“Simple and Clean” by Japanese-American singer and songwriter Hikaru Utada will forever be one of the most iconic songs in gaming. Kingdom Hearts 3 is getting another crack at entering the pantheon of coveted songs with its intro track, “Face My Fears.” And while we will have to wait and see if this Utada song has the same cultural relevance in the long run, it has just entered the Billboard Hot 100 Songs which “ranks the top 100 songs of the week based on sales, radio airplay, and streaming activity.”
This theme song debuted at No. 98 on the charts dated for February 2 and is Utada’s first entrance on said charts, according to Billboard. The track also features production record producer and DJ Skrillex, which is his eighth entry on the Hot 100 list, and Poo Bear, who has done with with Usher and Justin Bieber.
“Face My Fears” is No. 1 on the World Digital Song Sales chart and No. 9 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. It has also sold over 10,000 copies according to Nielsen Music.
However, this isn’t Utada’s first stateside charts entry. Her solo albums Exodus and This Is the One peaked on the Billboard album charts at 160 and 69, respectively. Nice.
Utada’s has had a long history with the series especially since “Simple and Clean” has been remixed multiple time over the years after kicking off the first game in 2002. She also sang the intro to Kingdom Hearts 2, titled “Sanctuary,” as well as the ending track for Kingdom Hearts 3 called “Don’t Think Twice.”
Collaborating with Utada was actually something Skrillex had been wanting to do for quite some time, according to a recent article on The Verge. Not only does he think the first two numbered entries are “a perfect sort of blend of action and RPG,” he also stated that his fandom planted this idea of making a song for the game in his head when he was a kid.
“It sounds kind of crazy, but I always said ‘I want to do the theme for Kingdom Hearts one day,'” he said. “I told myself that as a kid. I was just such an absolute fan of Utada Hikaru and the games, but that was like a dream of mine.”
