Hikaru Utada

She dominates the charts in Japan whenever she releases a single or album, but to call her a J-pop singer ignores Utada's American roots and her desire to break all the rules of the genre. Born January 19, 1983, in New York City to a traditional Japanese-style singer mother and a musician/producer father, Hikaru Utada grew up in the recording studio. Her father's production job bounced her between New York City and Tokyo, with the only constant being naps and homework in the studio. She was bilingual at an early age and soon came to understand both American and Japanese cultur...