Lyrically, the song discusses the theme of self empowerment, and talks about people doing the best they can at their passions. During the song's bridge section, a child's toy piano is playing; Utada reflected that its inclusion reminded her of a child's "admiration" and their questionable "future's". She stated that the "old" and "falling apart" piano playing was live instrumentation, which she bought from a random clerk at a toy department store. She labelled the composition as "gentle". Critical response Upon its release, "Keep Tryin'" received mixed reviews from most music critics. A staff member from CD Journal was positive in his/her review. He/she was positive towards the song writing, describing it as "profound", and complimented the song's "alive" melody. Daniel Robson from The Japan Times was generally positive in his review, calling it "wonderfully weird". However, an emeritus member from Sputnikmusic, Elijah K., was critical towards the song. He compared the track to the album's remaining content, and felt that the production of the track wasn't "interesting". He also believed the song writing of the track "lacked a spark". In December 2015, in honor of Utada's comeback into the music business, Japanese website Goo.ne.jp hosted a poll for fans to rank their favourite songs by Utada out of 25 positions; the poll was held in only twenty-four hours, and thousands submitted their votes. As a result, "Keep Tryin'" was ranked at number 23 with 11 votes in total. Music video The promotional video for "Keep Tryin'" alludes to Utada's past PVs: "Final Distance", "Traveling", "Sakura Drops" and "Passion". There are also references to Utada's own cartoon cat creation, Chuichi, who is seen jumping on several rooftops while she is marching near the end of the video. First, when she stops by a store window filled with televisions, there is a kid pressed against the glass facing a reflection of himself, similar to "Final Distance". Later on, when she is walking through the office there are several secretaries typing, alluding to the drummers present in "Passion" PV.Also, the two dresses from her "Sakura Drops" PV are on display in a store window. Finally, during the biking sequence, there is a group of "people" marching along, similar to those in the traveling PV. Covers In 2014, Kirinji recorded the song for Utada Hikaru no Uta, a tribute album celebrating 15 years since Utada's debut. Track listing Chart rankings Certifications and sales