Masaki Ueda (Japanese: 上田正樹; born 7 July 1949) is a Japanese R&B and soul singer and composer.

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Born in Kyoto, the son of a doctor, Ueda spent part of his childhood with his grandparents in Himeji, Hyōgo, as both his parents became infected with tuberculosis.^[1] When his father died and his mother recovered and remarried he moved to Takayama City, Gifu.^[1] He became interested in music in 1966, after having attended a concert of The Animals in Nagoya, and subsequently formed his first student band, with whom he performed a folk repertoire.^[1]

While still a student at the Gifu University, in 1972 Ueda made his record debut with the single "Kin'iro no taiyō ga moeru asa ni" ("In the morning when the golden sun burns").^[1] In 1974 he formed a band, Masaki Ueda & South To South, with whom he recorded an album;^[1][2] the group disbanded in 1976 and Ueda reprised his solo career.^[1] Ueda's major hit was the 1983 song "Kanashii iro ya ne" (悲しい色やね, "Sad Colors"), whose lyrics in 1988 inspired a film with the same title directed by Yoshimitsu Morita, in which Ueda also appeared.^[2][3] His 1999 single "Hands of Time" became a hit in South Korea, selling over 200,000 copies.^[2] In 2001, Ueda's duet with Indonesian singer REZA "Forever Peace" topped the Indonesian singles chart.^[2] His song "Somewhere Sometime" was chosen as the theme song of the 2007 NHK drama series Shin Machiben [ja].^[2] In 2022, he held a national tour as to celebrate his 50 years of career.^[4]