Top Secret (song)

"Top Secret"

CD-only cover
Single by F.T. Island
Released August 8, 2012
Format CD single, digital download
Recorded 2012
Genre Rock
Length 3:50
Label Warner Music Japan
Writer(s) Kenichi Maeyamada
F.T. Island Japanese singles chronology chronology
"Neverland"
(2012)
"Top Secret"
(2012)
"Polar Star"
(2012)
For other songs, see Top Secret (disambiguation).

"Top Secret" is a Japanese-language song by South Korean rock band F.T. Island. It is their eight single under Warner Music Japan and 11th single overall in Japan. The song was written by Kenichi Maeyamada and composed by Corin. It was released on August 8, 2012, in four editions: a CD-only edition, a first press edition, a tour venue edition, and Lawson edition. The single debuted at number six on the Oricon weekly chart, selling 34,000 copies in its first week.

Composition

"Top Secret" was written by Kenichi Maeyamada and composed by Corin. "Beloved" was written by Gorō Matsui and composed by Lee Jae-jin and Suzuki "Daichi" Hideyuki. "Here" was written and composed by Nobuaki Hiraga.[1] The lyrics begin "Kiken'na kaori.. (危険な香り dangerous scent)", and contain the refrain "Top Secret kimi dake daze".

F.T. Island stated that "Top Secret" was different from their previous singles.[2] The song was described to be more on the adult and sexy side. On the lyrical content, lead singer Lee Hongki explained that the person in the song displayed "the image of the playboy who's good on love affairs and going out with many girls at the same time".[3] The coupling tracks "Beloved" and "Here" were explained to be sorrowful and lonely songs; the former was classified as an energetic song, while the latter is slow-tempo, where the lyrics narrated a hopeful future.[2][3] Guitarist Choi Jong-hoon compared the sound of "Beloved" to that of the English rock band Muse.[2]

Release and promotion

For the month of July 2012, "Top Secret" was used as the ending theme song for Nippon Television's music show Happy Music.[4] "Top Secret" was released on August 8, 2012, in four editions: a CD-only edition which includes one of seven random trading cards;[5] a Lawson edition which includes performance footage of "Satisfaction (Korean Version)", "Wanna Go", "Paper Plane", "Yuki", and "Stay" from the 20 (Twenty) album release event held at Zepp Tokyo on May 19, 2012, as well as a special feature of the event;[6] a first press edition which includes the music video for "Top Secret", a special feature, and a clip of F.T. Island discussing the song;[7] and the tour venue edition which includes footage performance footage of "Let It Go!", "I Hope", and "Flower Rock" from Mezamashi Live held in Odaiba on August 7, 2011.[8]

F.T. Island held their first performance of "Top Secret" at Mezamashi Live in Odaiba on July 28, 2012.[9]

Chart performance

"Top Secret" debuted at number six on the Oricon weekly singles chart, selling 34,340 copies in its first week.[10] On the issue dated August 20, 2012, the song debuted at number 14 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.[11]

Track listing

All editions:[5]
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Top Secret"  Kenichi MaeyamadaCorin 3:50
2. "Beloved"  Gorō MatsuiLee Jae-jin, Suzuki "Daichi" Hideyuki 4:30
3. "Here"  Nobuaki HiragaHiraga 5:11
4. "Top Secret" (Instrumental) Corin 3:50
Total length:
17:20

Chart history

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Billboard Japan Hot 100[11] 14
Oricon Weekly Chart[10] 6

References

  1. "TOP SECRET" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Atsushi, Kaie (August 3, 2012). "FTISLAND、8枚目のシングル「TOP SECRET」リリース!" (in Japanese). EMTG. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "FTISLAND シングル『TOP SECRET』インタビュー(インタビュー1)" (in Japanese). Excite Music Japan. pp. 1–2. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  4. Lim Young-jin (July 13, 2012). "FTISLAND、日本8thシングル「TOP SECRET」のPVスポットバージョン公開" (in Japanese). Kstyle. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "FTISLAND 「TOP SECRET (通常盤)」" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "FTISLAND 「TOP SECRET (ローソン限定盤)」" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "FTISLAND 「TOP SECRET (初回限定盤)」" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "FTISLAND 「TOP SECRET (ツアー会場限定盤)」" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  9. 勢いが止まらない! めざましライブで今夏最高動員を記録 (in Japanese). Excite. July 28, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "2012年08月06日~2012年08月12日のCDシングル週間ランキング (2012年08月20日付)" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  11. 11.0 11.1 "Japan Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen SoundScan. Retrieved August 19, 2012.