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Final Distance

"Final Distance"
Utada Hikaru - Final distance.jpg
Single by Hikaru Utada
from the album Deep River
Released July 25, 2001 (2001-07-25)
Format CD, maxi single
Recorded
Genre Pop
Length 5:40
Label EMI Music Japan
Writer(s) Hikaru Utada
Producer(s) Akira Miyake, Hikaru Utada, Teruzane Utada
Hikaru Utada singles chronology
"Can You Keep a Secret?"
(2001)
"Final Distance"
(2001)
"Traveling"
(2001)

"Final Distance" is a song by Japanese recording artist Hikaru Utada for her third studio album Deep River (2002). Written by Utada herself, the song was produced and composed by long-time collaborators Akira Miyake, Utada's father Teruzane Utada and herself. "Final Distance" was originally recorded as "Distance" which was taken from the album with the same name, despite not being a single. The song was re-recorded and re-arranged after Utada was aware of the young girl who was inspired by Utada, was murdered during the Osaka school massacre.

Musically, "Final Distance" incorporates more instrumentation than the previous, including violins, an acoustic piano and synthesizers. The song strips the original pop music from "Distance" and is a pop ballad song. Despite being written in 2000 from the original version, Utada reflected on emotions of sorrow, pain, anger and celebration upon hearing the Osaka massacre. Utada personally dedicated the track to six-year-old student Rena Yamashita who, being a fan of Utada and written an essay about her, was murdered during the event.

"Final Distance" received praised reception from most music critics, who praised the re-arrangement and favored this version, although some critics felt the song was inferior to her past ballad tracks. Critics have cited the track as an album and one of Utada's career highlights. Commercially, "Final Distance" stalled at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart, making it her first single to have missed the top spot. The song also resulted in being her lowest selling physical singles at the time but was surpassed by her 2004 single "Dareka no Negai ga Kanau Koro".

An accompanying music video was shot by her then-husband Kazuaki Kiriya, featuring two versions of Utada inside a Utopian-inspired city with ballet dancers and a gothic-like orchestra. The song has been performed on her Utada United 2006 tour and has been featured on a MTV Unplugged appearance in 2002.


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