UA, a Swahili word that has meanings, "flower" is the name the artist calls herself.
She was born in Osaka, Japan.
In 1995, UA released her debut single "HORIZON" from Victor Speedstar Records, which immediately caught the public attention because of her unique fashion and distinctive vocal quality. Her single "Jonetsu," released in June 1996, was a major success, which made her renown nationwide. In October, she released her first album "11." It was highly acclaimed and sold over 900,000 copies. UA married and had her first child this year. After release of "Ametora" (1998) and "turbo" (1999), UA took a short break from her solo career and formed a band named AJICO with Kenichi Asai, a former member of Blankey Jet City and one of Japan's most influential rock musicians. AJICO released an album titled "Fukamidori." The sales were strong, and what's more, it made UA's audience aware of a new aspect of her musical talent and potential.
UA released her first original composition "Senko" and her 4th album "Dorobo" in 2002. She also started her career as an actress in the same year. UA starred in "Mizu no Onna" (Woman of Water), a film which was awarded the grand prize at the International Thessaloniki Film Festival. She also wrote music for "Shara Soju," a film screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003.
UA's stage performance is quite impressive. It is more like a large-scale work of art than an ordinary musical concert. "Sora no Koya" Tour, took place in 2002, exemplifies how elaborately designed her stage is. With a keyboardist, a drummer, a bassist, a guitarist, and a steel pan player behind her, she created a delicate but powerful show that fascinated her audience. She was actively involved in the process of production to assure that her stage would be artistically executed to her standard.
In 2003, UA became a regular performer under the name of UUA (oo-oo-ah) on a children's television show, "Do Re Mi no Terebi," broadcasted on NHK. The program was designed so that traditional Japanese nursery songs would be passed on to the young viewers. In fact, many kindergartens use this program for educational and recreational purposes. In September, she released her first best album "Illuminate ~the very best songs~" and the video clip collection "Illuminate ~the very best clips~," both of which are selling continually to this day.
UA released her 5th album "SUN" in March 2004, followed by a domestic tour "UA TOUR 2004." A live album "la" was produced based on the sound source recorded during this highly acclaimed tour. Ted Jensen, a Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer for Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me," who had been working with UA since "Dorobo," took part in the project. She also released "UTAUUA," an album compiled 20 traditional Japanese nursing songs from the children's television show that she hosted, "Do Re Mi no Terebi."
In 2005, UA celebrated her 10th anniversary. She released her 6th album "Breathe" in March. "Nephews" released in October was the compilation of her collaborated works with other artists. It featured "Kono Sakamichi no Tochu de," the theme song UA provided for "Kuchu Teien," a film directed by Toshiaki Toyota and originally written by Mitsuyo Kakuta.
In 2006, UA released a jazz album titled "cure jazz" with a jazz saxophone player, Naruyoshi Kikuchi. Tied up as "UA x Naruyoshi Kikuch," they performed at Fuji Rock Festival and Rising Sun Rock Festival. They also toured together and performed in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.
UA released "Ogon no Midori/Love scene," three years after her previous single release. She wrote a new song "Moor" for a film "Akai Bunka Jutaku no Hatsuko," directed by Yuki Tanada. Her 7th album "Golden Green" was released in June, and she executed an all-around-Japan tour. She also appeared in the phenomenal film, "Dai-Nipponjin," directed by one of nation's most popular comedians, Hitoshi Matsumoto.
In 2008, UA gave birth to her second child. She collaborated with Kuricorder Quartet and released "PoPo Louise" from Geneon Universal Entertainment. It was broadcasted on NHK's music program for children, "Minna no Uta," as a song of the month for October and November.
In July 2009,UA released an album "ATTA". She performed at Fuji Rock Fe.stival '09 and had a Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka tour in September.
April 2010, for the first time in her career, she released a public recording live album " HARUTO LIVE", and also in June, as a celebration for her 15th anniversary from the debut, she released a cover album "KABA".
In 2011, UA gave birth to her third child.
In 2013, UA collaborated with Hong Kong artist GayBird, and played together for three days in Hong Kong.
Since 2005, she is out from the city, living agricultural life in the rural area and taking actions for environment problems and Peace Activities.