"Tokyo Lady" (stylized as TOKYO LADY) is a song recorded by South Korean singer Iconiq for her first Japanese extended play, '' Light Ahead''. It was released as a promotional single from the EP on August 11, 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 single was originally planned for a July 28 release, however was postponed.

Writing

The song is an electro/rock-styled pop song, written by NaNa Music and Uta, the writers of "Crystal Girl" and "LoveShineMagic" from Iconiq's debut album '' Change Myself''. The lyrics of the song continue on with the same themes as Iconiq's '' Change Myself'' songs do, speaking of new beginnings, bright futures and references to objects in everyday life. The scene in "Tokyo Lady" is of a woman after a break up of a relationship, who has already begun the process of moving on. As she walks forward, "the world changes." References are made to the song's protagonist going to a social event, as she "paints the town" while wearing pink

high heels High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels (colloquially shortened to heels), are a type of shoe with an upward-angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the we ...

, and faces her favorite place while throwing hey car key into her bag. According to the official site's liner notes, the song is about the "dazzling determination of a woman starting to walk forward to her future," in a metropolitan

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

setting. To Iconiq, the song represents the Tokyo aspects to her new start as a musician in Japan, and considers it a message song to encourage women.

Promotion

The song was first unveiled at Iconiq's debut live, at

Shibuya-AX Shibuya-AX (stylized as SHIBUYA- AX) was a concert hall in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, near the Yoyogi National Gymnasium. Layout Shibuya-AX was the only purpose-built concert hall or "live house" in the Tokyo metropolitan area that could accommod ...

on May 16, where it was performed and announced as her first single. The song was marketed as a "three tie-up single," with commercials for three companies airing simultaneously:

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 ...

's ''Maquillage'' cosmetic range, Morinaga's Weider and Jelly sports drink/ A-Nation 2010, and Rechochoku. These began airing on July 21, 2010. The song was performed at A-Nation in early August, 2010, at which Iconiq had a special booth filled with promotional goods for purchase. This was the fourth successive time an Iconiq song has been used in commercials for both Shisedo and Recochoku, after " I'm Lovin' You," " Change Myself" and " Bye Now!." The Shiseido commercial, dubbed the of the commercial at the Shisedo Maquillage website, featured Iconiq with a longer

pixie cut A pixie cut is a short hairstyle, generally short on the back and sides of the head and slightly longer on the top, with very short bangs. It is a variant of a crop. The name is derived from the mythological pixie. History The pixie cut was firs ...

hairstyle, as opposed to her regular "baby short cut" of her debut album. The commercial for Weider and Jelly/A-Nation, however, showed Iconiq with her previous hairstyle. The single was promoted as a "one coin single," due to its price of 500

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. T ...

. It was also marketed for having three differently designed back covers, that featured a different, wider-angled view of Iconiq from the photoshoot for the single's cover. During single promotions, special billboards were placed at several major

train stations, on which pairs of

fishnet In the field of textiles, fishnet is hosiery with an open, diamond-shaped knit; it is most often used as a material for stockings, tights, gloves or bodystockings. Fishnet is available in a multitude of colors, although it is most often sport ...

stockings were affixed for the general public to take. Iconiq performed this song as a per of her set at the 2010 A-Nation concerts.

Music video

The music video was 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 ...

, and filmed simultaneously in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

along with the two other music videos for songs on '' Light Ahead'', "Light Ahead" and "Kiss & Cry." The video depicts Iconiq posing in a range of fashion-oriented outfits, against a background of colorful geometric shapes and pop art inspired designs, often with static shots of Iconiq repeated on the screen in multiple places.

Track listing

Chart rankings

Reported sales

Release history

References

{{Iconiq Iconiq songs 2010 singles Music videos directed by Diane Martel Songs in Japanese 2010 songs Rhythm Zone singles