"Dear Mama" is a song written and recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on April 17, 2013, through

EMI Records Japan EMI Records Japan was a Japanese record label which operated as a sublabel of Universal Music Japan. Established in April 2013, it was the successor of its previous entity as a company, EMI Music Japan. The sublabel's headquarters was located a ...

as the second single from Ai's tenth studio album, '' Moriagaro''. The song was used by the

Lotte Corporation Lotte Corporation (or Lotte Group) is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation, and the fifth-largest chaebol in South Korea. Lotte began its history on June 28, 1948, by Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-ho in Tokyo. Shin expand ...

for commercial campaigns in Japan. Upon its release, "Dear Mama" peaked at number 6 on the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100, becoming her sixth single to chart in the top ten of the Japan Hot 100.

Background and release

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of

's founding, the company contacted Ai to create a song to promote their anniversary as well as their Ghana milk chocolates. On April 16, 2013, the song was announced at a press conference hosted by Lotte. The song was announced for release the next day, April 17.

Composition

Lyrically, "Dear Mama" is a tribute song to mothers. News Post Seven described the song as Ai "writing a letter directly to her mother". Ai commented that the song is very personal since her mother is a foreigner as she is from the United States.

Cover art

On April 17, 2013, the cover art was revealed by news agencies within Japan. ''Natalie Music'' described the single's cover art as an "impressive childhood photo of Ai and er motherBarbara."

Music video

An excerpt of the music video was released to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

in April 2013 with a full version released shortly after.

Commercial performance

"Dear Mama" debuted at number 19 on the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 for the week of April 24, 2013. The song fell to number 41 and then rose to number 37. "Dear Mama" peaked at number 6 on the Japan Hot 100 during its fourth week on the chart.

Live performances

Ai performed the song in front of 50 mothers across Japan who attended the Lotte conference in 2013, including her mother, Barbara. Ai has also performed the song during her national tours in Japan, most recently during her Dream Tour.

Track listing

* "Dear Mama" – 4:00

Charts

Sequel song

In February 2022, Ai released a sequel song to "Dear Mama" titled "Dear Papa". Both songs have similar lyrics and were produced by C3prod and Ai. Ai was motivated to record a version for her father after performing "Dear Mama" live on multiple occasions.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal and '' Moriagaro'' liner notes. * Ai Carina Uemura – songwriting, production, lead vocals * C3prod – production, composition * Ben-E – co-production * Yoshinori Morita – vocal engineering *

Tom Coyne Tom Coyne may refer to: * Tom Coyne (writer), American writer and professor * Tom Coyne (broadcaster) (1930–2015), British television presenter * Tom Coyne (music engineer) (1954–2017), American mastering engineer * Thomas Coyne (cricketer) ( ...

– mastering * D.O.I – mixing

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{Ai (singer) 2013 singles 2013 songs 2010s ballads Ai (singer) songs Songs written by Ai (singer) Universal Music Japan singles EMI Records singles Songs about mothers