User:YumeChaser/Ai

Ai Carina Uemura (born November 2, 1982), who performs under the mononym Ai is a American R&B singer who is active in Japan. After singing at a local radio station in Kagoshima, BMG signed Ai to their label and she released her debut album My Name is A.i. (2001). Due to the albums failure Ai was dropped from the label. In 2003, she was sign to Def Jam Japan, becoming the labels first female artist.

Early life and musical endeavors
Ai was born to a Japanese father and a Japanese Italian American mother in Los Angeles, California. At the age of three Ai's family relocate to Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japan. During this time Ai faced isolation due to her not being able to speak Japanese; which led to her only communicate with was her mother, who also didn't speak Japanese. Somewhere between the years, Ai grew dissatisfied with school and only took interest in dancing and ballet along with singing. After graduation junior high school at fifteen, Ai's family moved back to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, she attend Glendale High School, despite the fact that she didn't want to to go to high school due to her wanting to focus on singing. Ai's mother later transferred her out of Glendale and into Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where she auditioned for singing, however, since the singing classes were full she was accepted for ballet.

At LACHSA, Ai joined an four member Asian girl group, called SX4, under the tutelage of George Brown of Kool and the Gang. Two years after joining the group, they were offered a contract, however, Ai was not ready to sign. During a summer break at Kagoshima, Ai performed at a local radio station, where she was soon contacted by BMG Japan and offered a contract. Ai left SX4, at the request of BMG Japan.

2000-2001: Debut
Under BMG, Ai released her debuted single, "Cry Just Cry".

Ai is a Japanese singer. She was born in the U.S. city of Los Angeles to a Japanese father and half-Japanese, half-Italian mother. Because of her Father's work AI traveled between Los Angeles and Japan. AI has appeared as a dancer in Janet Jackson's music video "Go Deep". AI debuted with label BMG to release three singles and one album. In 2003 AI moved on to sign with hip hop label Def Jam Japan, their first female artist. On 7 July 2007, AI performed at the Japanese leg of Live Earth in Tokyo.

Discography

 * Albums
 * [2001] My Name is AI
 * [2003.07.23] ORIGINAL AI
 * [2004.03.03] Rhythm & Babe
 * [2004.06.16] 2004 AI
 * [2004.12.01] FEAT A.I.
 * [2005.07.06] MIC-A-HOLIC A.I.
 * [2006.09.27] What's goin' on A.I.
 * [2007.03.07] LIVE A.I.
 * [2007.12.05] DON'T STOP A.I.
 * [2009.03.04] VIVA A.I.


 * Singles
 * [2000.11.22] Cry Just Cry
 * [2001.05.23] U Can Do
 * [2001.09.05] Shining Star
 * [2003.01.28] 最終宣告
 * [2003.06.25] Thank U
 * [2003.10.15] My Friend / Merry Christmas Mr. Laurence
 * [2004.03.03] After The Rain
 * [2004.08.04] WATCH OUT! feat. AFRA+TUCKER
 * [2005.02.09] 365 feat. DELI
 * [2005.04.20] Crayon Beats
 * [2005.05.12] E.O.
 * [2005.05.18] Story
 * [2006.04.19] Believe
 * [2006.09.06] Beautiful feat. Trey Songz (Remix) / Too Much feat. Rain (Remix)~THE REMIXES
 * [2006.09.06] I Wanna Know
 * [2007.07.18] I'll Remember You / BRAND NEW DAY
 * [2007.11.07] ONE
 * [2008.06.04] 大切なもの
 * [2008.09.10] おくりびと / So Special -Version AI-
 * [2009.02.04] YOU ARE MY STAR


 * DVDs
 * [2005.02.23] MACHIGAINAI
 * [2006.01.18] MIC-A-HOLIC A.I. JAPAN TOUR '05
 * [2007.03.28] 日本武道館A.I.
 * [2008.11.26] DON'T STOP A.I. Japan Tour