It's All Me, Vol. 1 (stylized IT'S ALL ME VOL 1) is an extended play by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai. It was released on July 8, 2020, through EMI Records and features a departure from the traditional Japanese and western electropop sounds found in her 2017 studio album, Wa to Yo.

It's All Me, Vol. 1
Digital cover[note 1]
EP by
ReleasedJuly 8, 2020 (2020-07-08)
Recorded2019
Studio
Genre
Length22:50
Language
Label
Producer
Ai chronology
Kansha!!!!! - Thank You for 20 Years New and Best
(2019)
It's All Me, Vol. 1
(2020)
It's All Me, Vol. 2
(2021)
Singles from It's All Me, Vol. 1
  1. "Summer Magic"
    Released: May 17, 2019
  2. "You Never Know"
    Released: August 9, 2019
  3. "I'm Coming Home"
    Released: January 14, 2020
  4. "Good as Gold"
    Released: March 23, 2020
  5. "Gift"
    Released: April 24, 2020

Featuring collaborations with Jenn Morel, Joelii and MJ116, majority of the extended play was recorded in Los Angeles, California.[1]

Background edit

The songs are all different and I was worried about the title, but every song is my own. That's why I added it to mean "everything is myself'"[2]

— Ai reflecting on the title of the EP

To celebrate her twenty-year anniversary in the music industry and the then upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics, Ai began production for an album in 2019. Additionally, a compilation album, Kansha!!!!! - Thank You for 20 Years New and Best, was released by EMI on November 6, 2019, which included tracks previously not available in countries outside of Asia and new material.[2]

The EP's first single, "Summer Magic", was released in May 2019.[3][4] Both its Japanese and English counterpart were produced and written by The Rascals. "Summer Magic" was also included in an advertisement for the Amazon Echo in Japan.[5] "You Never Know" was released in August 2019, featuring Taiwanese group MJ116 (also known as 頑童MJ116).[6] The third single, "I'm Coming Home", was released in January 2020 and the fourth single, "Good as Gold" in March 2020.[7][8] The fifth single, "Gift" was released in April 2020.[9]

In May 2020, Ai announced on her social media the title and release date of the EP.[10] Pre-add for Apple Music and Spotify began on June 26, 2020.[11]

Track listing edit

It's All Me, Vol. 1 track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Gift"Ai Uemura
  • Uta
  • Uemura
3:39
2."Good as Gold"
  • Chahayed
  • Dexter
  • Uemura
3:19
3."Kokoro" (featuring Jenn Morel and Joelii)
  • Uemura
  • Jenn Morel
  • Gedrin Joely Morel
  • Mario Parra
  • Dijonn Gary Grizzell
Silver Age3:18
4."Summer Magic" (Japanese Version)3:37
5."You Never Know" (featuring MJ116)
  • Uemura
  • MJ116
Vava4:37
6."I'm Coming Home"
  • Uemura
  • Jin
  • Ruri Matsumura
  • Jin
  • Uemura
5:00
Total length:22:50
It's All Me, Vol. 1 – limited edition DVD bonus
No.TitleDirector(s)Length
1."Summer Magic" (music video)
  • Yudai Maruyama
  • Haga Yohei
 
2."You Never Know" (feat. MJ116) (music video)
  • Maruyama
  • Yohei
 
3."I'm Coming Home" (music video)Yu Irie 
4."Gift" (Lyric video)D&A Music 
5."Ai's Message & Special Medley" (Stay Home Version)Uemura 

Personnel edit

Credits adapted from Tidal and album's liner notes.[12][13]

Musicians edit

  • Ai Carina Uemura – lead vocals, songwriting, production
  • Uta – production, songwriting
  • Rogét Chahayed – production, songwriting
  • Taylor Dexter – production, songwriting
  • Lindy Robbins – songwriting
  • Jenn Morel – featured artist, songwriting
  • Gedrin Joely Morel – featured artist, songwriting
  • Mario Parra – songwriting
  • Dijonn Gary Grizzell – songwriting
  • Silver Age – production
  • Leon Thomas III – songwriting
  • Khris Riddick-Tynes – songwriting
  • The Rascals – production
  • MJ116 – featured artist
  • Vava – producer, composer
  • Mu Yuan Lin – songwriting, vocals
  • Wen Jie Zhou – songwriting, vocals
  • Yu Rong Chen – songwriting, vocals
  • Jin – production
  • Ruri Matsumura – songwriting
  • Futoshi Kawashima – arrangement

