With her sights set on achieving her long-held ambition of winning a Grammy award, Los Angeles-born and Tokyo-based vocalist AI is adamant that dreams only come true with hard graft.
"The reason I want to get a Grammy is because everyone knows them," AI tells The Japan Times. "And when you get something that everyone knows, your words get powerful. Then I can say, 'Stop the War!' "
AI, 26 (born Ai Carina Uemura), hates being told that some things are impossible. Having been brought up in both L.A. and Kagoshima, Kyushu Prefecture, she had an unconventional youth that shows through in her singing. Known for her aggressive delivery and strong persona, AI closely resembles Missy Elliott in her eclecticism and bubbly persona — but has the added ability to sing loud and proud on ballads when needed, shown best on her biggest hit, "Story" (2005). The track sold 3 1/2 million downloads and stayed on the Oricon chart for a year. From February to May this year she performed 32 shows to more than 100,000 fans on a Japan tour that even stretched to a rare show in El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles.