is a song written and recorded by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai featuring Japanese comedian and actress

Naomi Watanabe is a Japanese comedian, actress, and fashion designer. She rose to fame in 2008 for her imitation of Beyoncé, after which she was given the title “the Japanese Beyoncé”. Career Watanabe does impersonations of popular artists in Japanese c ...

. It was released to radio on July 6, 2017, and later as a digital single on August 1, 2017. It served as a single from the deluxe version of Ai's eleventh studio album, ''

Wa to Yo is the eleventh studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on June 7, 2017, through EMI Records and Universal Music Group. Featuring two discs, the ''Wa'' disc was recorded in Japanese with traditional Japanese sound ...

''. Upon its release, "Kira Kira" debuted and peaked at number 19 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...

. The song was nominated for the Grand Prix award and won the Excellent works Award at the 59th Japan Records Awards.

Background and release

An excerpt of "Kira Kira" served as the theme song for the Japanese drama ''Kanna-san!''. In July 2017, the full version of the song was sent to Japanese

J-Wave J-Wave is a commercial radio station based in Tokyo, Japan, broadcasting on 81.3 FM from the Tokyo Skytree to the Tokyo area. J-Wave airs mostly music, covering a wide range of formats. The station is considered the most popular among FM broad ...

radio station. Watanabe revealed to J-Wave it was her first full-scale studio recording. A music video for Kira Kira was released on August 31, 2017.

Accolades

Live performances

Ai and Watanabe performed "Kira Kira" at the "25th Tokyo Girls Collection". Ai performed the song with Watanabe at the ''

68th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The was the 68th edition of annual NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen, held on December 31, 2017, live from NHK Hall (Tokyo, Japan). It was broadcast in Japan through NHK General Television (TV) and NHK Radio 1 (Radio), and worldwide through NHK World Prem ...

''.

Music video

Directed by Studio Moross' founder

Aries Moross Aries Moross is an English graphic designer, artist, illustrator and art director based in London. They mostly focus on lettering and typography in their works of art. Aries Moross has been profiled in '' Dazed & Confused'', ''Vice'' magazine an ...

, Ai and Watanabe are seen singing behind a green screen with various animations.

Track listing

Digital download and streaming # "Kira Kira" — 3:40

Charts

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. * Ai Uemura – vocals, songwriter, producer, composer *

– vocals * Uta – producer, composer

Release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2017 songs 2017 singles EMI Records singles Ai (singer) songs Songs written by Ai (singer) Song recordings produced by Ai (singer)