May 31st, 2024 - International singer, model, actor, and multi-lingual artist Anna Aya is poised to become the first global princess of J-Pop with the highly anticipated release of her second bilingual single, "Hit Me With Your
Love," available now. In addition, The GRAMMYs featured an exclusive performance of the song, produced and directed by Golden Globe winning and Academy & BAFTA nominated Shannon McIntosh, earlier this month. "Anna is redefining what it means to be a multilingual artist in today's global music scene," praised Flaunt Magazine, highlighting her innovative approach to blending languages and cultures in her music.
"Hit Me With Your Love" follows the monumental success of Anna Aya’s debut single, "Someone Else” that reached #2 on Japan’s USEN Chart, #46 on the U.S radio charts and was featured on the Vision Screen Billboard at the famous Shibuya Miyamasuzaka intersection in Tokyo. “Hit Me With Your Love” was co-written by 9-X Diamond, Grammy nominated producer Louis Bell (Post Malone, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber) and 6-X Japan Gold Disc Winner Michael Africk (Mai Kuraki, Zard, Jordan Knight). Named Nippon Broadcasting System’s “Outstanding Newcomer” and Nickelodeon’s “Artist to Watch,” Anna Aya continues to lead the worldwide J-Pop explosion and cement her position as the first global princess of the genre, seamlessly blending East and West both sonically and lyrically and creating a unique sound of her own.
“Hit Me With Your Love” explores themes of infatuation and empowerment, featuring English and Japanese lyrics and Anna's powerful vocals that shine through every verse and embody the strength of a woman who knows what she’s worth. Anna elaborates “Your actions speak louder than words. You think you're worth my time? You want me in your life? Show me what you’re all about!"
Both “Someone Else” and “Hit Me With Your Love” have been released via Michael Africk’s Handcraft Entertainment and distributed globally by Virgin Music (with the exception of Japan). Prior to the release of "Hit Me With Your Love," Handcraft Entertainment and Tokyo based B ZONE, Inc. announced their strategic partnership along with the signing of Anna Aya. This collaboration resulted in the Japanese release of Anna’s debut single "Someone Else” through B ZONE on February 14th. The song reached #2 on the USEN chart and was #1 on Shazam charts in cities all over Japan. With J-Pop experiencing a surge in popularity, Anna Aya's arrival marks an exciting moment in music history. According to Billboard: “In terms of growth rate, World music — which also includes J-pop, or Japanese pop, and Afrobeats — topped all other genres with a 26.2% increase in U.S. on-demand audio streams.”
"Hit Me With Your Love” Credits
Writers: Louis Bell, Michael Africk, Terrell Mackey, Jahmal White, Anna Aya Adjian Producers: Michael Africk, Mike Hart, Jacob Lee McMillan
Publishers: Universal Music Publishing, Bell Ear. Inc, Fixed on it music, Handcraft Ent. Publishing Mastered by: Chris Gehringer
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The 20-year-old half- Japanese and half Armenian artist has always gravitated towards modeling since she was a young girl, appearing in print campaigns and commercials for household name brands such as American Girl Doll, AT&T, Children’s Place, Ford, Samsung, Target and more. She concurrently learned how to speak three languages—Japanese, Armenian, and English and has continued to speak them fluently throughout her entire life. As a dancer, studying jazz, hip-hop, and ballet, Anna’s passion for music led to vocal lessons while listening to favorite artists a la Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Madison Beer, and more. In 2022, she caught the attention of Michael Africk, who discovered her through international connections and invited her to collaborate in his studio, eventually signing her to his company Handcraft Entertainment.
Drawing on her Japanese upbringing, she asserts herself as a voice for her culture, remaining reverent of its nuances and traditions and also leveraging them to distinguish her on the international stage as a singular artist. Speaking with iHeartRadio, Anna explains “I have a lot of inspiration from the Japanese sound, which is very soft and has more of an emotional feel to it. I wanted to incorporate that into my music for both English and Japanese, which is why the song is bilingual. I incorporated the fun pop sound from the U.S. and the emotional part of it from Japan. The whole song is about finding your worth and saying that I don’t need anybody to approve me or validate me, I can do it for myself.”
