Iconiq

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Iconiq
Birth name Ayumi Itō
Also known as
  • Ayumi Lee
  • Yumi Ito
  • Ahyoomee
Born (1984-08-25) August 25, 1984 (age 39)
Tottori Prefecture, Japan
Genres
Occupation(s) Singer
Instruments Vocal
Years active 2001–2012 (on Hiatus)
Labels
Associated acts
Website iconiq.jp (Japanese)
Korean name
Hangul 이아유미
Hanja
Revised Romanization I Ayumi
McCune–Reischauer Yi Ayumi
Japanese name:
Itō Ayumi ( or あゆみ?)

Ayumi Itō[1] (born August 25, 1984[2]) better known her stage name as Iconiq in Japan and also known as Ayumi in South Korea, is a Japanese singer mostly active in South Korean and Japan. She is a former member of the Korean girl-group Sugar.

Early Life

Ayumi Itō was born in Tottori Prefecture as a third generation Korean Japanese[3] on August 25, 1984. She lived in Japan until she was 15, after which she moved to South Korea. She attended Korea Kent Foreign School.[4]

Career

Sugar

Ayumi was scouted by the entertainment company Starworld at a H.O.T. concert,[1] debuting as part of South Korean girl group Sugar in 2001.[2] The band released two albums in Japan and three in Korea, to only moderate commercial success. The group official disbanded in 2006.

Solo career

In 2006, the band broke up, and Iconiq released two solo singles as Ayumi.[1] The first, a cover of the theme song for Cutie Honey, was released on July 13, 2006, and was criticized by Korean media for her "heavy accent" and the overall Japanese feel of performances.[5] Her second digital single, "Jalmotdoen Mannam" ("Wrongful Meeting") was released on November 7, 2006, and is a cover of Kim Gun Mo's hit from 1995.

She switched labels in February 2007, moving from Starworld to SM Entertainment and started collaborating with SM Town on their summer and winter albums that year.[6] However, she did not release any solo material at this time. In 2008, Iconiq moved to Los Angeles to study dance, and find new inspiration as a musician.[1][7]

In late 2009, she changed her stage name to Iconiq, and debuted in Japan under Rhythm Zone. Her first promotions were for Shiseido's Maquillage cosmetics line, for which her song "I'm Lovin' You" (a duet with Exile vocalist Atsushi) was used in commercials, and Iconiq's images used in billboards.[8][9][10] Iconiq was marketed around her buzz cut hair-style, often called "baby short hair" (ベビーショートヘア?).[9][11][12]

Her past as a member of Sugar and her Korean heritage were underplayed in the promotion in Japan, leading to concerns in the Korean media.[13][14][15] Tokyo Sports ran an article about Iconiq's past as a Korean idol, and later apologised to Iconiq's record label.[16]

After two more promotional songs used in Maquillage commercials, "Change Myself" and "Bye Now!," she released her debut album, Change Myself, on March 10, 2010. The album debuted at #3 on Oricon's albums chart, the highest debut position since Yui Aragaki's Sora in late 2007.[11] Since then, she has released her debut single "Tokyo Lady," and released an EP called Light Ahead in September. The EP was promoted with three music videos directed by Diane Martel, including "Tokyo Lady."

In 2015, Ayumi appeared on a Korean program again, for the first time after nine years on JTBC program Witch Hunt.[17]

Discography

Studio album

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak positions Sales (JPN)[18][upper-alpha 1]
JPN
[19]
KOR
[20]
KOR
Overseas

[21]
TWN East Asian
[22]
Change Myself 3 47 15 20 64,000

Extended play

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak positions Sales (JPN)[18]
JPN
[19]
Light Ahead
  • Released: September 15, 2010 (JPN)
  • Label: Rhythm Zone
  • Formats: CD, CD/DVD, digital download
18 12,000

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Sales (JPN)[18] Album
JPN Oricon
[19]
JPN Hot 100
[23][upper-alpha 2]
JPN RIAJ
Digital
Track
Chart

[upper-alpha 3][upper-alpha 4]
"Cutie Honey"[upper-alpha 5] 2006 Non-album singles
"Jalmosdoen Mannam" (Korean: 잘못된 만남, "Wrongful Meeting")[upper-alpha 5]
"I'm Lovin' You" (Iconiq x Exile Atsushi) 2010 47 8 Change Myself
"Change Myself" 73 20
"Bye Now!" 8 47
"Tokyo Lady" 19 21 10,000 Light Ahead
"Light Ahead" 49 62
"Ladies" 2012 Non-album singles
"Make It Right"

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Yakusoku no Chi Yumi Ito Lead role
Kafu wo Machiwabite Rika Aragaki Supporting role

Television drama

Year Title Network Role Notes
2006 Nonstop 6: Rainbow Romance MBC Ah Yoo Mi Supporting role; Sitcom
2008 Binbo Danshi NTV Kurata Watana Supporting role
Yottsu no uso TV Asahi Miyabe Supporting role
2012 Ataru TV Asahi Kashiwabara Yumi Cameo
2013 Machigawarechatta Otoko Fuji TV Erika Momoyama

Awards

Japan Record Awards

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result
2010 Iconiq "Change Myself" New Artist[32] Won
Best New Artist Nominated

Notes

  1. Sales provided by Oricon database and are rounded to the nearest thousand copies.
  2. Sources for chart positions are as follows: "I'm Lovin' You",[24] "Bye Now!",[25] "Change Myself",[25] "Tokyo Lady",[26] "Light Ahead".[27]
  3. The RIAJ Digital Track Chart is a depreciated chart that ran from 2009 until early 2012 and tracked full-length cellphone downloads.
  4. Sources for chart positions are as follows: "I'm Lovin' You",[28] "Change Myself",[29] "Bye Now!",[30] "Light Ahead".[31]
  5. 5.0 5.1 Released in South Korea under the name Ahyoomee.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Sugar profile at Toy's Factory
  3. Ayumi is in love with J.League soccer star, Koreanmovie.com
  4. 엠파스 - 인물검색
  5. Chosun Ilbo. Ayumi's Hit Solo Debut Divides Online Critics. Retrieved 10 November 2006.
  6. (Korean) Sports Chosun.'큐티 하니' 아유미, 亞무대 활동위해 보아 소속사와 계약. Retrieved March 9, 2007.
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  32. Winners announced for the 52nd Japan Record Awards

External links