"First Time" is a song recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released February 16, 2022, by

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

as a

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

from her twelfth studio album ''

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, al ...

''. Produced by Bernard "Harv" Harvey, lyrically the song is about Ai's struggles during the start of her music career and how she was able to eventually find success for the first time. In promotion of the song, Ai teamed up with

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, sin ...

to promote KitKat.

Background and release

In 2019, Ai traveled to her hometown,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

to record content for a new album. While in Los Angeles, she collaborated with various songwriters, including Felisha King and Fallon King (of girl group Cherish), who co-wrote "Expectations" on Ai's 2021 extended play, ''

It's All Me, Vol. 2 ''It's All Me, Vol. 2'' (stylized IT'S ALL ME VOL 2) is an extended play by Japanese Americans, Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai (singer), Ai. It was released on February 24, 2021, through EMI Records, as a follow-up to ''It's All Me, Vol. 1' ...

''. Wanting to get to know Ai more, the duo asked her about her career. Ai explained to them her struggles of her musical beginnings and how she eventually was able to find success. Inspired by the story, Felisha and Fallon co-wrote the song with Ai about personal struggles. Wanting a featured artist, Ai contacted her close friend, dancer and model Riehata.

Composition and lyrics

"First Time" is an R&B song featuring a simple production. Lyrically, the song is about struggling to reach a goal and eventually overcoming obstacles to reach the goal for "the first time".

Promotion

In Japan, "First Time" was featured on

commercials promoting Kit Kat. The commercial was directed by Naoko Yamada, who directed '' A Silent Voice''. The commercial was also Nestlé's first anime commercial.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. *

Ai Uemura , known mononymously as Ai (, stylized as AI or A.I. ), is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, spokeswoman, and actress. Born in Los Angeles, California, Ai moved to Kagoshima, at age 4. Motivated to become a singer ...

– vocals, songwriting * Fallon King – songwriting * Felisha "Fury" King – songwriting * Bernard "Harv" Harvey – production * Riehata – featured artist * Mark Parfitt – mixing * Randy Merill – mastering

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2022 songs Ai (singer) songs EMI Records singles Female vocal duets Songs written by Ai (singer) Song recordings produced by Harv