"Michi"
Single by Hikaru Utada
from the album Fantôme
ReleasedSeptember 16, 2016 (2016-09-16)
Recorded2016
GenreJ-pop, Dance
Length3:36
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Hikaru Utada
Producer(s)Hikaru Utada
Hikaru Utada singles chronology
"Manatsu no Tōriame"
(2016)		 "Michi"
(2016)		 "Ōzora de Dakishimete"
(2017)

"Michi" (道, lit. "Road") is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It was released on the main Japanese radio stations on September 13, 2016, and digitally on September 16, 2016.[1]

Background and composition

"Michi" is an up-tempo J-pop song with an arrangement made entirely out of electronic synthesizers and drums. Apart from a few anglicisms and three lines in its chorus, it is completely in Japanese. It features an optimistic melody, while its lyrics talk about the singer walking a "lonely road", even though she couldn't feel completely alone, as the memory of the person she lost is still with her and guiding her through dark times.[2] In an interview, she explained that it is a "danceable" song, meant to "reiterate that she is doing okay" after the loss of her mother Keiko Fuji to suicide in 2013.[3] Bradley Stern from pop music website MuuMuse found "Michi" surprising, compared to the more "muted tone" of the previously released singles from Fantôme; instead playing like "a continuation of 2010's "Goodbye Happiness", even down to similar-sounding melodies".[4]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Hikaru Utada; all music is composed by Hikaru Utada

Digital version
No.TitleLength
1."Michi (道)"3:35

Release history

Region Date Format
Japan September 13, 2016 Radio airplay
September 16, 2016 PC download

Charts

References

  1. ↑ "First Listen: Utada Hikaru's New Single "Michi" Premieres on the Radio". September 13, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Michi – Road" (in Japanese). Animelyrics. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  3. ↑ "「私という存在は母から始まったんだから」宇多田ヒカル、待望のニューアルバム『Fantome』をリリース". Yahoo. September 2, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ ""Lonely, But Not Alone": Walking the Road With Utada Hikaru". MuuMuse. September 13, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. October 15, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Japan Top Radio Songs Chart" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. October 10, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Japan Billboard Hot 100-year-end chart 2016". Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  8. ↑ "AKB48 and Justin Bieber Top Billboard Japan's Year-End Charts". Billboard. December 13, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  9. ↑ "有料音楽配信認定". RIAJ. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
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