Hikaru Utada has been the reigning pop princess in Japan since she was 15. With her follow-up to 2004's "Exodus," the 26-year-old is ready to take on the United States. Her new Island album, "This Is the One," was released digitally March 24 with a physical release set for May 12. It features production from Stargate (Ne-Yo, Rihanna) and Tricky Stewart (Britney Spears, Mariah Carey) that combines Utada's Japanese pop roots with a hip-hop twist and lyrics that were written by the singer. The songs range from unassuming and naïve tracks like "Apple and Cinnamon" ("What we had/ Was just too good to last") to assertive club anthems like "Poppin," which has her wearing "sexy stiletto pumps/tight jeans" and not much more than that. In "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence —FYI," Utada makes references to the 1983 film of the same title and infuses it with shout-outs to her hometowns of New York and Tokyo. This globally aware album ends with the Latin-inspired "Me Muero," a song about the aftermath of a breakup.—Keir Bristol