(born March 11, 1972), simply known by the stage name Ua (), is a Japanese singer. She made her debut under Speedstar Records in 1995 with the single "Horizon".

Biography

Ua was born Kaori Shima and grew up in

Suita is a city located in northern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 378,322 and a population density of 9,880 persons per km². The total area is 36.11 km². The city was founded on April 1, ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. After graduating from Saga University of Arts in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

, she worked as a

lounge singer Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The rang ...

in her hometown. There in 1994, she was scouted by producer

Hiroshi Fujiwara (born 1964) is a Japanese musician, producer, and designer. Life Fujiwara was born in Ise, Mie. He moved to Tokyo at eighteen and became a standout in the Harajuku street fashion scene. During a trip to New York City in the early 1980s he was i ...

. She took on the unusual stage name of ''Ua'' (a Swahili word that means both "flower" and "kill") and made her debut with the Fujiwara-produced "Horizon". Her fourth single " Jōnetsu" became a smash hit and Ua was recognized all over Japan. After releasing her first album, ''11'', Ua married actor

Jun Murakami is a Japanese actor. He is not to be confused with Japanese stunt actor Jun Murakami. Career Murakami starred in Sho Miyake's ''Playback'' (2012). He co-starred in Sion Sono's '' The Land of Hope'' (2012) with Megumi Kagurazaka. He has also a ...

and gave birth to a son, Nijirō, in 1997, who is also an actor. The couple divorced in 2006. In 2000, after two more albums, ''Ametora'' and ''Turbo'', Ua took a hiatus from her solo work and formed the band

Ajico Ajico was a band, formed as a side project by Japanese singer Ua, and Kenichi Asai of Blankey Jet City Blankey Jet City was a Japanese rock trio from Aichi Prefecture, active from 1987 to 2000. It consisted of Kenichi Asai on vocals and guita ...

with

Kenichi Asai is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Ken'ichi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢一, "wise, one" *健一, "healthy, one" *憲一, "constitution, one" *謙一, "humble, one" *建一, "build, one" * ...

. She resumed her solo activities in 2002 and released her fourth album, ''Dorobō''. The same year she made her acting debut as the leading role in the film ''Mizu no Onna'', as well as contributing to the soundtrack. The film went on to win the Golden Alexander prize for Best Feature-Length Film at the

International Thessaloniki Film Festival The Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF), organized by the cultural institution of the same name under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture, is held every November in Thessaloniki.TIFF features international competition secti ...

and was screened at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. In 2003, Ua released ''Illuminate: The Very Best Songs'', her first compilation album. In April that year, she expanded her activities by becoming the hostess named ううあ (the pronunciation remains the same since it is meant to be a phonetic representation of her usual stagename) of an educational TV program on

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

called ''Do Re Mi no TV'', designed to pass along Japanese traditional songs to children. ''Utauua'', a compilation of the songs performed, was released in 2004. The same year she released her fifth album, ''Sun'', which was mastered by

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography T ...

. In 2005, she released her sixth album, ''Breathe'', and a compilation album of collaborations titled ''Nephews'' to mark her 10th anniversary. In 2006, Ua collaborated with renowned jazz musician Naruyoshi Kikuchi on the album ''Cure Jazz''. In 2007, in addition to releasing her seventh album ''Golden Green'', Ua made a second foray into acting by appearing in

Hitoshi Matsumoto , commonly known as , is a Japanese film director and one of Japan's most popular comedians and TV hosts. He is one half of the comedy duo Downtown alongside Masatoshi Hamada. Like Hamada, Matsumoto was born and raised in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefect ...

's directorial debut '' Dai Nipponjin''. In 2008, Ua revealed that she married again and gave birth to a daughter, in August. In December, she released the single "2008", followed by her eighth album, ''Atta'', in July 2009. In April 2010, Ua released her fourth live album, entitled ''Haluto Live''. In September 2010, her combined house and studio in Sagamihara accidentally burned down; no one was injured.

Discography

*'' 11'' (1996) *''Ametora'' (1998) *''Turbo'' (1999) *''Dorobō'' (2002) *''Sun'' (2004) *''Breathe'' (2005) *''Golden Green'' (2007) *''Atta'' (2009) *''JaPo'' (2016)

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:UA 1972 births Living people People from Suita Musicians from Osaka Prefecture Japanese women pop singers Japanese women singer-songwriters 20th-century Japanese women singers 20th-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers