"Deepness" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Misia. It was co-written by Misia and

Jun Sasaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his work as a record producer for acts including Misia, Chara, and Yuki Koyanagi is a Japanese pop singer. She released her first single, "Anata no kisu o kazoemash� ...

and produced by Misia. "Deepness" was released as a single by Ariola Japan on November 7, 2012. It is the theme song to the TBS drama series ''

Ōoku The refers to the women's quarters of Edo Castle, the section where the women connected to the reigning resided. Similar areas in the castles of powerful , such as the Satsuma Domain, were also referred to by this term. History The ''Ōok ...

: Tanjō - Arikoto / Iemitsu-hen'', starring Masato Sakai and

Mikako Tabe is a Japanese actress from Tokyo. Starting acting in her teens with a role in the Sailor Moon musicals, she has developed into a lead actress in film and television, playing the heroine in the Asadora ''Tsubasa'', starring in TV comedy series s ...

Background and release

"Deepness" was released close to five months after Misia's previous single, "

Koi wa Owaranai Zutto is a song recorded by Japanese singer Misia. It was co-written by Misia and Jun Sasaki and produced by Misia. "Koi wa Owaranai Zutto" was released as a single simultaneously with the Tour of Misia Japan Soul Quest concert DVD on June 20, 2012, th ...

". It is the first of two back-to-back singles, both servicing the soundtracks of two installments of the ''Ōoku'' franchise. It was released digitally in

truetone A ringtone, ring tone or ring is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming call. Originally referring to and made by the electromechanical striking of bells, the term now refers to any sound on any device alerting of a new incoming ...

format on October 12, 2012. The first pressing of the physical release came in

digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...

format and included the password to a secret Ustream broadcast of a mini concert held on December 19, 2012 to celebrate the release of the single. The single features the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"Koi Gram", written by Satoshi Shimano, as well as two remixes by DJ Gomi of the title track and of Misia's rendition of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's "

Heal the World "Heal the World" is a song recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson from his eighth studio album, ''Dangerous'' (1991). It was released on November 23, 1992 as the fifth single from the album. It was written and composed by Jackson, ...

Composition

"Deepness" is written in the key of

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes neede ...

and set to a common time tempo of 77 beats per minute. Misia's vocals span from A₃ to E₅. "Deepness" was written specifically for ''Ōoku: Tanjō''. Before writing the song, Misia brushed up on the world of ''Ōoku'' by reading the original manga in its entirety. She was struck by the female ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

'' and all-male ōoku, and felt that the reversal of

gender role A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

s depicted in the manga was something modern women could relate to. Misia decided to write lyrics that revolved around the dedication of the ōoku and the outpouring of love for their one and only ''shōgun''.

Critical reception

EMTG Music's Yūichi Hirayama stated about "Deepness" that "the message is in the sound of the song itself" and compared it to the "crisp" sound of Misia's " Snow Song" (2003). Hirayama described the song as being the "ideal vehicle" for Misia's voice. He also praised

Phil Tan Phil Tan is a Malaysian-American music and audio engineer. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in the U.S., where he attained a degree in Recording Arts in 1990. Afterwards he moved to Atla ...

for his work mixing the track. CDJournal critics said the song was reminiscent of an

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

mid-tempo ballad and also praised Tan's contribution. They described "Deepness" as "epic" but not too overwhelming so as to not put it on repeat.

Music video

The music video for "Deepness" was directed by Sayaka Nakane and shot in early October 2012 in the

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

n grassland. The video took four days to shoot to completion.

Chart performance

"Deepness" made its chart debut on the weekly RecoChoku

s chart at number 15. The song dropped six spots, down to number 21, on its second week. It moved up twelve spots to number 9 on its third week. On its fourth week, "Deepness" slid up one spot to number 8. The song peaked on the truetones chart at number 6 the following week. "Deepness" debuted on the weekly RecoChoku singles chart at number 2, blocked from the top spot by Kana Nishino's record-breaking single "Always" (2012). "Deepness" entered the daily

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

at number 14 and peaked at number 11. The single debuted at number 15 on the weekly

, with 5,000 copies sold. It charted for ten consecutive weeks and sold a reported total of 12,000 copies during its run. "Deepness" peaked at number 10 on the ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine ''Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from ''Bi ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, making it Misia's seventh top ten entry on the chart.

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 2012 singles 2012 songs Misia songs Songs written by Misia Songs written by Jun Sasaki Song recordings produced by Misia Japanese television drama theme songs Ariola Japan singles