(born March 11, 1972), simply known by the stage name Ua (), is a Japanese singer. She made her debut under Speedstar Records in 1995 with the single "Horizon". 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". Her fourth single "Jōnetsu" became a smash hit and Ua was recognized all over Japan. The couple divorced in 2006. 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. The same year she released her fifth album, Sun, which was mastered by Ted Jensen. In 2006, Ua collaborated with renowned jazz musician Naruyoshi Kikuchi on the album Cure Jazz. In 2007, in addition to releasing her seventh album Golden Green, 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.
Discography
- 11 (1996)
- Ametora (1998)
- Turbo (1999)
- Dorobō (2002)
- Sun (2004)
- Breathe (2005)
- Golden Green (2007)
- Atta (2009)
- JaPo (2016)
- Newme (2026)
Filmography
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 2002
| Mizu no Onna
| Ryo Shimizu
| Lead role
|-
| 2007
| Dai Nipponjin
| Manager Kobori
|
|-
| 2009
| Eatrip
| Herself
| Documentary
|-
|-
! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 2002
| Shiritsu Tantei Hama Mike
| Naomi
| Episode 2
|-
| 2003–2006
| Do Re Mi no TV
| Uua
|
|-
| 2025
| Queen of Mars
| Emma
| Miniseries
|-
|}