Utada Hikaru

Utada Hikaru is one of the few non-Latin artists who stands a chance of breaking into the Western-centric, black and white world of American pop music. It's all about language. Following her 2004 English album Exodus, Heart Station blends English and Japanese. Even more important is the Japanese superstar's fluency in pop idioms American audiences can easily translate: "Boku Wa Kuma" is as whimsical as a Colbie Caillat tune, "Kiss and Cry" works a retro-hip vibe a la Christina Aguilera and Utada's creative twists on Madonna-ese make up the bulk of the narrative.