Japanese American singer Utada Hikaru revealed their nonbinary identity during a recent livestream on Instagram.
The reveal: Over the weekend, the 38-year-old singer wished everyone a happy Pride Month and came out as nonbinary to their Instagram followers, according to Kotaku.
View this post on Instagram
- They also shared a post from a few weeks ago detailing how they are sick of being asked if they are âMiss or Missusâ and having to choose between âMiss/Mrs./Ms.â
- Utada discovered the title âMx.â (usually pronounced as âmixâ), which they hope “becomes more widely used.”
View this post on Instagram
- A Japanese news program reported on Utadaâs coming-out moment, suggesting that it could promote more discussions on LGBTQ issues in Japan.
Japanese morning news program covering Hikaru Utada coming out as non-binary and doing a deep dive into what it means, hopefully helping to push the conversation forward on LGBTQ issues in Japan. #HikaruUtada #ćźć€ç°ăă«ă« pic.twitter.com/CQ8iz3k6cm
â UBLOG (@UTADABLOG) June 28, 2021
Other details: Utada was born in New York City in 1983 to Japanese singer Keiko Fuji and Japanese music producer Teruzane Utada, according to Billboard.
- Utada started writing songs at the age of 10. They wrote, recorded and released their first song, “Precious,” at the age of 15.
- They eventually found success at 16 years old after releasing the 1998 Japanese-language album âFirst Love.â
- They also sang the memorable theme songs of the Square Enix and Disney collaborative game series âKingdom Hearts.â
- The Japan Times described Utada as the âmost influential artist of the decadeâ in 2009.
Featured Image via Getty