Technical edit

  • Keisuke Fujimaki – vocal engineering
  • Keisuke Suwa – vocal engineering
  • Shiori Maruoka – vocal engineering
  • Zachary Lin – vocal engineering
  • Mario Parra – vocal engineering
  • D.O.I – mixing
  • Boris Milan - mixing
  • Randy Merrill – mastering
  • Ai Carina Uemura – vocal engineering
  • MJ116 – vocal engineering

Visuals and imagery edit

  • Ran Tondabayahsi – art director
  • Yousuke Tsuchida – designer
  • Hiroki Watanabe – photographer
  • Moemi Odo – retouching
  • Ai Carina Uemura – hair, makeup artist
  • Akemi Ono – hair, makeup artist
  • Noriko Gota – stylist
  • Akio Kawabata – design coordination
  • Shuma Saito – design coordination

Charts edit

Chart performance for It's All Me, Vol. 1
Chart (2020) Peak

position

Japanese Albums (Oricon)[14] 18
Japanese Combined Albums (Oricon)[15] 27
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)[16] 27
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[17] 20

Release history edit

Release history and formats for It's All Me, Vol. 1
Region Date Format(s) Version Label Ref.
Various July 8, 2020 Standard [18]
Japan CD [18]
Limited [19]

Notes edit

  1. ^ On physical releases, the catalog number is present below the title of the EP.

References edit

  1. ^ "AI「IT'S ALL ME - Vol.2」インタビュー|今この世界で掲げる、ずっと歌い続けてきた"ラブ&ピース" - 音楽ナタリー 特集・インタビュー". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "AI「IT'S ALL ME - Vol.2」インタビュー|今この世界で掲げる、ずっと歌い続けてきた"ラブ&ピース" - 音楽ナタリー 特集・インタビュー". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  3. ^ Summer Magic - Single by AI, retrieved March 14, 2021
  4. ^ Summer Magic (Japanese Version) - Single by AI, retrieved March 14, 2021
  5. ^ "J-Pop Singer AI Shares New 'Summer Magic' Single in English & Japanese: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  6. ^ You Never Know (feat. MJ116) - Single by AI, retrieved March 14, 2021
  7. ^ I'm Coming Home - Single by AI, retrieved March 14, 2021
  8. ^ Good As Gold - Single by AI, retrieved March 14, 2021
  9. ^ Gift - Single by AI, retrieved March 14, 2021
  10. ^ "Big Announcement!!! Dropping my new EP「IT'S ALL ME」on July 8th yaaaaaaayyyy!!!!!!!! I really hope u guys like it...I cant wait for everybody to hear it!!!! love u guys and hope everything is good lots of love and peace to the world". Twitter. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  11. ^ "さらに『IT'S ALL ME -Vol.1』のApple MusicでのPre-Add、SpotifyでのPre-Saveキャンペーンもスタート"「ギフト」オリジナルTシャツ"が当たるのでこちらもチェックしてくださいね #AI #アイ #ITSALLME #ギフト キャンペーンページはこちら". Twitter. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  12. ^ "It's All Me, Vol. 1 - Credits". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  13. ^ It's All Me, Vol. 1 (CD). Ai. EMI Records/Universal/Def Jam Recordings. 2020. UPCH-29369
  14. ^ "IT'S ALL ME - Vol.1 | AI". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  15. ^ "AIの合算アルバム売上TOP3作品". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  16. ^ "AIのデジタルアルバム売上TOP7作品". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  17. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2020/07/20". Billboard Japan. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  18. ^ a b "It's All Me Vol. 1". CDJournal (in Japanese). Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  19. ^ "It's All Me Vol. 1 (CD+DVD)". CDJournal (in Japanese). Retrieved August 5, 2022.