Seiko is the seventeenth and first internationally released English language studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Seiko Matsuda (credited as Seiko). It was released on June 7, 1990, by CBS Sony, Columbia Records, and Epic Records. After becoming one of Japan's top pop divas of the 1980s, Matsuda sought to establish herself internationally, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom music markets. Her superstar status in Japan and other parts of Asia resulted in many top music producers of the time being hired to work with her on this album, including Maurice Starr, Phil Ramone, Giorgio Moroder, Jellybean, Michael Jay, Emilio Estefan and others. New Kids On The Block member Donnie Wahlberg also provided duet vocals on the album's second single, The Right Combination.

Seiko
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 7, 1990 (1990-06-07)
Recorded1989–1990
Studio
Genre
Length40:16
Label
Producer
Seiko Matsuda chronology
Precious Moment
(1989)
Seiko
(1990)
We Are Love
(1990)
Singles from Seiko
  1. "All the Way to Heaven"
    Released: April 30, 1990
  2. "The Right Combination"
    Released: July 15, 1990
  3. "Who's That Boy"
    Released: October 1, 1990
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Select[1]

Three singles were released from the album. The first single, "All the Way to Heaven", was released on April 30, 1990. "The Right Combination" was released on July 15, 1990, as the album's second single. A duet with Donnie Wahlberg from the boy band New Kids on the Block, it became the most internationally successful song in Matsuda's discography, charting in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Japan, as well as peaking at number fifty-four in the United States.[2] It marked the first time in ten years a Japanese artist had a hit single on the United States Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, since the Yellow Magic Orchestra's "Computer Game" reached number sixty in 1980. The third and final single from the album, "Who's That Boy", was released in the United States on October 1, 1990.

Commercially, the album was a moderate success, peaking at number two in Japan and selling over 500,000 copies worldwide.

Track listing

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CD, digital download
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."All the Way to Heaven"
  • Cruz
  • Jay
3:40
2."He's So Good to Me"Maurice Starr4:14
3."Leave It Up to Fate"
3:40
4."The Right Combination" (featuring Donnie Wahlberg)
  • Cruz
  • Jay
Starr4:27
5."Goodbye My Baby"
  • Estefan
  • Teddy Mulet
  • Ostwald
  • Estefan
  • Casas
4:02
6."Who's That Boy"Jellybean4:04
7."With Your Love"StarrStarr4:20
8."Everybody Feels Alright"Michael Morejon
  • Ostwald
  • Estefan
  • Casas
3:37
9."Halfway to Heaven"Moroder3:40
10."Try Gettin' Over You"
Phil Ramone3:24

Charts

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Chart performance for Seiko
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[3] 86
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[4] 2

References

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  1. ^ Connelly, Laura (October 1990). "Seiko: Seiko". Select. No. 4. p. 115.
  2. ^ Vago, Mike; Vishnevetsky, Ignatiy; Eichel, Molly (1 February 2016). "America will love Heintje: 11 failed English-language crossovers". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on November 3, 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  3. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 247.
  4. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 1990-6-14" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 28, 2020.