Angela Aki  

Kiyomi Angela Aki

Angela Aki, a singer-songwriter of Japanese descent born to an Italian-American mother, began playing the piano at age three. Growing up in Tokushima and Okayama, Japan, she later moved to Hawaii at age fifteen before studying Political Science at George Washington University in Washington D.C. Her music career took off while still in university, with her major label debut coming in 2005 with the release of "HOME." This album has since become a classic, selling over 600,000 units cumulatively. Aki collaborated with Nobuo Uematsu, renowned for his work on the Final Fantasy game series, to co-write the single "Kiss Me Good-Bye" for the international megahit game Final Fantasy XII on PlayStation 2. In December of that same year, she fulfilled her dream of performing at The Budokan in Tokyo by playing a solo concert with just a piano, becoming the first singer to do so since its performance of The Beatles. Currently residing in the United States with her family and studying for a university degree in music, Aki is also working on a Broadway musical project.