The Echo of "First Love": Why True Creativity Endures

I asked an AI, "How many times has Hikaru Utada sung 'First Love' in her entire life?"

The AI, in its characteristic way, performed a series of seemingly reasonable estimations. It considered everything from studio recordings and rehearsals to live performances, remixed versions, and even private humming. Its conclusion? Over the 26 years since the song's release, a plausible answer is around 1,000 times. However, if pushed to extreme scenarios, that number could perhaps stretch to 3,000 or even 5,000 times.

"First Love" has a runtime of 4 minutes and 17 seconds. If we take that higher estimate of 5,000 performances, it means she has spent approximately 1,285,000 seconds of her life singing this one song (I, myself, have personally heard 257 of those seconds live). Converted, that's about 14.8 calendar days. It's a surprisingly short amount of dedicated time from her perspective.

Then, the AI estimated the number of times this song has been played in its entirety across the globe – encompassing everything from physical album sales and digital streams to background music in convenience stores worldwide and poignant moments at countless weddings. The figure it arrived at was roughly 1 billion times. Translated into years, that's approximately 8,140 years of collective listening.

This song, which she wrote at the tender age of 15, still resonates deeply. Twenty-six years later, when she performed it on "The First Take," perhaps for the 5,001st time, it continued to move hearts profoundly. Hikaru Utada spent less than 15 days of her life, day and night, actually singing "First Love." Yet, that relatively small investment of her time has etched itself into the lives of hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people, creating a collective human experience equivalent to over 8,100 years.

I find this truly romantic.

And here's why this illustrates the enduring value of creative and good works:

The AI can calculate numbers, but it cannot quantify the human spark that makes a piece of art like "First Love" so timeless and valuable. This story beautifully highlights why such works matter, even in an age of fleeting digital content:

1. Emotional Resonance Transcends Time: "First Love" was born from a 15-year-old's perspective, yet it continues to connect with new generations and evoke powerful emotions decades later. Good creative work taps into universal human feelings – love, loss, nostalgia – that don't have an expiration date. The raw honesty and vulnerability captured in the song bypass analytical thought and speak directly to the heart.
2. Disproportionate Impact of Genuine Creation: The contrast is stark: less than 15 days of Utada's active singing versus 8,140 years of global listening. This demonstrates the incredible leverage of a truly good creative work. A moment of inspiration, coupled with talent and craft, can ripple outwards, touching vastly more lives and enduring for far longer than the initial effort might suggest. It’s an investment that pays emotional and cultural dividends on an exponential scale.
3. The Power of Shared Human Experience: A song like this becomes more than just music; it becomes a soundtrack to our lives. It's woven into the fabric of personal memories – first loves, heartbreaks, celebrations. The AI calculated plays in convenience stores and weddings; these are communal spaces and significant life events where the song facilitates a shared emotional experience, connecting disparate people through a common feeling.
4. Craftsmanship and Authenticity Endure Repetition: For Utada to sing it for the 5,001st time on "The First Take" and for it still to be "heart-shaking" speaks to the quality of the song and the authenticity of the performance. Good work isn't just a one-hit wonder; its layers and its emotional core can be revisited countless times, by both the creator and the audience, and still offer something new or reaffirm something deeply felt. This is the hallmark of true artistry – it withstands, and even thrives on, repetition because its value isn't superficial.
5. The Irreplaceable Human Element: While an AI can generate music or text, the depth of feeling and unique perspective that Utada poured into "First Love" at 15 is a profoundly human act. It's this authentic human origin that allows the work to connect with other humans so powerfully. The AI's calculation is fascinating, but it also underscores what AI cannot do: create with the lived experience, intuition, and emotional vulnerability that gives birth to art that lasts.

In essence, the "romance" isn't just in the numbers; it's in the enduring power of a single, well-crafted creative expression to multiply itself across time and space, becoming a cherished part of humanity's collective emotional landscape. That's a value no algorithm can truly measure, but one that we all intuitively understand when a song like "First Love" still gives us chills.