"One Step Ahead" is a high-energy song by Japanese singer-songwriter Kashitaro Ito (伊東歌詞太郎), originally released on his first full album "一意専心" (Ichii Senshin) in 2014. The track is a human cover of a VOCALOID IA song of the same name, with composition, arrangement, and lyrics by KEI and a music video by まきのせな. Running at 186 BPM for a compact 2:00, the song carries themes of pushing forward past hesitation, its driving rock instrumentation and Ito's clear, emotive vocals matching the lyrical message of leaving blame behind and heading toward a new frontier. It was added to maimai ORANGE at the arcade revision's launch on September 18, 2014, and has remained a staple through multiple version upgrades. Nearly a decade later, the track received a new set of DX charts with the arrival of maimai でらっくす PRiSM in September 2024, unlockable via stamp card progression. The song's journey through maimai's version history reflects its lasting appeal, its Standard Master chart gradually climbed from level 10 in the ORANGE era to 12+ by FESTiVAL, while the DX Master chart sits at level 13.2 with 654 notes, featuring heavy use of Slide notes (121 total) characteristic of designer Jack's style.