Throwback Thursday: Utada Hikaru, ‘Simple and Clean’

Welcome to Throwback Thursday, a weekly series showcasing an album, single, music video or performance of a bygone era and its personal and/or cultural significance.

If I were running the Kingdom Hearts franchise, I would have asked Utada Hikaru to do a different version of “Simple and Clean” for every one of the major KH installments. “Sanctuary (Passion)” is gorgeous, and “Face My Fears,” the new theme for the forthcoming Kingdom Hearts 3 (out next Tuesday!!), is definitely a banger. But the theme song to Kingdom Hearts 1 is easily the most profound and powerful of the three tracks. It’s also one of my favorite tracks of all time (no joke, probably top 10 at least).

The track’s placement in the intro and outro scenes is flawless. The tense, sprawling Planitb remix perfectly encapsulates the kaleidoscopic rush of the game from the get-go. The track also perfectly sets up the protagonist’s drive throughout the entire game, as Sora battles hordes of soulless husks named Heartless to find and rescue his best friends Riku and Kairi. His pure and unwavering bond with them creates an incredible dynamic between the three friends as they travel in and out of darkness, and Hikaru’s song perfectly soundtracks Sora’s journey through fading worlds and a crumbling galaxy.

The final cut scene is still to this day beautiful and heart-wrenching, Kairi watching Sora fade off into the dark void as The Destiny Islands literally bloom to life around her, and all of the fallen worlds appear in the sky as stars. The original “Simple and Clean” plays during this scene, kicking off as Kairi and Sora let go of each other’s hands. Set to an acoustic guitar, and slower than the remix, the unfiltered vocals ring clear as Kairi explores the island on which she started her journey, reflecting on Sora and Riku’s absence and processing everything she’s been through. The song takes on an entirely different meaning in this form, and in the context of the game’s ending scene, it’s full of mourning and delicate hope instead of anxiety and need.

Even when you remove “Simple and Clean” from the Kingdom Hearts franchise and look at the song on its own, it still is completely stunning and beautifully written. The message behind the hook feels both infinite and intimate, widely accessible but also personal. Even when I was twelve, sitting in front of my living room table starting Kingdom Hearts 1 for the first time, awed and exhilarated by the (still) gorgeous opening scene, those lyrics spoke to me heavily. In the process of growing up, particularly growing up gay, sometimes you need to work through the messy pain and confusion to focus on what matters, creating those connections with people that remind you that who you are is OK, and that you’re still wonderful even through all of your flaws. This song is a gorgeous reminder of that, as well as a reminder to hold on to those times when you truly do feel at peace with who you are, where you are and who you’re with.

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