1981–1997: Early life and education Ai Carina Uemura was born in
Los Angeles,
California on November 2, 1981. She has one younger sister, Sachi Ueyama (née Uemura), and is of Italian and
Native Okinawan descent. When Ai was four, her family moved to Japan as her father found work at a construction business in
Kagoshima. After graduating from junior high school in Japan, Ai returned to Los Angeles for high school, initially enrolling at
Glendale High School, however found high school difficult due to never formally studying English. After a successful audition process, Ai enrolled at the
Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, majoring in ballet. Eventually, her debut studio album,
My Name Is Ai was released in November 2001. Although not commercially successful, the album peaked at number 86 on the Oricon albums chart. In 2002 Ai moved to
Def Jam Japan and became the first female artist signed to the label. Ai later performed "Story" at the prestigious
56th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen New Years music concert. Her fourth studio album,
Mic-a-holic Ai, was the best selling album of her career, being certified double platinum by the RIAJ. Ai's first single of 2006, the ballad "
Believe", was also a success: it debuted at number two, The song was used as the theme song of the
Kenji Sakaguchi starring medical drama,
Team Medical Dragon. Her fifth and sixth studio albums, ''
What's Goin' On Ai (2006) and Don't Stop Ai'' (2007) were also greatly commercially successful, being certified platinum and gold respectively. In 2007, Ai made her debut performance in the United States at the
El Rey Theatre with an audience around 800. In 2008, Ai returned to Los Angeles for her Ai Loves LA concert at the
Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center. The performance was a benefit concert for the
Go for Broke National Education Center, an organization that commemorates
Japanese Americans who served in the
United States Army during
World War II. In 2009, Ai released her seventh studio album
Viva Ai, which charted in the top ten of the Japanese Oricon albums chart. Her greatest hits album,
Best Ai was released the same year.
Best Ai later became Ai's first album to top the Oricon Albums chart. Alongside
Anna Tsuchiya and Micro, Ai also directed the drama film,
Blue Pacific Stories. Later that year, Ai performed "
Okuribito" and "Story" at the
3rd Asia Pacific Screen Awards which was held in
Gold Coast,
Australia. In 2010, Ai collaborated with many artists such as
Namie Amuro,
Miliyah Kato,
Chaka Khan and
Boyz II Men on her 10th anniversary album,
The Last Ai. Both Ai and Khan won the International Collaboration Artists of the Year at the 2010
Billboard Japan Music Awards for the song "One More Try" and a cover of Khan's "
Through the Fire".
2011–2017: Foray into international market, Independent, Moriagaro and The Best In June 2011, Ai's contract with Island Records and Universal Sigma expired. She signed a global publishing deal with
EMI and a record deal with
EMI Music Japan. She collaborated with
the Jacksons on December 13 and 14, 2011, at the
Michael Jackson Tribute Live tribute concerts held in Tokyo. She performed the vocals in the third act for
Michael Jackson's songs. She also performed and released the theme song for the event, "
Letter in the Sky" featuring the Jacksons. In November 2011, Ai released the song "
Happiness", a collaboration with
Coca-Cola for their winter 2011 campaign. The song was a hit, being certified gold in two different mediums. The song revitalized the sales of her ninth studio album,
Independent, which sold more than 60,000 copies. In the same year, Ai announced she was working on her US debut album. One song, a remix of
Diggy Simmons song "Put You On" featuring
Chris Brown and Diggy Simmons himself was released, however the album was never released. Shortly after, she released a deluxe version of the album, titled
Motto Moriagaro. Later that year, Ai performed "Story" in collaboration with
figure skater and two-time Olympic champion
Yuzuru Hanyu at the touring ice show
Fantasy on Ice amongst others. A previously unreleased English version of "Story" was featured in the Japanese dub of the
Disney film
Big Hero 6 in October 2014. In January 2015, Ai recorded the song "Off Love" for Spicy Chocolate and
Sly and Robbie's
Grammy-nominated album,
The Reggae Power. In November 2015, Ai released a compilation album,
The Best, to celebrate fifteen years in the music industry. The compilation album was reissued in mid-2016. In 2016, Ai signed with
Def Jam Recordings in partnership with EMI Records. She later released "
Minna ga Minna Eiyū", which became a sleeper hit, peaking at number 4 on the
Billboard Japan Hot 100. The original 100-second version of the song was certified platinum while the full version was certified gold. A third compilation release of tracks with featured artists titled
The Feat. Best was issued in November 2016. In promotion of these compilation releases, Ai embarked on The Best Tour.
