''Light Ahead'' is the first Japanese-language

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

by Japanese born-South Korean singer

Iconiq Lee Ayumi (born August 25, 1984), professionally known as Ayumi in South Korea and Yumi Itō in Japan, is a Japanese-born South Korean singer, actress and television personality based in South Korea. She debuted under the stage name Ahyoomee i ...

, released on September 15, 2010, through

Rhythm Zone (RZN) is a record label in the Avex Group that releases urban contemporary Japanese music. History The label was founded in 1999 by Max Matsuura with a focus on urban music, signing M-Flo as its first artist, then followed by Exile. In 2000 ...

. The EP contains seven tracks, including three songs from ''

Change Myself ''Change Myself'' is the debut Japanese-language studio album by South Korean singer-born in Japan Iconiq, released on March 10, 2010. The album was initially planned for a February 24 release, which was postponed for two weeks. Background Icon ...

'', the promotional single " Tokyo Lady" and the lead single of the same name. The DVD features three music videos directed by

Diane Martel Diane Martel (also known as Bucky Chrome and Diamond Martel) is an American music video director and choreographer. As a music video director, she has worked with Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Sting and Jennifer Lopez. One of her ...

, as well as footage from Iconiq's debut Japanese concert in May, 2010. On the cover she is shown turning round with some kind of

headdress Headgear, headwear, or headdress is any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or fo ...

made of animal fur.

Background

The extended play is Iconiq's third physical release in Japan, after her debut album ''

'' in March 2010, and her first physical single " Tokyo Lady" a month prior. ''Change Myself'' saw moderate commercial success, debuting at #3 and eventually selling over 60,000 copies. (subscription only) "Tokyo Lady" also saw some success, debuting in the top 20.

Promotion

Much of the promotion of the EP centred on "Tokyo Lady," which was her fourth song used as the

Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world an ...

''Maquillage'' range commercial song, and the third commercial to feature Iconiq personally. The song was also used in a range of commercials for

Recochoku Avex Inc. ( kabushiki gaisha , commonly known as Avex and stylized as avex) is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi ...

, Weider and Jelly products and A-Nation 2010. Iconiq performed at A-Nation concerts in early August, including being one of the featured musicians on the

Tetsuya Komuro is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and has introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of t ...

-written theme song for the event, "Thx a Lot". Three music videos were produced for the songs on the EP, including the video for "Tokyo Lady." The videos were all directed by veteran American music video director

. One of these songs, the title track "Light Ahead," was used in commercials for Maquillage in September.

Track listing

Charts and sales

Reported sales

Personnel

Personnel details were sourced from ''Light Aheads liner notes booklet. Managerial *Akira Akutsu – advisory producer *Hidemi Arasaki – advisory producer *Ryuhei Chiba – general producer *Shinya Egawa – A&R assistant *Hideki Endo – advisory producer *Tomomi Fujisawa – A&R *Shinji Hayashi – general producer *Yasuto Hoyamatsu – artist management supervisor *Hiroshi Inagaki – executive supervisor *Hitoshi Itagaki – artist management chief *Nae Kodama – A&R desk *Takuji Koga – sound director *Takuya Konishi – artist management *Harumasa Maeda – advisory producer * Masato "Max" Matsuura – executive supervisor *Hiroaki Nishiyama – A&R supervisor *Nobutoshi Ono – Chief A&R *Yoshihiro Seki – executive supervisor *Hiroshi Shibuya – production co-ordinator (#4) *Shigekazu Takeuchi – general producer *Masatoshi Uchida – A&R supervisor *Akihiko Yamamoto – Chief A&R *Kyoko Yoshioka – artist management desk Performance credits *

Hiro Hiro may refer to: People * Hiro (given name), includes lists of people with the given name * Hiro (photographer) (1930–2021), Japanese-born American photographer * Hiro (singer) (born 1991), French singer * Hiroko Shimabukuro (born 1984), Japa ...

– instruments (#3) *Iconiq –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

*T. Kura – instruments (#1, #7) *Tomokazu "T.O.M" Matsuzawa – instruments (#5) *U-key Zone – instruments (#4) *UTA – instruments (#2) * Verbal – rap (#4) Visuals and imagery *Masaki Hanahara – designer *Tadashi Harada – hair *Satoshi Hirota – stylist *Shiho Kikuchi – graphic designer *Yasuyuki Nagashima – producer *Ai Nieda – make-up *Yuki Otani – designer *Sonomi Sato – art director *Satoshi Saikusa – photographer *Nobuko Yamada – make-up *Koji Yamamoto – creative director *Yoshihiro Yoshida – graphic designer Technical and production *Tom Coyne – mastering *D.O.I. – mixing (at Daimonion Recordings) *Taiki Fudanotsuji – assistant engineer *Hiro – production (#3), programming (#3) *Kami Kaoru – vocal production (#6) *Kgro – vocal recording (#3) *T. Kura – production (#1, #7), vocal recording (#1) *Tomokazu "T.O.M" Matsuzawa – production (#6) *Michico – vocal production (#1, #7) *Momo "Mocha" N. – vocal production (#4) *NaNa Music – vocal production (#2) *Kohei Nakatake – assistant engineer *Hisashi Nawata – additional arrangement (#5) *Tomoe Nishikawa – vocal recording (#2) *Osamu Shirota – vocal recording (#5) *Yohei Takita – vocal recording (#4) *U-key Zone – production (#4), vocal production (#4) *UTA – production (#2), programming (#2), vocal production (#2) *Lucas Valentine – recording (#5) *Verbal – production (#5) *Yutaro Wada – assistant engineer *Tatsuhiro Yoshida – vocal recording (#6—7)

Release history

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2010 EPs Avex Group EPs Japanese-language EPs 2010s Japanese-language albums