Michi (Hikaru Utada song)

"Michi" (道; lit. "Road") is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada. It was released on the main Japanese radio stations on September 13, 2016, and digitally on September 16, 2016.^[1]

"Michi" is an up-tempo J-pop song with an arrangement made entirely out of electronic synthesizers and drums. Apart from a few anglicisms and three lines in its chorus, it is completely in Japanese. It features an optimistic melody, while its lyrics talk about the singer walking a "lonely road", even though she couldn't feel completely alone, as the memory of the person she lost is still with her and guiding her through dark times.^[2] In an interview, she explained that it is a "danceable" song, meant to "reiterate that she is doing okay" after the loss of her mother Keiko Fuji to suicide in 2013.^[3] Bradley Stern from pop music website MuuMuse found "Michi" surprising, compared to the more "muted tone" of the previously released singles from Fantôme; instead playing like "a continuation of 2010's "Goodbye Happiness", even down to similar-sounding melodies".^[4]