2017–2023: Wa to Yo, twenty-year anniversary and Dream Ai teased her eleventh studio album,
Wa to Yo on social media in April 2017. Wanting to "convey the goodness of Japan" to the rest of the world and "the goodness of the overseas to Japanese people", Ai collaborated with several producers, artists and songwriters from both Japan and the West. The lead single "
Justice Will Prevail at Last" was released in May 2017.
Wa to Yo was released in June 2017 and was her second international album release outside of Asia. The album was reissued in October 2017, titled
Wa to Yo to. The album peaked at number 11 on the Oricon weekly chart. In early 2019, Ai traveled to her hometown, Los Angeles, California, to record new material to celebrate twenty years in the music industry and for the
2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Her fourth greatest hits album,
Kansha!!!!! – Thank You for 20 Years New and Best, was released in November 2019, serving as her first international compilation release. In April 2020, Ai was revealed to be one of the artists performing for
Global Citizen's
Together At Home concert. Performing various songs from her discography, Ai was the first and only artist in Japan to participate in the event. The lead single of ''It's All Me, Vol. 1
, "Summer Magic" was her second single to be released internationally. Its Japanese version was included in an advertisement for the Amazon Echo. A remix of "Not So Different" featuring Japanese rapper Awich was released on December 11, 2020, as a promotional single. It's All Me, Vol. 2'' later was released in February 2021. On June 28, 2021, Ai released "
The Moment" featuring Japanese rapper Yellow Bucks. On the same day, she performed the song with Yellow Bucks and DJ Ryow on CDTV, a Japanese TV channel by
TBS. In August 2021, she released a single featuring
Dachi Miura, titled "
In the Middle". In September 2021, Ai announced her next single, "
Aldebaran". The song serves as the theme song for the NHK television drama,
Come Come Everybody. Upon its release in November, it became her first charting single on the
Billboard Japan Hot 100 since her 2017 single, "
Kira Kira". The song debuted and peaked at number 37 on the chart. On the Oricon charts, "Aldebaran" peaked at number 4 on the Daily Digital Singles Chart and number 6 on the weekly Digital Singles Chart. Ai performed "Aldebaran" at the
72nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on December 31, 2021, her fourth appearance on the show. In December 2021, Ai announced her twelfth studio album on social media,
Dream. The nine-track album was released in February 2022. A
tour titled after the album began on May 14, 2022 until December. In April 2022, Ai was featured on the front cover of
Music Magazine. In May 2022, "Aldebaran" won the Best Drama Song award at the 111th Television Drama Academy Awards.
2023–present: Respect All, Respect All Tour, twenty-fifth anniversary In April 2023, Ai announced the Respect All Tour, her fourteenth headlining concert tour. The tour drew over 80,000 people with the easing of
COVID-19 prevention rules in Japan. Ai performed and gave a speech to the spouses of world leaders, including First Lady
Jill Biden and
Akshata Murty. Within that same month, a global tour additionally was announced by her management company where Ai will raise donations for
UNICEF Japan. Near the end of 2023, Ai released "
Whatever", which also was used by Nestlé Japan for a commercial campaign. In April 2024, Ai and virtual YouTuber
Mori Calliope released a duet song "Tide". Near the end of May, she released another duet song "A Procession of the Living" with
Ringo Sheena which was included on Sheena's seventh solo studio album,
Carnival. In September, Ai announced that she and German producer
Zedd recorded the song "
Nakama", which served as the ending theme song for
Dragon Ball Daima. In November, Ai posted on social media teasing new music for her 25th anniversary in the industry. In a press release, she revealed the branding for her upcoming project. In February 2025, Ai released her fifth greatest hits album,
25th the Best – Alive. Two of her singles, "Happiness" and "Story", were reissued as
7-inch singles simultaneously alongside her greatest hits album. In promotion of the album, Ai embarked on the Alive Tour, from May until December. In May 2025, Ai announced her first book. The book was originally scheduled for release on July 18, under
Gentosha, however was pushed back to November. In October, Ai revealed the title of her book
You Are Not Alone, released on November 21, 2025. In January 2026, Ai announced her first single of 2026, "
Lucky I Love You", released on February 27. In March 2026, Ai hinted she was working on her fourteenth studio album. In an interview with
Billboard Japan, Ai explained her goal to "experiment with more unconventional processes" on her next album. == Artistry ==