Re: Kingdom Hearts 3 theme song still under consideration

honesty master spockanort it up to utada if she want to come back or not and i hope she does but my question will disney allow to do what she want to do

Re: Kingdom Hearts 3 theme song still under consideration

Re: Kingdom Hearts 3 theme song still under consideration

to be fair, that song's the main gist of the Key To Return Hearts' purpose. :P

evanscene huh if disney and square can get them like how ffxv got stand by me form florence and the macahine for stand by me then ill be okay with evanscene bring me to like for kh3 if utada isnt doing that it is

I mean I love Amy Lee but if they paid for Evanescence, they can afford Utada lol.

But what do they have to do with anything???

my problem is if utada come back will disney alow utada do what she want to do like make a song they want it meant to be osng and not a english song if they allow that then she will come back but if not then i see a proablem of her coming back

Well, that is why Utada has Universal and her father to put on the pressure for these kinds of negotiations. Disney has had songs in foreign languages for their English film releases so having a Japanese only or Japanese-English hybrid song in a Japanese video game shouldn't be a problem for them.

If it is about accessibility, they can do one song in English for a worldwide audience.

All theoretically, of course.

As much as I want to see Utada make a new theme song, I don't think it will happen & I think someone else should be given a chance to create an amazing and memorable theme song for both the Japanese & English versions of KH3.

^

As much as I would like Utada Hikaru to return, if she can't... Please get someone new to create a song and perform it, please.

The main games (at least 1 and 2) had a habit of having brand new songs that were sung for them, and I really don't want 3 to break that tradition.

...Even if it does end up being someone other than Utada Hikaru, sadly.

Also, I'm starting to worry that maybe 3 is having more issues than any of us foresaw... What with Nomura not knowing to do with the theme song, and Yoko Shimomura sounding like she hasn't gotten that much done for the game yet, maybe. IDK.

yoko been busy with ffxv so she proabally doesn't have time to make songs for kh3 plus she was making song for 2.8 aswell as for the theme song that comes last and he probally will contact utada or someelse next year

Music composition/recording is usually done later on in the development of a project. If anything is recorded early it is because they need it for marketing or demonstration purposes.

But you need a game developed to a certain point so a composer isn't making songs that don't get used or don't fit where they were supposed to go because a scene changed.

Look I'm not saying it should be sia with kanye west and yoko producing

But

I'll sing the song for 75% of what they pay Utada.

plus doesnt yoko need to know disney or whatever ip is being used as well so she can watch it and try to coperate her style into the songs

I do think Utada will return, and if not that's fine, too. [strike]mai kuraki pls[SIZE=2][/strike][/SIZE]

I don’t know how I feel about Utada and the KH3 theme song.

On one hand, I would love for her to return one more time to end the Xehanort saga. I love much of her music, KH or not. There's something special about it and giving KH3 that one last song would be nice.

On the other hand, it always seems like she hates/dislikes doing it? Mostly when it comes to making the English version of the same song. If she doesn't want to do it, then please just find someone else. There are other Japanese/English singers, and they might be interested in the challenge of making a song in both languages.

To me, it seems like the easiest thing to do would be making the song in both languages first rather than trying to translate it and fit it into the rhythm later. But every artist has their own method I guess...

I'm sure Yoko Kanno has a list of voices she can provideeeeee

"Under consideration"?
Does this mean "we're still considering paying Utada properly" or rather "we're still considering just reusing Hikari yet AGAIN"?

They have no intention of using an old song again. It's THE big game.

This is how I feel too, nothing against Utada, after all it is her choice, but I always find it to be a let down when someone doesn't enjoy creating content for things that they have been a part of for a long time. It's just disappointing and I would rather it go to someone else.

I dunno if Utada's involvement with KH can be really described as "being part for a long time" since her involvement ran at most from 2002 to 2006 and her musical career is far longer and bigger than that. She also made many songs in these years completely unrelated to KH so I don't know if it is appropriate to imply an attachment or "deeper" connection between her and the KH series where there might have not been one to begin with.

Yeah that's true, I was just insinuating her involvement since she did produce songs for the two main games, it is only natural to assume some sort of kinship between her and the franchise (especially given that she recognized the new remix in her tweets).

Utada herself might not have been a big part of the series on her end, but she certainly has been a big part for others. To deny that is to deny the massive hype that always appears when her name is mentioned in relation to Kingdom Hearts. And don't say that thing you always say about Yoko Shimomura having more importance to the than Utada because of course she does. She is the composer.

