the recording studio ever since she was a baby. This constant contact with music would later shape the path that Hikaru would take.

She began learning the piano at the age of 3, and her love for music steadily increased as the years rolled by. She began listening to a wider variety of music; everything from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin. Her eclectic taste in music would later go on the influence her own musical career.

It was during this exploration of musical genres that Hikaru became aware of R&B. Aaliyah's "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number" was the song that led Hikaru down the path of rhythm and blues, the style which would catapult her to stardom in Japan.

In the mid-90s, at the age of 13, Hikaru recorded an English language album which, due to label circumstances, was never released. However, after hearing the unreleased album, Japanese executives at Toshiba EMI records showed interest in signing Hikaru as a Japanese language artist. A contract was made, and plans for her debut in Japan were underway.