Background
Ayumi Itō was born in Tottori Prefecture as a third generation Korean Japanese on August 25, 1984.
Ayumi Itō was born in Tottori Prefecture as a third generation Korean Japanese on August 25, 1984.
She attended of Korea Kent Foreign School.
Early She lived in Japan until she was 15, after which she moved to South of Korea. Sugar
Ayumi was scouted by the entertainment company Starworld at a H.O.T. concert, debuting as part of South Korean girl group Sugar in 2001. The band released two albums in Japan and three in of 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. 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.
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 Master of Science Entertainment and started collaborating with Master of Science Town on their summer and winter albums that year.
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. 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.
Iconiq was marketed around her buzz cut hair-style, often called "baby short hair" (ベビーショートヘア).
Tokyo Sports ran an article about Iconiq"s past as a Korean idol, and later apologised to Iconiq"s record label. 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. Since then, she has released her debut single "Tokyo Lady," and released an European Parliament called Light Ahead in September.
The European Parliament 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.
She is a former member of the Korean girl-group Sugar. 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.