Keep Your Head Down

Keep Your Head Down
Digital and Limited version cover.
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 5, 2011
Recorded2009–10
StudioSM Studios
(Seoul, South Korea)
Genre
Length35:11
LanguageKorean
LabelS.M.
Producer
TVXQ chronology
Complete Set Limited Box
(2010)
Keep Your Head Down
(2011)
Tone
(2011)
Singles from Keep Your Head Down
  1. "Keep Your Head Down"
    Released: January 3, 2011
Repackage edition cover
Before U Go repackage album cover
Singles from Before U Go
  1. "Before U Go"
    Released: March 14, 2011

Keep Your Head Down is the fifth Korean studio album (ninth overall) by South Korean pop duo TVXQ, released on January 5, 2011, by S.M. Entertainment. Recording and writing for the album roughly began in the summer of 2009, but full production did not begin until August 2010, after U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin debuted their first performance as a duo at the SM Town Live '10 World Tour concert in Seoul, South Korea.

Bringing in a new line of producers, including E-Tribe and Outsidaz, Keep Your Head Down largely consists of dance-pop songs with urban and electronic arrangements. The album has been described by critics as fierce, dark, and powerful due to its SMP influence,[1] an experimental genre that is defined by mixing the styles of orchestral pop, rock, and contemporary R&B with hip hop beats to create catchy, rhythmic tracks that allow for very strong dance performances.[2] Released in two different versions, the album spawned two promotional singles with one lead single, "Keep Your Head Down". Lyrically, the album explores dark themes of relationships, betrayal and self-empowerment.

In South Korea, the album debuted at number one on the Gaon Albums Chart for the week of January 8, 2011, and maintained its number-one position for a second week. By the end of the month, Gaon reported that 230,227 copies were shipped. By the end of the year, 263,412 copies of the album were sold in South Korea alone,[3] making it the third best-selling album of 2011. Before U Go debuted at number one on South Korea's Gaon Albums Chart and the Hanteo Chart, selling 55,243 copies by July 2011. By the end of the year, Before U Go sold 60,709 copies. Including Keep Your Head Down, the albums collective sold over 324,000 copies in South Korea and 89,000 copies in Japan.

Before U Go, the repackage of Keep Your Head Down, was released on March 16, 2011. The repackage features three new tracks, all of which are remixes of the album's only lead single, "Before U Go." The single is produced by TVXQ's frequent collaborator Yoo Young-jin and his brother Yoo Han-jin [ko], who also produced their fifth album lead single "Keep Your Head Down".

  1. ^ "TVXQ reaches 10 years old next year". Naver (in Korean). October 4, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  2. ^ "What Makes SM Entertainment So Powerful? Music Performance And Fandoms Are The Secret To Success". July 21, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  3. ^ "List of 2012 sales for S.M. Entertainment" (in Korean). Star Today. July 19, 2012. Retrieved January 3, 2013.