Maps of Music

Keep Your Head Down (2011)

Where the lyrics of Keep Your Head Down take you, and where it was really made.

The album was made by a duo after three of the five members sued their agency and TVXQ's group activity in Korea was halted.

Place unknown

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Keep Your Head Down: fifth Korean studio album (ninth overall) by TVXQ
Released 5 January 2011 by S.M. Entertainment
Duo album made by Yunho and Changmin after the group's split in 2010
Largely dance-pop songs with urban and electronic arrangements
Lyrics explore dark themes of relationships, betrayal and self-empowerment
Two versions: a special edition with a 100-page photobook and a normal edition with one bonus track
Two promotional singles and one lead single, "Keep Your Head Down"

July 2009: Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu sued S.M. Entertainment, calling their 13-year contracts excessively long
October 2009: Seoul Central District Court granted the three a temporary contract injunction, halting TVXQ's group activities in South Korea
April 2010: Avex Trax suspended TVXQ to sign Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu as JYJ
The remaining members, Yunho and Changmin, went on indefinite hiatus and the fifth Korean album was put on hold
August 2010: Yunho and Changmin performed as TVXQ at SMTown Live '10 World Tour in Seoul
Strong audience reaction led the two to continue as a duo
A plan to add new members was raised, but mentor Lee Soo-man suggested they stay a duo

Recording and writing roughly began in summer 2009; full production started in August 2010
Lead single "Keep Your Head Down" was an SMP song Yunho had performed at the concert
Produced by Yoo Young-jin, who also produced the third track "Maximum", first recorded by all five members in 2009
New producers including E-Tribe and Outsidaz joined
Principal recording spanned three months

Formed in 2003 by SM Entertainment as a five-member boy band; debuted December 26, 2003 with the single "Hug" (2004).
Yunho was appointed the band's leader; the name Dong Bang Shin Ki was finalized after several alternatives.
Tohoshinki (東方神起) was the Japanese-market name adopted after signing with Avex Group in late 2004.

Current members: U-Know Yunho (leader) and Max Changmin.
Former members Hero Jaejoong, Micky Yoochun and Xiah Junsu left in 2010 and formed JYJ.

Early Korean albums Tri-Angle (2004), Rising Sun (2005), "O"-Jung.Ban.Hap. (2006) and Mirotic (2008) topped domestic charts; "O"-Jung.Ban.Hap. won Album of the Year at the 21st Golden Disk Awards.
In Japan, the band became mainstream stars after The Secret Code (2009); their Best Selection 2010 was the first album to top the Oricon Albums Chart.
After a 2010 split, Yunho and Changmin returned as a duo with Keep Your Head Down (2011); later albums include Tone (2011), Time (2013), Tense (2014), Tree (2014), New Chapter #1 (2018) and XV (2019).
The duo held a three-day performance at Tokyo Dome on April 27, 2025 for their 20th anniversary.

Music critics and K-pop fans gave the album generally positive reviews
Reviewers praised the album's "powerful" production and its cohesive blend of pop and R&B
Critics described the album as fierce, dark and powerful, linked to its SMP influence
SMP is an experimental genre mixing orchestral pop, rock and contemporary R&B with hip hop beats for strong dance performances
The lyrics of the lead single drew intense media scrutiny after a claim that it was a diss track to JYJ
Several TVXQ and JYJ fansites withdrew their support for the song
Yunho and Changmin said the lyrics were misinterpreted, describing the song as a man's anger toward a woman who left him

Debuted at number one on the weekly Gaon Albums Chart for the week of 8 January 2011 and held the top spot for a second week
Gaon reported over 230,000 shipments by the end of January 2011
Topped Hanteo's real-time daily chart on release, selling nearly 30,000 physical copies on the first day
Sold 263,412 copies in South Korea by year end, the third best-selling album of 2011
Debuted at number four on Taiwan's G-Music and Japan's Oricon

Hanteo's real-time daily chart sent the album to number one at once, with nearly 30,000 physical copies sold on its first day.
The lead single's lyrics were read as a diss track toward JYJ; Yunho and Changmin said they had been misinterpreted.
The lead single was digitally released on 3 January 2011, two days before the full album went up for download on 5 January.
The digital single "Athena" came out on 20 December 2010, two weeks before the album, as the theme song for a TV drama.
On 11 January 2011, S.M. Entertainment released a free TVXQ iPhone app to promote the album.