Ua

Biography

Kaori Hasegawa (長谷川 歌織, Hasegawa Kaori) (born March 11, 1972), simply known by the stage name Ua (Japanese pronunciation: [ɯːa]), is a Japanese singer. She made her debut under Speedstar Records in 1995 with the single "Horizon×Horizon21 June 1995 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Horizon4:572A Naked Confession4:533Horizon (T-V mix)4:574A Naked Confession (T-V mix)4:48". She is also the vocalist for AJICO.

Biography

Ua was born Kaori Shima and grew up in Suita, Osaka. After graduating from Saga University of Arts in Kyoto, she worked as a lounge singer in Osaka. There in 1994, she was scouted by a music agency there. She took on the unusual stage name of Ua (a Swahili word that means both "flower" and "kill") and made her debut with the Hiroshi Fujiwara-produced "Horizon×Horizon21 June 1995 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Horizon4:572A Naked Confession4:533Horizon (T-V mix)4:574A Naked Confession (T-V mix)4:48". 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 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×AMETORA22 April 1998 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1悲しみジョニー5:392青空4:223あめふりヒヤデス（alternate mix）4:564忘れない5:065夜の風4:536歪んだ太陽4:377恋人5:588TORO4:219貴方の一番好きな歌5:5410空耳ばかり4:1411アントニオの唄4:5412親子バシャバシャ4:1613ミルクティー5:10142人5:52 and Turbo×turbo27 October 1999 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1プライベートサーファー (puff fishy mix)5:542ロマンス4:383ランドリーより愛を込めて4:354男と女5:235サマーメランコリック7:126ストロベリータイム4:147午後4:298乾く日に6:219リンゴ追分7:4410ため息5:0611数え足りない夜の足音 (pele dubwise version 2)5:4712ノハラソング1:3513スカートの砂6:18, Ua took a hiatus from her solo work and formed the band Ajico with Kenichi Asai. She resumed her solo activities in 2002 and released her fourth album, Dorobō. The same year she made her acting debut in the leading role in the film Woman of Water, 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 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 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. In 2005, she released her sixth album, Breathe×Breathe30 March 2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1The color of empty sky5:232Michi5:503Niji6:014Moss stares6:055Beacon4:386Tasogare5:147Like a soldier ant4:178Mori3:40, and a compilation album of collaborations titled Nephews×Nephews26 October 2005 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1A Felicidade5:112Last century modern2:523かすかなしるし5:154月光ワルツ4:585Miss you5:096光7:177Phantom ship2:358Joan of Arc in the Money Jungle4:379頼りない天使4:3310トンネルぬけて5:3711ソウゲンノハオト5:2212この坂道の途中で5:44 to mark her 10th anniversary. In 2006, Ua collaborated with renowned jazz musician Naruyoshi Kikuchi on the album Cure Jazz×cure jazz19 July 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Born to be blue6:082Night in Tunisia6:393Over the rainbow10:194Music on the planet where dawn never breaks5:305Ordinary fool6:176嘆息的泡5:357This city is too jazzy to be in love3:338Luiza5:479Honeys and scorpions7:4210Hymn of Lambarene5:2611I’ll be seeing you4:5412Nature d’eau6:09. In 2007, in addition to releasing her seventh album Golden Green×Golden green20 June 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1黄金の緑4:472Melody La La La4:343Paradise alley / Ginga cafe6:334トュリ7:425ノレンノレン / 灰色した猿の夢4:286Love scene6:397San Andreas Fault3:588Elm5:079Panacea6:4210Moor6:58, Ua made a second foray into acting by appearing in Hitoshi Matsumoto'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. And also in June, as a celebration for her 15th anniversary from the debut, she released a cover album “KABA”.
In 2016, over 6 years since her last album, Ua released a new original album, “JaPo”.
In 2021, AJICO restarts after 20 years and makes a big splash. Their tour sold out instantly. They also performed at the Fuji Rock Festival. “UA x Naruyoshi Kikuch” they performed at blue note. Then, in 2022, Ua released her new original album “Are U Romantic？”, In August, she played Aretha Franklin in her first Broadway musical, Janis.
In 2023, she released “Ainiikou”, which was used in a JR Tokai commercial jingle. She also wrote the lyrics for the "Kamiyama marugoto kosen" school song with Ryuichi Sakamoto.
In 2024, AJICO released a new original album, “Love no Genkei”, followed by the “AJICO no Genkei” domestic tour.
In June 2025, UA celebrated her 30th anniversary with concerts in Osaka and Tokyo.