"Deepness" is a song recorded by Japanese singer

Misia commonly known as and stylized in all caps, is a Japanese singer and songwriter. Born in Tsushima, Nagasaki, Misia moved to Fukuoka at the age of 14 to pursue a recording career. There, she continued her secondary education and briefly attend ...

. 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. Sasaki also works as a photographer under the alias of Yajimax. In 2005, Sasaki married ...

and produced by Misia. "Deepness" was released as a single by

Ariola Japan , is a Japanese record label that is part of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It is the successor of BMG Japan. History *2008 – Ariola Japan becomes a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. *2009 – Ariola Japan becomes a full-on record labe ...

on November 7, 2012. It is the theme song to the TBS drama series ''

Ōoku The was historically the harem, 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. During ...

: Tanjō - Arikoto / Iemitsu-hen'', starring

Masato Sakai あ is a Japanese actor. Since the success of '' Naoki Hanzawa'' (2013), he has become one of the most famous actors in Japan. Career Sakai aspired to become a bureaucrat until high school, but when he entered university, he decided to pursue a ...

and

Mikako Tabe is a Japanese actress from Nishitokyo, 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 ...

Background and release

"Deepness" was released close to five months after Misia's previous single, " Koi wa Owaranai Zutto". 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 is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming telephone call. Originally referring to the sound of electromechanical striking of bells or gongs, the term refers to any sound by any device alerting of an incoming call. On p ...

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

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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 record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

"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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's "

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

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 need ...

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 rulers 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, except during parts of the Kamak ...

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

gender role A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gendered ...

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 audio engineer and mixer. He is a three time Grammy Award recipient, having received 14 nominations for the award. Early life and education Tan was born in Malaysia. He attended Full Sail University in Florida in ...

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 and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

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 is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

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

Chart performance

"Deepness" made its chart debut on the weekly

RecoChoku Avex Inc. ( kabushiki gaisha , commonly known as Avex and stylized as avex) is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi ...

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 is a Japanese Pop music, pop singer signed with Sony Music Entertainment Japan, SME Records' Newcome Inc. She debuted on February 20, 2008, with the single "I". Considered one of Japan's most popular songstresses of the late 2000s and 2010s, s ...

's record-breaking single "Always" (2012). "Deepness" entered the daily

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard Single (music), 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 down ...

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 fr ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the 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), o ...

, 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