Rising Sun is the second Korean-language studio album by South Korean boy group TVXQ, released on through SM Entertainment on September 12, 2005. Musicians including Yoo Young-jin, Kenzie, Hwang Sung Je and All-4-One's Jamie Jones took part in the album's songwriting and production. Musically, Rising Sun is primarily a pop album, but also includes tracks that utilize styles such as hip-hop, rock, teen pop, and ballads.[1]
A commercial success, Rising Sun debuted at number one on the South Korean monthly record chart compiled by the Music Industry Association of Korea (MIAK) and was the fourth best-selling album during 2005, selling over 222,000 copies. It recorded sales of over 290,000 copies by May 2008 according to MIAK. The record yielded the singles "Rising Sun" and "Tonight", with accompanying music videos produced for both tracks. "Rising Sun" won the Most Popular Music Video (daesang) at the 2005 Mnet KM Music Video Festival.
A repackage of the album, titled Rising Sun Repackage Story Book: Five Secret Story, was made available on November 28, 2005. The release came with a VCD containing collector's footage of TVXQ in Japan including their appearance in Tokyo in May 2005, a 160-page photo album featuring images taken in China, Korea, Bora Bora, and the United States, as well as behind the scenes footage of the "Rising Sun" music video.[2]
On October 24, 2007, the Japanese edition of Rising Sun was released, coinciding with the Japanese edition of their subsequent studio album "O"-Jung.Ban.Hap. and remix album TVXQ Nonstop-Mix Vol. 1. Elsewhere, Rising Sun was also released in Asian territories such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand.
Singles
"Rising Sun" was announced as the album's title track on September 2, 2005. Its lyrics revolve around the gradual loss of purity and corruption of innocence that exists within humans, where it expresses human regret by comparing them to a disappearing sunset while containing the meaning of rediscovering the purity in human beings.[3] Its music video received the Most Popular Music Video (daesang) prize at the 2005 Mnet KM Music Video Festival.[4]
The Japanese version was included in the TVXQ's first Japanese album Heart, Mind and Soul, which was released in Japan in March 2006. On April 19, 2006, a physical edition of the song was released in Japan as a double A-side single titled "Rising Sun / Heart, Mind and Soul". In 2009, "Rising Sun" was featured in the Hollywood film Fast & Furious during Paul Walker's opening scene.[5]
Commercial performance
Rising Sun was met with commercial success in South Korea upon its release. It was ranked the 4th best-selling album in the country in 2005 and the 31st best-selling in 2006 by the Recording Industry Association of Korea (RIAK). The year 2007 is said to be K-pop's biggest slump in sales in South Korea,[6] with the highest selling album by SG Wannabe recording 190,998 copies sold.
TVXQ's Rising Sun still managed to make it onto the top 100 on the yearly chart, despite its release in 2005. It was the highest selling "old" album in 2007, appearing at number 67 on the year-end chart compiled by the Music Industry Association of Korea (MIAK). The album sold over 290,000 copies in the country by May 2008.[7]