This is plain and simple about the expectations hardcore and casual fans have set for what constitutes a Kingdom Hearts title. A part of that tends to be an Utada song, conditioned in us by the fact that the songs she made have been reused in every handheld and console title to this day.

Utada certainly is an artist made up of more than "the lady who made Kingdom Hearts and Eva songs" and I hate when people forget that, but the fact still remains that Utada is popular in the west in part because of her work for Kingdom Hearts.

My ideal backup for Utada if she didn't return was for the longest time Origa.

But alas, that is no longer an option. Gone way too soon.

My feelings for this issue have been the same for years. I'd be happy if she came back to do the theme but if not I don't see the problem with another singer doing the theme.

Anything but S&C and sactuary again

Whoever they are, I'm sure someone who has been following Kingdom Hearts for a long time, or at least know what it is, can take up the challenge to create a new theme song.

I still love and respect Utada for she is and what she has created for Kingdom Hearts, but if she has her heart set in other things then that's totally fine.

Yes, it makes me real uncomfortable when I feel like someone is creating something but they really don't have any interest, nor do they really enjoy it. I mean, I'm sure she put a lot of love, work, and effort into Simple and Clean and Sanctuary, but if she really feels like they completely mess up all her original intentions while making the song and it's too much, I'd prefer they find someone else.

Nothing against Utada. She's great, and her style would be really really hard to match for Kingdom Hearts given its kinda unique circumstances (meaning, I don't think they'd settle for a Japanese only song, and she probably wouldn't allow someone else to figure out the English version for her)

I personally don't know many english/jp singers myself. There is one that I'm thinking about, but I haven't heard her sing in english TOO much. I just know she collabs with Yoko Kanno a bunch. The song I had in mind was a duet she did featuring someone named Steve Conte. Her name is Maaya Sakamoto. The Garden of Everything.

The Garden of Everything: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkiEuIgkCCs

Or an all english song she's done (but she's not as clear as Utada)
Gravity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOE8tqxU1xs

I did some research a while ago and there's someone named Nano who grew up in very similar circumstances as Utada so she too is very fluent in both languages. But she's more j-rock than j-pop from what I've checked out. Eh. I dunno

If they just used Hikari/Passion instead of demanding an english song for the english version maybe there would be less problems with this. But maybe I just feel that way because I prefer the japanese versions anyway.

If she makes the song, great, if someone else does it, that's fine too. As long as it's good. I've never been disappointed with KH music yet so I doubt it's going to happen with KH3 either.

I think when it comes to KH... it's very different than many other dubbed Japanese games and anime.

Kingdom Hearts is the good equivalent of the dub of Detective Conan renaming Ran to Rachel. By good I mean, the English version is supposed to be just as 'canon' as the Japanese one, if that makes any sense. Although some context will naturally be lost, Kingdom Hearts is supposed to be as 'international' as any average Disney movie, compared to an anime or Japanese game that just gets an English version. Whereas, in Detective Conan, they just changed names around to 'make it easier for English audiences', not because it was meant for an English dub to exist someday, context and all. (That's why mistakes like 'guilt' vs 'special attack bonus' are pretttty bad. Kingdom Hearts has always been pretty equal between the languages)

If that makes any sense. Basically, I don't think they'll ever settle with just a Japanese version of the opening and ending song. It has to be both to the same tune.

Well I hope so! It wouldn't be the same without her. I've been highly anticipating her new song for the game. I enjoyed the refreshing ray of hope Mix of simple and clean, that was something special.

Yeah it's gotta be a new song though, if they rehash the same song it's gonna bug me throughout the whole game!

So personally I'd be fine with a new artist (forever been wanting Flo+Mo but since FFXV got her I can't dream of that anymore)

If I had to pick somebody new, it'd be One Ok Rock.

But I'll always want Utada but would 100% be happy with whatever she does. My dream of her returning to KH is more about hearing more music from her in general. Fantôme was effervescent and stunning <3

Though, big question. Why did they pick Utada? Was it because she's fluent in both languages? Was it because of her popularity? Or was it because Nomura is a known and obvious big fan of her? Or a mixture of it all?

If the multi-language part can't be fulfilled, who else is popular and who else is Nomura a fan of?

Because Nomura was a fan of hers and she was fluent in English and Japanese. If I remember correctly, Nomura personally asked her to write the theme after talking about it with Disney/Squaresoft. Her fame didn't play much of a role, although that helped a lot later on.

Nomura doesn't actually talk about his music inspirations much.

by the way nomura did requesedt an new arragment from utada for 0.2

I don't know why some of you guys think Utada is cheap to get a song from.

