"Tokyo Lady" (stylized as TOKYO LADY) is a song by Japanese/Korean musician

Iconiq Lee Ayumi (born August 25, 1984), professionally known as Ayumi (previously Ahyoomee) in South Korea and Yumi Itō (previously ICONIQ) in Japan, is a Japanese-born South Korean singer, actress and entertainer based in Japan and South Korea. Sh ...

, released as her debut single of August 11, 2010. The single was originally planned for a July 28 release, however was postponed. It is currently her last physical single.

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, are a type of shoe with an 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 wearer appear taller, and accentuate the ...

, 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 (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

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 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's ''Maquillage'' cosmetic range,

Morinaga Morinaga (written: ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Ai Morinaga, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese voice actress *Masaki Morinaga, Japanese long jumper *, Japanese singer *Milk Morinaga, Japanese manga artist * Sō ...

'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

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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 (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...

. 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 sporte ...

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) is an American music video director and choreographer. Awards Diane Martel was nominated for the Video of the Year for her work in "Blurred Lines" – Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I. in 2013. Fil ...

, and filmed simultaneously in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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 Japanese-language songs 2010 songs Rhythm Zone singles