It's All Me, Vol. 1

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.

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

Background
"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'""

- 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.

The EP's first single, "Summer Magic", was released in May 2019. 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. "You Never Know" was released in August 2019, featuring Taiwanese group MJ116 (also known as 頑童MJ116). The third single, "I'm Coming Home", was released in January 2020 and the fourth single, "Good as Gold" in March 2020. The fifth single, "Gift" was released in April 2020.

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

Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal and album's liner notes.

Musicians

 * 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

 * 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

 * 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