FINAL DISTANCE
Encyclopedia
"Final Distance" is Hikaru Utada's 8th Japanese-language single (10th overall) and the 1st single on her Deep River album. "Final Distance" is the first song that Hikaru Utada's ex-husband Kazuaki Kiriya
filmed the music video
to. This is also the first time that Hikaru Utada has worked with M-Flo
. The song debuted at #2 on the Oricon
charts with 225,860 in its first week. It had a tie-in as the NTT docomo
M-stage CM song.
rampage in which 6 year old schoolgirl Rena Yamashita (山下玲奈) had died. Rena had previously won an essay competition; writing about how she wanted to become a singer just like Utada. Utada decided to rearrange the song into ballad form, creating the song "Final Distance". The Japanese Ministry of Education
decided to incorporate Hikaru Utada's ballad "Final Distance" in the high school music textbook starting spring semester 2001, which was announced on 8th of April. In order to pass the proposal, they needed 313 points. The proposal was passed with 319 points. They will be targeting high school students in their second year to test the new curriculum. According to the publisher of arts in education, the song was chosen because it is closely familiar with high school students.
charts and was blocked from the No.1 position for four weeks, each week by a new strong release, but managed to stay at the No.2 position for a month. It charted for 13 weeks. The single was the #24 single of 2001 in Japan. This single, as well as "Hikari"
and "Sakura Drops/Letters", strangely did not chart in the world charts airplay charts or sales charts.
Sales Chart (Japan)
Kazuaki Kiriya
, born April 20, 1968 in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, is a Japanese photographer and director of films and music videos. His birth name is .He made his feature film debut writing and directing the live action film adaptation of Casshern in 2004. In 2009, he wrote and directed his second film,...
filmed the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
to. This is also the first time that Hikaru Utada has worked with M-Flo
M-flo
is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of producer and DJ Taku Takahashi and emcee Verbal.Former member Lisa left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career, and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists for each song over three albums, including the...
. The song debuted at #2 on the Oricon
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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts with 225,860 in its first week. It had a tie-in as the NTT docomo
NTT DoCoMo
is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...
M-stage CM song.
Song history
"Distance" originally appeared in the Distance album, and was planned to be released as a single. However, Utada heard of a school stabbingOsaka school massacre
The Osaka School Massacre took place on June 8, 2001, at Ikeda Elementary School, an elite primary school affiliated with Osaka Kyoiku University in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.- The attack :...
rampage in which 6 year old schoolgirl Rena Yamashita (山下玲奈) had died. Rena had previously won an essay competition; writing about how she wanted to become a singer just like Utada. Utada decided to rearrange the song into ballad form, creating the song "Final Distance". The Japanese Ministry of Education
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan)
The , also known as MEXT or Monkashō, is one of the ministries of the Japanese government.The Meiji government created the first Ministry of Education in 1871....
decided to incorporate Hikaru Utada's ballad "Final Distance" in the high school music textbook starting spring semester 2001, which was announced on 8th of April. In order to pass the proposal, they needed 313 points. The proposal was passed with 319 points. They will be targeting high school students in their second year to test the new curriculum. According to the publisher of arts in education, the song was chosen because it is closely familiar with high school students.
Critical and commercial response
The single sold 582,000 units in Japan, making it #2 in OriconOricon
, 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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts and was blocked from the No.1 position for four weeks, each week by a new strong release, but managed to stay at the No.2 position for a month. It charted for 13 weeks. The single was the #24 single of 2001 in Japan. This single, as well as "Hikari"
Hikari (song)
is Hikaru Utada's 10th Japanese-language single , and is also her 3rd single on the Deep River album. Its release date was March 20, 2002...
and "Sakura Drops/Letters", strangely did not chart in the world charts airplay charts or sales charts.
Track listing
Charts
"Final Distance" - OriconOricon
, 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. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
Sales Chart (Japan)
| Release | Chart | Peak Position | Sales Total | Chart Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 25, 2001 | Oricon Daily Singles Chart | 2 | ||
| Oricon Weekly Singles Chart | 2 | 582,120 | 13 | |
| Oricon Yearly Singles Chart | 24 |