Former AKB48 singer promotes Zico's album

Mariko Shinoda from a teaser video for Zico's "It was Love" / Screen capture from YouTube

• Published Jan 19, 2016 5:02 PM KST
• Updated Jan 19, 2016 5:02 PM KST

Japanese entertainer Mariko Shinoda, a former member of girl band AKB48, has appeared in the teaser video for rapper Zico’s new single album.

Shinoda, also an actress, features in the 46-second clip for the rapper’s song “It was Love,” the album’s second track.

Zico’s management company, Seven Seasons, released the video Tuesday.

With an orchestra playing in the background, the video hinted at the rapper’s departure from his usual drumbeat-filled hip-hop sounds.

Shinoda, a captain of the band’s Team A from 2012, left the group the last year.

The album will be released Jan. 25.