UMI (artist)

Tierra Umi Wilson (born February 9, 1999[1]) is an American singer and songwriter. She was born in Seattle, Washington. Wilson attended the University of Southern California, but dropped out in 2019 in order to pursue music. While she has only just entered adulthood, she has released many singles like "Remember Me" and EP "Interlude." On May 17, 2019, UMI released a mini EP “Balance” containing 2 songs, “Ordinary” and “Down to Earth.”

UMI
Birth nameTierra Umi Wilson
Born (1999-02-09) February 9, 1999
Seattle, Washington
Genres
Years active2017–present
LabelsRCA
Websitewww.whoisumi.com

Early life

UMI is a Seattle born R&B artist. Throughout high school, she was involved in DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) and her high school track team. She graduated from Tahoma High School in Maple Valley, WA. She then studied at University of Southern California before dropping out in 2019 to pursue music. Raised in Seattle, Washington by pianist mother, and drummer father. UMI started writing music when she was 4 or 5, with a songwriting journal.[2] In high school, she discovered YouTube beats and started writing to tracks. She would record the songs with a USB mic and upload them to SoundCloud and YouTube.[3] She soon started to get copyrighted on SoundCloud from posting covers of other songs. This made her start writing and posting her own original. Her father is African American and her mother is Japanese. Her mother taught her how to read, write, and speak Japanese.

Career

2017–2018: Happy Again and debut EP

In 2017, UMI released five singles before her four-track debut EP, Interlude. This led to making it onto Spotify’s Fresh Finds Best of 2017 playlist. Her songs are extremely relatable to the typical college student. She opened for rapper ODIE in Los Angeles.

UMI's top hit to date is Remember Me. She has over 21 million views on YouTube and 53 million plays on Spotify. The song flawlessly highlights the universalism of love lost, revealing her to be an exceptionally self-aware and daringly empathetic writer. UMI debuted “Remember Me” with a music video, highlighting universalism by portraying couples of different race, class, and sexual orientation. She said, “the message in the video, for me, is that no matter who you love or how you love, we all hurt the same in the end.” [4]

2019–present: Balance, Love Language and Introspection EP

She released the Balance EP on May 17, 2019, housing the songs “Ordinary” and “Down To Earth.” The songs are two different and equal opposites. On one hand, the upbeat, sun-shimmering glory of “ Ordinary” is a galvanizing, dance-inducing effort, while on the other, “Down To Earth” is sure to allow for some thoughtful emotional reflection. This 2-track EP is a perfect capsule of the rising star’s innately entertaining artistry and versatile output. On October 30, 2019, she released her EP, 'Love Language'[5] On June 21, 2020, she released her EP, "Introspection". [6]

Artistry

UMI has cited her biggest musical influences as Frank Ocean, D'Angelo, Jhené Aiko and SZA. She grew up listening to R&B, soul, gospel and Japanese pop/rock. UMI has a lo-fi, alternative, laid back, R&B style.[3]

UMI does creative direction for her music videos with Ourros, a management and visual production company.

Discography

Extended plays
List of extended plays, with selected chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions Sales
US
Heat
Interlude[7] —
Balance[8]
  • Released: May 17, 2019
  • Format: Digital download
  • Label: UMI
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Singles
Title Year Album
"Happy Again" 2017 N/A
"FRIENDZONE"[9] 2017 N/A
"Remember Me" 2017
"Lullaby" 2018 N/A
"High School" 2019 N/A


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References
  1. "About". Facebook. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  2. "Interview with Singer and Songwriter UMI". Bright Lite Magazine. 2019-02-22. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  3. Soey Kim. "Here Come The Youth – The Young Breakthrough Musicians Making Noise In The Music Industry". Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  4. "Meet UMI, the Lo-fi R&B Songstress Capturing the Human Experience / Ones to Watch". LIVE NATION WORLDWIDE, INC. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  5. del Rosario, Michael. "Love Language EP- [UMI]". Lyrical Lemonade. Lyrical Lemonade. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  6. Folk, Antwane. "Stream UMI's New EP 'Introspection'". ratedrnb.com. Rated RNB. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  7. "Interlude – EP by UMI". iTunes. 2018-01-25. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  8. "Balance – Single by UMI". iTunes. 2019-05-17. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  9. "UMI: A Genre-Bending R&B Princess". SeaFoaming. 2018-07-26. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
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