She has admitted that growing up in rural Japan proved very difficult, as she was bullied and she turned to the piano as an escape from the isolation she felt.

[1] Angela's first marriage was to an engineer, producer and artist Tony Alany, who co-produced her first album These Words in Vienna, Virginia, USA.

After producing commercial music for several Japanese companies, including one for milk product Yakult which was sung by US Jazz vocalist Jimmy Scott, she decided to move back to Japan.

On September 27, 2003, Aki saw Shiina Ringo's concert in Nippon Budokan Hall, and promised herself she would perform at the same place within three years, even though she was unheard of, had not yet been offered a contract with any record label, nor had she made an album or major debut.

She performed live in many small venues and bars in Tokyo while working as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant,[1] wrote 100 or more songs, and also made several demo CDs.

In 2005, she released an independent mini-album under Virgo Music entitled "One," which was the #1 selling indie album of 2005[citation needed].

This alerted Nobuo Uematsu to her music, and he asked her to write lyrics and perform the theme song for Final Fantasy XII, "Kiss Me Good-Bye".

[1] On December 26, 2006, she held a concert in Nippon Budokan, making history there as the first artist to ever perform in the famous venue solo (with just her piano) -- no backup singers, band or opening act.

She also performed a cover version of Faye Wong's "Eyes On Me", the theme song of Final Fantasy VIII, with her piano accompaniment.

[1] Angela Aki was chosen to sing Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" with her original Japanese lyrics for the movie Heaven's Door, and was chosen to write and perform the theme song titled “Ai no Kisetsu” for the NHK morning drama Tsubasa broadcast from March 30, 2009.

In November 2023, Aki announced via her Instagram and X accounts that she would be resuming her activities in Japan with the release of "Here and There in This World" (この世界のあちこちに) in February 2024.