Ai (singer)
| Ai | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 植村 愛 カリーナ |
| Born |
Ai Carina Uemura November 2, 1981 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Home town | Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan |
| Website | aimusic |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts |
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Ai Carina Uemura (植村 愛 カリーナ Uemura Ai Karīna?, born November 2, 1981), known mononymously as Ai (Japanese pronunciation: [ai], stylized as AI or A.I. /eɪaɪ/) is a Japanese-American singer and songwriter who was born in Los Angeles. Ai spent her childhood in both Kagoshima, Japan and Los Angeles. She debuted as a singer in 2000, later moving to Def Jam Japan and rising to fame with her album 2004 Ai. Her single "Story" (2005) became one of the biggest singles of the 2000s in Japan, and was the sixth single in history to receive a triple million digital certification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
Ai was born in Los Angeles in 1981. Her father was Japanese, and her mother was American of Japanese and Italian descent. She moved to Kagoshima in Japan when she was 4, and went to elementary school and junior high school in Japan.
Ai was motivated to become a singer in her early teens, after singing at a cousin's wedding, having many people ask her if she wanted to be a professional singer, and hearing a gospel performance at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles in 1993. After graduating from junior high school in Japan, Ai returned to Los Angeles for high school, enrolling at Glendale High School, however found high school difficult due to never formally studying English. After making it through the audition process, she switched to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, majoring in ballet. She became a member of the school's gospel choir. In 1998, she performed in a gospel choir at a Mary J. Blige concert at the Universal Amphitheatre, performing of "A Dream." In the same year, she appeared as a dancer in the music video for Janet Jackson's song "Go Deep."
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