"Stronger" (stylized in caps) is a song by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai featuring Japanese singer

Miliyah Kato (born June 22, 1988), better known by her stage name of is a Japanese pop and urban singer, songwriter, fashion designer, and author. In 2003, Kato started her career as a singer when she provided vocal to Reggae Disco Rockers' song "Cherry Oh ...

. The song was released on October 27, 2010, by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

and

Universal Sigma Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

, serving as the fourth and final single for Ai's eighth studio album, ''

The Last Ai ''The Last Ai'' (stylized ''THE LAST A.I.'') is the eighth studio album by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai, released on December 1, 2010, by Island Records and Universal Sigma. The album features guest appearances and collaborations from ...

''.

Composition and inspiration

As a part of Ai's 10th anniversary, she had been collaborating with many artists, such as "

Fake Fake may refer to: * Deception, an act or a statement intended to deceive ** Charlatan, a person who practices deception to obtain money or other advantages ** Counterfeit, a reproduction of an item, intended to deceive ** Cover-up, an attempt to ...

" featuring

Namie Amuro Namie Amuro ( ; ja, 安室奈美恵, Amuro Namie, label=none; born September 20, 1977) is a Japanese former recording artist, producer, songwriter, dancer, model, actress and entrepreneur who was active between 1992 and 2018. A leading figure of ...

, "Still..." feat.

AK-69 AK-69, also known as Kalassy Nikoff (エーケーシックスティーナイン／カラシニコフ) is a Japanese Hip Hop artist from Komaki, Aichi. As a rapper, AK-69 uses his stage name; while singing, he is usually known as "Kalassy Nikoff." ...

and "

Wavin' Flag "Wavin' Flag" is a song by Somali-Canadian artist K'naan from his album ''Troubadour''. The song was originally written for Somalia and aspirations of its people for freedom. The original single was a hit in Canada and reached number two on the ...

(Coca Cola Celebration Mix) (Sekai ni Hitotsu no Hata)" with

K'naan Keinan Abdi Warsame (born 1 February 1978) ( so, Keynaan Cabdi Warsame, ar, كَينَان عَبدِ وَرسَمَ ''Kaynān ʿAbdi Warsama''), better known by his stage name K'naan (), is a Somali-Canadian musician. He rose to prominence ...

. When the collaboration single offer was presented to Miliyah Kato, who is good friends with Ai, her reaction was "Finally! I feel so honoured. It's like a dream I've been imagining has become real." The song was written by Ai and Kato together, with both deciding such things as the lyrics, music, and which parts to sing. The song is a

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

dance pop song. The lyrics are a message song, instructing the listener to survive through "any kind of future," and talks about the limits of a person. In news articles, the song is described as being about "The strength to keep going forward, even when hurt."

Promotion

The song was performed twice at promotional events. At the

Levi's Levi Strauss & Co. () is an American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's () brand of denim jeans. It was founded in May 1853 when German-Jewish immigrant Levi Strauss moved from Buttenheim, Bavaria, to San Francisco, California, to o ...

Jeans ''Shape What's to Come'' event at

Ebisu, Shibuya is major district of Shibuya-ku in Tokyo, Japan. It was developed on the site of a Ebisu, Shibuya#History, former brewery and is now home to Ebisu, Shibuya#Yebisu Garden Place, Yebisu Garden Place. It has a high concentration of Ebisu, Shib ...

on October 26, Ai performed the song with Kato appearing as an unannounced guest for the event. Ai performed the song solo at a secret live event for fashion magazine ''Glamorous'', ''2010 Glamorous Night Evolution'' on November 2. The song was performed at

Music Station is a Japanese music television program. Broadcasting live weekly on TV Asahi since October 24, 1986, it currently airs from 9PM-10PM on Fridays. The program is also colloquially known as , , and . The show is currently syndicated throughout th ...

on October 29, alongside Kato. Ai appeared on an episode of ''King's Brunch'' on October 30. Two

MTV Japan MTV Japan (Music Television Japan) is the Japanese version of the cable television network based in Japan. It is a subsidiary of Paramount Networks Japan K.K., and was launched on November 15, 1993. It can be viewed on cable television, SKY Perfe ...

shows aired to promote the single: a ''

Making the Video ''Making the Video'' is an MTV show, consisting of half-hour episodes, which chronicles the process of filming various music videos. Usually the director outlines the concept of the video (or treatment) and the show often includes light-hearted ...

'' episode for the song's music video, aired on October 31, and a show called ''MTV A Class AI'' on November 20. To promote the single, Ai featured in magazines such as ''Blenda'', ''Glamorous'', ''Hanachu'', ''Nikkei Entertainment'', '' Ori Star'', '' Ranzuki'', ''S-Cawaii'' and ''Woofin.

Music video

The music video was directed by

Tatsuaki Tatsuaki (written: , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese judoka *, Japanese Go player *, Japanese woodworker and lacquerware artist See also * TATSUAKI, a fashion label by Dan Liu Dan Li ...

, and produced by Yahman. It is Ai's first video to feature CGI graphics. The video features Ai and Kato in a white room, as black rings form and tear apart around them. The rings are meant to represent beats of people's heartbeats. The music video debuted on

on October 27, 2010.

Track listing

Charts

Reported sales

Release history

References

External links

Ai Music "Stronger" profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stronger (Ai Song) 2010 singles 2010 songs Ai (singer) songs Miliyah Kato songs Japanese-language songs Female vocal duets Island Records singles Songs written by Ai (singer) Universal Sigma singles