Ai Carina Uemura, known mononymously as Ai, is a Japanese-American singer, songwriter and rapper. Born in Los Angeles, Ai moved to Kagoshima at age four. Motivated to become a singer, she returned to Los Angeles during her adolescence, attending the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. While in Los Angeles, she performed as part of a gospel choir at a Mary J. Blige concert and appeared as a backup dancer in Janet Jackson's music video, "Go Deep". She briefly joined the Asian girl group SX4 in 1999 until she graduated high school.
After being discovered by BMG in 2000, Ai relocated to Japan and released her debut album, My Name is Ai, to very little commercial success. Signing to Def Jam Japan in 2002, Ai became the first woman signed to the label. She released two studio albums under the label, Original Ai and 2004 Ai. With the release of her third studio album, Ai rose to mainstream prominence in Japan. Transferring to Island Records, Ai released her fourth studio album, Mic-a-Holic Ai.
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