Hikaru Utada advises fans not to buy her album

TOKYO —

Japanese singer Hikaru Utada, 27, has advised fans not to buy her 16-track “Utada the Best” album, produced by Universal Japan, when it goes on sale Nov 24. She made the announcement via a Twitter message. The album is available for pre-order, but Utada said, “I don’t want to make fans pay for this because my heart is not in this release.”

She added, “Anyone who wants to pre-order it, please hold off for now.”

A collection of singles will also be released on the same day from EMI studios, titled “Utada Hikaru Single Collection vol. 2.” Utada told fans that this release is the one she truly endorses, but added, “ I don’t think it’s a good thing that the production companies chose to release these albums on the same day.”

On Oct 25, she “tweeted” again, “I hate the idea of fans having to buy two similar products at the same time. So, the Hikaru collection gets my personal seal of approval.”