"Touchin'" (stylized "TOUCHIN'") is a song by South Korean singer

Kang Daniel Kang Daniel (; born Kang Eui-geon, December 10, 1996), stylized as KANGDANIEL, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, television host, and businessman who rose to fame in early 2017 as the first-place winner of the Produce 101 Season 2, s ...

. It was released digitally by

Konnect Entertainment Konnect Entertainment (; stylized as KONNECT Entertainment) was an independent South Korean entertainment company founded on June 5, 2019 by Kang Daniel. The company was based in the Gangnam District of Seoul in South Korea. It previously manag ...

on November 25, 2019 and was later included in his second EP ''

Cyan Cyan () is the color between blue and green on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 500 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue. In the subtractive color system, or CMYK c ...

'' on March 24, 2020. The digital single included a second track "Adulthood" with lyrics co-written by Kang.

Background

On November 13, 2019, Kang Daniel posted a surprise teaser image on social media and announced news of a digital single release on the 25th at 6pm KST, marking his first comeback after releasing '' Color on Me'' four months prior. The single is said to be his first step towards a broad musical spectrum. An image of entwined hands, which would serve as the single's cover picture, was posted on the 18th and also revealed the title track name. The first set of black-and-white noir-themed concept photos was posted on the 20th, and a second set of photos featuring Kang in a suit was uploaded on the 21st.

Composition

"Touchin'" is described as having an '80s to '90s pop sound that combines characteristics of various genres, including EDM,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

, and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, highlighting a strong

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

in the chorus. The song's motif interprets the first encounter between a film's main characters. The second track “Adulthood” expresses thoughts about becoming an adult but not wanting to grow up yet. Lyrically, there is push and pull between the ideal free-spirited adult self and the tired and lonely adult self in real life. The song has a lively melody and features a soft

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

Music video

The "Touchin'" music video teaser was revealed on November 22, 2019, and the full music video produced by FantazyLab was released on November 25, 2019. The video features Kang in a casual setting approaching an old

CRT CRT or Crt most commonly refers to: * Cathode-ray tube, a display * Critical race theory, an academic framework of analysis CRT may also refer to: Law * Charitable remainder trust, United States * Civil Resolution Tribunal, Canada * Columbia ...

television and selecting a

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

tape labeled "Touchin'" to watch. A black-and-white film runs, and one of the characters is portrayed by Kang himself.

Promotion

Kang debuted "Touchin'" at his ''Color on Seoul'' fan meeting held at

KINTEX Korea International Exhibition Center (, commonly known as KINTEX) is a convention and exhibition center located in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, approximately from Seoul, South Korea. It comprises two exhibition centers, one of wh ...

on November 23–24, 2019 prior to the official music site release. He then performed "Touchin'" at awards shows

Asia Artist Awards Asia Artist Awards (; abbreviated AAA) is an awards ceremony organized by South Korea-based business newspaper ''Money Today'' and its global media brands StarNews and MTN. This honors the outstanding achievements and international contribution ...

on November 26 and the 2019 Melon Music Awards. He also made radio and variety appearances, guesting on '' Cultwo Show'' and becoming a special MC for

KBS2 KBS 2TV is a South Korean free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen ...

shows '' Happy Together'' and '' Fun-Staurant'', where he performed the choreography. He was able to promote on music shows

's '' Music Bank'', SBS's ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...

'', and

SBS MTV SBS M is a South Korean pay television music channel owned by SBS Medianet, a division of SBS Media Holdings. It features South Korean pop artists, international music, news, and a few reality and variety programs. It was launched in 2001 as t ...

's '' The Show''. His return to music shows occurred nearly a year after his last music show performance in December 2018, and he received an award in person on ''The Show''. After Kang promoted for a week, Konnect announced he would be taking a break due to health issues, and his scheduled activities were canceled.

Track listing

Charts

Accolades

Music program awards

Release history

References

{{Kang Daniel 2019 songs 2019 singles Kang Daniel songs Songs in Korean Sony Music singles Songs written by Ryan S. Jhun