Yui (singer)

Yui
Yui at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards Japan in Tokyo
Background information
Born	(1987-03-26) March 26, 1987 (age 29) Koga, Fukuoka, Japan
Genres	Pop, rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, drums
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Studioseven, Gr8!, Leaflet
Website	yui-net.com
Notable instruments
Martin D-28 Fender GA-45SCE D1-LD0 Fender GDC200 SCE Squier Bronco Bass Fender Telecaster

Yui (born March 26, 1987), stylized as YUI, is a Japanese singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress. Born and raised in Fukuoka prefecture, she played live at various locations in her hometown before being noticed by Sony Music Japan when she was 17 years old, and released her debut single months later. However her singles were only met with moderate success until her breakout "Good-bye Days", which charted for 44 weeks on Oricon and marked her as one of the Japanese music industry's rising stars.

Since her debut album, From Me to You, each of her albums has topped the charts, and has had at least one single reach number one yearly since 2007, including five straight from mid-2008 to late 2010.

She is popular in Japan and in surrounding countries, ranking number one in 2011 Count Down TV "Dearest Female Artist" and Music Station "Artist You Most Want to Marry" polls, as well as Radio Television Hong Kong's "Most Popular Japanese Artist".

After retiring from music as a soloist in 2012, she formed the band Flower Flower in 2013.

Yui was born in Fukuoka, Japan. The Associated Press has reported that her full name is Yui Yoshioka.

She grew up in a single-parent family as her father left her mother when she was three. She stated that she had always been close to music, as she would remember the beats from music she heard on the radio, and be able to sing it. By the time she was in elementary school she thought she would like to become a singer. Self-described as shy and horrible at talking to others as a child, she would play outside by herself in mountains, rivers, by the sea and in rice paddies.

During her third year in primary school, she was influenced by her mother to begin writing a journal of her feelings and tried to compose them into poems. By the time Yui attended high school, she began to write songs, thinking of that as being able to express herself little by little. While in high school, she worked part-time at a Chinese restaurant to help pay for tuition. Yet, between music, school and work, she only had one or two hours of sleep, and believed she no longer had the time to realize her dreams of a music career. She subsequently became ill; however, it was at the hospital that she was overwhelmed with the desire to make music and finally decided that school and music could not coexist.