Still Dreaming (TXT Album)

''Still Dreaming'' (stylized in all caps) is the first Japanese-language studio album by South Korean boy band Tomorrow X Together. It was released by Big Hit Entertainment, Universal Music Japan, and Republic Records on January 20, 2021, three months after their third extended play '' Minisode1: Blue Hour'' (2020). The ten-track album comprises Japanese versions of six of the group's Korean songs; two new instrumental tracks; a new original Japanese song, "Force"; and their previous Japanese single, "Everlasting Shine". Recorded in Japanese and English, ''Still Dreaming'' is a J-pop album that borrows numerous musical elements including disco, pop rock, and synth-pop.

The album became Tomorrow X Together's third consecutive number one on the Oricon Albums Chart—after '' The Dream Chapter: Eternity'' and ''Minisode1: Blue Hour''—with first week sales of over 87,000 copies. It was the group's first album to cross 100,000 copies in Japan and their third release to be certified by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), achieving Gold status that same month.

Background

In March 2019 South Korean boy band Tomorrow X Together debuted with extended play “''The Dream Chapter: Star''” that portrayed the experiences that boys encounter in the process of growing up. The following releases, “''The Dream Chapter: Magic''” continued their story of growing from adolescent. In January 2020 TXT debuted in Japan with the single “''Magic Hour''” which contains the Japanese version of previously released songs. Subsequently, they released their second Japanese single “''Drama''” in August leading up to the release of their Japanese studio album announced on November 23, 2020, with the release date of January 20, 2021. The album contains songs from all their previous releases.

In November 2020 it was revealed that the single “Force” would be written by Motoki Omori from Mrs. Green Apple, a five-member Japanese rock band from Tokyo. The single was featured as the theme song for the second season of TV Asahi animation series “World Trigger”.

Release and promotion

Distribution

The album was pre-released digitally on January 19, followed by physical release a day later. Limited territories outside of Japan received the physical editions. Physical pre-orders for the album began on November 23, after the different Limited and Regular versions of the album were announced. Six versions of the album were made available: two Limited Editions A and B, a CD only Regular Edition, and three limited editions of the regular edition. Limited Editions A includes the CD and lyrics paper in a Keep case which is encased in a limited-edition deluxe slip case with two 24-page booklet filled with daytime photos and sunset-time photos respectively. Limited Editions B includes a Jewel case containing a CD and a DVD featuring the music video for "Blue Hour (Japanese Ver.)," a making-of video and footage from cover photoshoot, a lyric booklet as well as a 12-page booklet filled with daytime and sunset-time photos encased in a limited-edition slip case. Contrarily, the CD-only Regular Edition comes with a lyric booklet instead and one of five random "Standard ver." photocards included as a first-press only bonus. The Weverse Shop Japan, The Universal Music Store and Loppi•HMV Limited Editions of this version also include a lyric booklet with the former two having B3 size poster and later having a post card as their respective bonuses. All albums share the same track listing. Following commercial success in Japan, the album was later released in United States on February 12, 2021, through Universal Music Enterprises (UME), a catalog division of Universal Music Group.

Marketing

Yunika Vision ran a half-hour long special feature of six full-length uncut version of TXT music videos including "Blue Hour apanese Ver. on its screens in front of Seibu-Shinjuku Station from January 21 to January 27; the feature was also accessible for mobile viewing with high-quality sound via the "VISION α" app.

Live performances

TXT held the premiere performance of Japanese version of "Blue Hour" on TBS Japan's CDTV Live! Live! Christmas 4-hour special on December 21 via pre-recorded video. They guested on Nippon TV's Buzz Rhythm 02 on January 22 for their second performance of Japanese version of "Blue Hour". The band presented the song again next week on the January 26 broadcast of Nippon TV's Sukkiri.

The band performed "Force" for the first time on TV Asahi's Music Station on January 29. They performed the song again on TV Asahi's Break Out on February 3. They performed the song "Force" in a Single-Take for The First Take which premiered on YouTube channel on February 10. The band continued promoting the album at the TBS Japan's Music Day by performing "Force" on July 17, 2021.

Commercial performance

The album debuted atop the Oricon Weekly Album Chart on chart issue dated February 1, 2021, making it the third consecutive album in Japan to reach number one on Oricon's weekly chart. ''Still Dreaming'' also continued in first place on Oricon's daily album chart for six consecutive days after its release, marking first place six times in total during the first week. According to Oricon, TXT's album recorded an estimated 87,000 units in sales within the first week of release. On ''Billboard Japans Hot Albums chart, ''Still Dreaming'' entered atop, selling an estimated 100,000 units.

On February 12, the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) announced that ''Still Dreaming'' had sold over 100,000 copies and eventually received a gold certification. The album reached the benchmark within a month of its release on January 20, 2021.

In United States, TXT marked their 3rd entry on the ''Billboard 200'' when ''Still Dreaming'' debuted at 173, making them the first artist since BTS to chart on ''Billboard 200'' with a Japanese-language album.

