Ai Tomioka - Ai'sCREAM (2025) Hi-Res

Ai Tomioka (冨岡 愛), Born on October 6, 2002, in Tokyo, Japan, Ai Tomioka is a Japanese singer-songwriter known for her modern J‑Pop style with international influences. She spent part of her childhood in Australia, where she developed an interest in music after being inspired by Taylor Swift.

Ai began creating her own songs and sharing them on social media around 2021. She gained recognition by winning a singer-songwriter contest judged by the popular artist Yuuri. In April 2022, she debuted with the single “Rapunzel”, and has since released multiple singles and plans for a full album. Some of her songs have been used as theme music for anime and TV programs.

"What is love?" is the eternal theme of her music, Ai Tomioka tells Apple Music about her album "Ai'sCREAM." She graduated from university in the spring of 2025 and began her musical career. The opening track on her first album is "Anata wa Nostalgia Melo," a song she wrote at age 18. Inspired by a memorable song her friends sang to her when she left Australia, where she lived from age 4 to 15, this song can be considered the origin of her music. "I wanted to convey, not just love songs, but also feelings toward family and friends, values ​​in life, and the things I've felt over the past 22 years in a more authentic way through words and music." The 12 tracks on this album are imbued with fragments of her own life.

"Social media has given my music a home," she says, reflecting on her steady career, which has included street performances and auditions. "Receiving real feedback in the comments sections of social media has a huge creative impact. Someone once wrote to me, 'Every time Ai releases a song, I feel the same way as that song.' In 'Goodbye Bye,' she was tossed around by an ambiguous relationship, and in 'Jealousy,' she was jealous. 'But I want to be happy soon, so if Ai writes a song like that, maybe my love life will go well too.' After reading that, I wrote the heartwarming song 'MAYBE.' As for whether it will make me happy... well, it is a 'MAYBE.'" Rather than a message of "you'll definitely be happy" or "try your best to be happy," this offbeat song depicts "days filled with MAYBEs" with an overwhelming sense of realism. Its life-sized emotions have resonated with many people.

The album's title song, "Ai's CREAM," which means "a cry of love," is a ballad that, contrary to its name, gently draws out the emotions. This song, which talks about the essence of love, including the parts where there are no answers, exudes the quiet passion of singer-songwriter Ai Tomioka. She says she was able to portray love from various angles, so let's hear her explain some of the songs on the album.