I'm certainly not denying that, doesn't really change the fact though that it is still Utada's own decision and that she doesn't have any obligation to participate because a good part of the fanbase may want it. ;)
When I say that thing it is mostly because I get a vibe that Shimomura doesn't get enough credit for her part in the fandom. In Final Fantasy music stuff it's also Nobuo Uematsu (at least for the earlier titles before XII) and not the interpret of the theme title who gets the most attention.

The expectations of "What constitutes a Kingdom Hearts title" is exactly one thing I find worrisome as the very same thing is what tends to often poison the mood in the FF fandom, as in if a new FF title doesn't have X (i.e. controllable airships, overworld map, chocobos etc.) it is considered a "bad" or "no true" FF.

Also no objection on that part, yet I do feel that people are extrapolating too much from that fact which leads to overblown expectations. The worst case scenario that could happen is that Utada does indeed decline and then gets flak/shitstorms from obnoxious KH fans.



If I recall correctly Hikari at least was not even specifically created for KH, Utada put that song together beforehand and it was later adapted for use in KH. Passion on the other hand I think was written by her specifically for KH.
As for the issue with the English translations, this is what Utada had to say on the issue:


As far as I remember though this was only one part of the reason why she didn't want to participate anymore, according to her father, the other part was that Disney was really stingy with the amount of payment and when considering all the extra work that had to be put into the English versions, it was simply not enough.

They could settle for a japanese only song though, it was rather successful with Suteki da ne in FF X, which was in japanese in both versions.

If they can't get Utada to do a song I strongly recommend Aimer or Kalafina to make a new song for KH3, would be amazing!

I think the fact that the theme is still under consideration is perfectly appropriate and to be expected. Utada just returned to professional output this year, and her attention has been entirely centered around the production and promotion of Fantome. Add to that the fact that KH3 is still in the thick of development and probably won't see release for another year (at least), and the fact that we now have two confirmations that the answer from Utada's team isn't flat-out rejection and I'd say we're in good shape to see her come back for KH3.

Also, people are still making much-ado about nothing over an interview Utada gave 7 years ago when KH3 wasn't even a blip on the radar. Disney never approached her about the game, Utada was obviously exhausted with everything during TITO promotion, and even then her best answer was that she "probably" wouldn't return (literally, "I don't know"). The idea that Hikki didn't enjoy writing songs for KH is really a myth; yes, she finds the process of translation stressful, but she also loves singing "Simple & Clean" (seriously, she sang it for her 20th birthday celebration) and has expressed how super proud she is of her theme songs. Like, during that same interview with JETAANY, she talks a lot about the challenges of self-producing an album:

I wanted it to be “me,” but not as “me” as Exodus, because I did all the tracks, like most of the track making on that, and I was so sick of that track making process...by the end of Exodus I was just going, “ahh, can someone else do this for me but not be a loser, like...not be Timbaland, but do this for me, like I want to work with a track maker,” that’s what I told IDJ..

But it was after Exodus that Utada had the largest hand in producing her Japanese albums and for Fantome she returned to entirely self-producing. I'm not saying Utada is a liar, I think she's just human and doesn't do PR so at any point in time you might get different reactions from her regarding her career and her work.

I'm not in any way criticizing KHInsider for quoting from this article because it was kind of the last official word we got on the issue, but it always seems to prompt a reaction within the fanbase that doesn't take into account the context of the time and place. And I think it would be misguided for people to reach the conclusion that Utada doesn't feel a connection to the KH franchise or, more specifically, the fans who know her because of it. She's been very clear that she's aware of the impact it has had on her career and especially her prominence in the West, and I think she appreciates the association she has with the series in terms of the level of enthusiasm surrounding it.

Anyhow, my bias is firmly that if they can't get her back for some reason, they should just use an instrumental of some sort, maybe something which blends the orchestrated "Hikari" and "Passion" tracks. As far as I'm concerned, those are the theme songs for this saga, and it would be a creative obstacle to try and associate a new singer with the franchise at this stage. Besides, it would be like rubbing salt in the wounds of long-term fans. There's an emotional signature to those tracks which would be lost. KH3 is about the culmination of the journey of every game that came before it: the theme song needs to invoke that.

That being said if they just wanted to license and use "Michi" I'd be down.

I've always played with the thought that she'd just re-purpose one of her existing songs for a KH theme song. It'd be even easier on her if she didn't have to use a lot of words even if her vocals are in it (if it's more of an instrumental than a full on song)

This is why I have a particular love for songs that are made up languages. Doh, why didn't I suggest Emi Evans

Personally, I've always wanted KH3's theme to be "King Of Pain" by Sting & The Police.