Born in Osaka, Aikawa Nanase dropped out of school at age 15 to begin a music career after a difficult childhood. Discovered by music producer Oda Tetsurou, she was trained by him for roughly five years before finally releasing her first single, Yume Miru Shoujo ja Irarenai. After a few more singles, she released her first full album, Red, which sold two million copies in its first month. Her next album was released in the summer of 1997 which coincided with her first tour, Live Emotion '97. The next year brought another album and another tour, this tour with double the number of cities as the first.
With the release of Cosmic Love, Aikawa Nanase underwent a major transformation in looks, cutting her hair and dying it blonde. Shortly afterwards, however, it was her music that underwent a change as she switched producers to legendary guitarist and musician Tomoyasu Hotei (formerly of BOØWY). Her music took on a softer, slightly more pop feel and in 2001 Nanase announced that she had gotten married in February and was pregnant.
In 2003, she released ID:2, her second best-of album that included collaborations with artists such as POLYSICS and DANCE☆MAN. In 2004, she released her seventh album, 7 seven and embarked on a tour in May to promote the new release which had a total of 14 stops nationwide. In July, she went on THE GIG'04 which included seven dates.
Participating in FLY Higher COUNT DOWN 2004-2005, Nanase rang in 2005 participating in NTV's show "87%" in January. In February, her eighth album The First Quarter hit store shelves and she was back on the road by July. In October, Nanase's single R.U.O.K?! became available for purchase on iTunes, preparing fans for the November album release which shared the same title.
In February 2006, after holding a three stop tour and the release of her 27th single, EVERYBODY GOES,Nanase took a small break. Chosen as the main image for fashion brand Val Valenza, she spent several months in the spring assisting with the promotion for new store openings. In May, she announced she was expecting her second child. In June, Nanase appeared at Singapore Arts Festival 2006 and held a special event, SHAM ROCK, on July 7 at Shibuya AX. She wrapped up the year performing at MOON DANCE 2006 on December 21st.
Over the next two years, Nanase's activity was limited. In February of 2007 she appeared at ROCK FUJIYAMA BAND and Pop Meet Jazz and held only one solo concert in July. The following year, she held a three stop tour in March and released Circle of Life in August.
Nanase made her musical comeback in February of 2009 when her album REBORN dropped. She soon after launched her official fanclub, "RISKY CAT" Presents "REBORN Project." Shortly after the album's debut she embarked on a nationwide tour, REBORN -STYLE-. She also performed the theme song for the TV Tokyo television show "K-tai Sosakan 7" which aired through March.
In September, she performed at the lesbian-only event GOLD FINGER in Shinjuku. While the venue only had a capacity of 300 people, over 700 showed up for the event. It was no surprise when Nanase released her best-of album ROCK or DIE in February, followed by the announcement of her new project, Rockstar Steady. Aimed at women, the project has caught the attention of much of Japan's lesbian community. The idea for Rockstar Steady came from the American TV show "The L Word" which Nanase said she loves watching. Nanase believes most girls have experienced the feeling to love other girls and wants this solo project to express that feeling.
Nanase's debut single with her new project, Fine Fine Day, hit the stores on December 8th. Her first album under the new name was released on February 16, 2011. During the rest of the year Nanase focused on performing throughout the country, including charity events for the Tohoku Earthquake victims. The pace of the live performances remained on the first half of the following year, and in September Nanase gave birth to her third child.