Track listing

Notes
* signifies a co-producer
* "Dreaming" in "Intro: Dreaming", "Crown", and "Still" in "Outro: Still" are all stylized in all caps

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal and the liner notes of ''Still Dreaming''.

Musicians

* Tomorrow X Together – primary artist
** Soobin – gang vocals , backing vocals
** Yeonjun – narration , backing vocals , gang vocals
** Beomgyu – gang vocals
** Taehyun – backing vocals , gang vocals
** Hueningkai – backing vocals , gang vocals
* Revin – songwriting , gang vocals
* Slow Rabbit – songwriting
* Motoki Ohmori – songwriting, backing vocals
* Kyler Niko – songwriting, backing vocals
* Lil 27 Club – songwriting
* "Hitman" Bang – songwriting
* Masaya Sakudo – Japanese lyrics
* Adora – gang vocals
* Kim Boram – gang vocals
* Kim Chorong – gang vocals
* Yoo Hankyul – gang vocals
* Jeong Woo Yeong – gang vocals
* Hiju Yang – gang vocals
* Kim Jeeyeon – gang vocals
* Hyun Ju Lim – gang vocals
* Ko Ryongwoo – gang vocals

* Supreme Boi – songwriting
* Melanie Joy Fontana – songwriting, backing vocals
* Michel "Lindgren" Schulz – songwriting
* Andreas Carlsson – songwriting
* Pauline Skótt – songwriting
* Peter St. James – songwriting
* Zopp – Japanese lyrics
* Mayu Wakisaka – songwriting
* Shoko Fujibayashi – Japanese lyrics
* Pdogg – songwriting
* Peter Ibsen – songwriting
* Naitumela Masuki – songwriting
* Jake Torrey – songwriting, backing vocals
* Noah Conrad – songwriting
* Roland "Rollo" Spreckley – songwriting
* El Capitxn – songwriting
* Yohei – lyrics, backing vocals
* Uta – composition
* Eric Zayne – songwriting
* Naz Tokio – songwriting
* Summergal – songwriting

Instrumentation

* Revin – keyboard, synthesizer
* Slow Rabbit – synthesizer, keyboard
* Young – guitar
* Motoki Ohmori – guitar
* Del Atkins – bass
* Serg Dimitrijevic – guitar
* Lee Taewook – guitar

* Pdogg – keyboard, synthesizer
* Noah Conrad – keyboard, synthesizer
* El Capitxn – keyboard, synthesizer
* Choi Hyung Jong – guitar
* Uta – keyboard, synthesizer, guitar
* Summergal – keyboard

Production

* "Hitman" Bang – production , executive production
* Kazuhiro Imanari – executive production
* Revin – production
* Motoki Ohmori – production, musical arrangement
* Uta – musical arrangement
* Slow Rabbit – production , vocal arrangement
* Adora – vocal arrangement

* Supreme Boi – vocal arrangement
* Pdogg – production ,vocal arrangement
* Noah Conrad – production
* El Capitxn – vocal arrangement , production
* Hiss Noise – vocal arrangement
* Uta – production

Technical

* Kim Jeeyeon – engineering
* Slow Rabbit – engineering , digital editing
* Jeong Woo Yeong – mixing , engineering
* Chris Gehringer – mastering
* Motoki Ohmori – programming, engineering
* Kim Chorong – engineering , digital editing
* D.O.I – mixing
* Revin – digital editing
* Erik Reichers – engineering
* Kyler Niko – engineering
* Josh Gudwin – mixing
* Elijah Merrit-Hitch – mixing assistance
* Heidi Wang – mixing assistance
* Michel “Lindgren” Schulz – engineering
* John Hanes – mixing

* Hiroshi Hayashi – digital editing
* Phil Tan – mixing
* Supreme Boi – digital editing
* El Capitxn – digital editing
* Park Eunjeong – engineering
* Jaycen Joshua – mixing
* Jacob Richards – mixing assistance
* Mike Seaberg – mixing assistance
* DJ Riggins – mixing assistance
* Pdogg – engineering
* Noah Conrad – engineering
* Yang Ga – mixing
* Uta – engineering
* Park Jinse – mixing

Artwork

* Yumiko Kobayashi – visual creator
* Nu Kim – visual creator
* Lee Hyun-ju – visual creator
* Jung Su – visual creator
* Jung Rakta – visual creator

* Kim Seung-won – hair
* Han Ah-reum – make up
* Kim Kyu-nam – stylist
* Michiyo Goda – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales figures

Release history

See also

*Album era
* List of Oricon number-one albums of 2021
* List of Billboard Japan Hot Albums number ones of 2021
*List of K-pop albums on the Billboard charts

Footnotes

References

External links

*

Oricon album profile
(in Japanese)
*

{{Authority control

2021 albums
Japanese-language albums
Tomorrow X Together albums
Republic Records albums
Universal Music Japan albums
Universal Music Group albums