"Road" is the 46th Japanese single by South Korean pop duo Tohoshinki for their ninth studio album '' Tomorrow''. The

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

was released by Avex Trax on July 25, 2018 in three versions – a standard

, a limited first press edition with a photobook, and a fan club edition exclusively for Tohoshinki's Japanese fan club, Bigeast. The B-sides of the single are Japanese versions of their Korean singles "Drop" and "In A Different Life," solos respectively sung by

Yunho Jung Yun-ho (; born February 6, 1986), also known by his stage name U-Know Yunho () or simply U-Know, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Gwangju, South Korea, Yunho started his music ...

and

Changmin Shim Chang-min (; born February 18, 1988), also known by his stage name Max Changmin () or simply as Max, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Changmin was scou ...

. "Road" was written by KOH and Shinjiroh Inoue. Production was directed by Katsutoshi Yasuhara. The accompanying music video, directed by Takatoshi Tsuchiya, was released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

a month ahead of its official release. Tohoshinki debuted their performance of "Road" on June 10, 2018 at the

Nissan Stadium Nissan Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Owned by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, it is primarily used for football and is the home field of the Tennessee Titans of the Natio ...

, the final leg of their Begin Again Tour. The single was a commercial success in Japan, certifying gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. It debuted at number two on the

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 ...

and peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Japan Hot 100.

Background and release

"Road" was written by in-house Avex writers KOH and Shinjiroh Inoue, with production direction headed by Katsutoshi Yasuhara. The single was announced on June 1, 2018, in which Avex confirmed that "Road" would be Tohoshinki's first single without a DVD version. Tohoshinki previewed a snippet of the song on their official website. Unlike their previous releases, the music video for "Road" was released one month ahead of the single's official release. Directed by Takatoshi Tsuchiya, the music video premiered on

on June 27, 2018. In the days leading up to its release, behind-the-scenes footage of the music video were aired through various Japanese morning programs. The music video was shot in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. On July 3, Avex announced "Road" would be a

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

song for three

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

programs: the July ending theme for ''Uchi no Gaya ga Sumimasen!'', ''Saiyou! Flip News'', and the August opening theme for ''Buzz Rhythm 02''. It is also attached to a commercial for

Huis Ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch ( nl, Paleis Huis ten Bosch, ; English: "House in the Woods") is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and ...

's new attraction, the Flower Canal. On July 5, the B-sides were announced to be Japanese re-recordings of their Korean singles "Drop" and "In A Different Life," solos respectively performed and written by Yunho and Changmin. "Road" was officially released on July 25, 2018 as the final single leading up to the release of Tohoshinki's ninth Japanese album '' Tomorrow''. "Road" was used in campaigns to promote the album's upcoming release, such as the ''Road to Tomorrow'' gallery. The free exhibition, which was displayed in the Gyoko-dori Underground Gallery in August 2018, consisted of recent photoshoots and music videos.

Chart performance

"Road" entered the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...

at number 59 for the week ending on July 9, 2018 with points accumulated from social media exposure and video streaming views. It peaked at number two on both the Japan Hot 100 and the ''Billboard'' Top Single Sales. It debuted and peaked at number 33 on ''Billboard'' Japan Download Songs. According to the ''

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

'', "Road" sold 86,458 copies on its first week in Japan, below ''Oricon's'' prediction of 121,400 copies and Tohoshinki's lowest first-week sales since "

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: Actual survivors * *Last survivors of historical events Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Found ...

" (2009). Despite slower sales than previous singles, "Road" was a commercial success, certifying gold by the RIAJ. It ended the year as the 73rd best-selling single in pure physical sales.

Live performances

Tohoshinki performed "Road" at the

, the final leg of their Begin Again Tour, on June 10, 2018, as one of their encore songs. On July 20, the duo debuted their first televised performance of "Road" for '' Music Station''. "Road" was part of the setlist for Tohoshinki's '' Tomorrow Tour (2018–19).

Formats and track listings

*;Digital download single #"Road" – 4:45 #"Drop" (Yunho solo) – 4:18 #"In A Different Life" (Changmin solo) – 3:27 ;CD single AVCK-79492 (Limited), AVCK-79493, AVC1-79494 (Bigeast) #"Road" #"Drop" (Yunho solo) #"In A Different Life" (Changmin solo) #"Road" (Less Vocal) #"Drop" (Less Vocal) #"In A Different Life" (Less Vocal)

Charts

Sales

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Tohoshinki Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Road TVXQ songs 2018 singles Japanese-language songs 2018 songs Avex Trax singles