Ultra Naté

Ultra Naté Wyche, known professionally as Ultra Naté, broke through internationally with “Free,” the 1997 dance anthem that became one of her signature recordings. The song reached the Top 5 in Italy, Scotland and the United Kingdom, topped Billboard’s US Dance Club Songs chart, and helped bring her from club success to a broader pop audience.

Born on March 20, 1968, and from Havre de Grace, Maryland, Ultra Naté is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ and promoter. Her work sits in house and dance music, with a strong, often husky vocal delivery at its center. She released her debut album, Blue Notes in the Basement, in 1991, beginning a run of releases that found a sustained home in dance clubs through the decade.

Her 1997 album Situation:Critical followed “Free” and reached the UK Top 20. It also produced “Found a Cure,” another major club record. In 2001 she released Stranger Than Fiction, a concept album about love, which yielded the US dance-chart number ones “Get It Up (the Feeling)” and “Desire.” Her 2007 album Grime, Silk, & Thunder included “Automatic,” a cover of the Pointer Sisters song that became another dance-floor hit.

Ultra Naté’s chart record has extended well beyond those releases. Virtually all of her singles have reached the Top 10 of Billboard’s US Hot Dance Club Play chart, including “Show Me,” “Free,” “Desire,” “Get It Up (the Feeling)” and “Love’s the Only Drug.” Her number-one dance singles include “Automatic,” “Give It All You Got” featuring Chris Willis, “Waiting On You,” and “Everybody Loves the Night.” She also appeared as part of Stars on 54 on “If You Could Read My Mind,” and has had pop-chart success with “Movin’ to the Sun.”

In December 2016, Billboard ranked Ultra Naté as the 12th-most successful dance artist of all time to that point. Her recorded work has been released through labels including Strictly Rhythm, Ultra Records, Peace Bisquit, BluFire and Insomniac Records.

Nearly three decades after "Free", she's back near the top of the UK chart. "Movin' To The Sun", her 2026 collaboration with French DJ HUGEL and Imael Angel, reached No. 2 on the Official Singles Chart in August, a new personal best that beat the No. 4 peak of "Free" in 1997.