| Mao | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Date: | October 23 |
| Origin: | Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan |
| Occupation: | Singer |
| Years Active: | 1995–present |
| Associated Acts: | Sid |
is a Japanese singer, known for being the lead singer of visual kei rock band SID and writer of all the lyrics.[1]
SID became popular in Japan in mid-2010 with the album Hikari, which includes the anime songs "Monochrome no Kiss" and "Uso" with lyrics written by Mao.[2] He began a solo career in 2016 using the name Mao from SID, debuting at the top 10 of Oricon charts.
On July 3, 2021, he was appointed ambassador of his hometown, Kurume.[3]
Mao joined his first band in high school and moved to Tokyo with the group. After creating a band called Dildo around 1995, he formed Shula in 1999. The band had three members (vocalist, guitarist and bassist) and had a pop-oriented musical style and visual kei costumes. Due to the band's lack of popularity, the members began to fall out and the group disbanded in 2003.[4] [1] In May of the same year, Mao invited Aki, who also felt that his previous band was not doing well, to form the band Sid, which initially played covers of Kuroyume.[5] Guitarist Shinji and drummer Yuuya (who was also from Shula) were supporting members until they were officially added to the group in 2004.[2] In an interview with Zy magazine in 2008, Mao talked about the band's beginnings: he reported that Sid's popularity was growing quickly compared to his previous band, and to increase the number of fans, they did a lot of live performances because they didn't have enough money for media advertisements.
On March 3, 2010, Mao released his first book, The Aesthetics of Single-Stroke Drawing (一筆書きの美学, Ippitsugaki no bigaku), which was serialized in Pati Pati magazine, showcasing his trip to South Korea.[6] A sequel was released on December 7, 2012, The Aesthetics of Single-Stroke Drawing 2, this time showing a trip to Taiwan.[7]
In June 2016, the singer began a solo career under the name Mao from SID. His first release was the single "Tsuki/Hoshi" available in three editions.[8] On September 28, he released the debut album Maison de M with 6 tracks and hosted a digital Q&A and autograph event, which fans could join by lottery.[9] For the release of both works, he also hosted an in-person event to meet fans in several stores across the country. According to the Barks website, the single event attracted around 40,000 fans.[10] The album features a "lush Latin jazz sound" according to Alexey Eremenko of Allmusic.[2]
In 2017, Mao wrote the lyrics for LiSA's song "Ash", theme song of Fate/Apocrypha anime.[11] He also held a solo show at Tsutaya-O West called Whiteday, which was repeated exactly one year later, featuring support members Nishi-ken (keyboards), Daisuke Kadowaki (violin) and Yasuo Kijima (guitar).[12] In 2019, he embarked on an acoustic tour with 6 dates from July 17th to 30th with two shows per day: the first with female covers and the second with male covers.[13]
The singer's first solo performance in livestream format was made on August 29, 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] He participated on Ryuichi Kawamura's album Beautiful Lie, released in January 2021, providing the lyrics for the first track "Kiseki no Chizu".[15] Following the pandemic's aftermath, Mao wrote a self-help book published through Gentosha on May 12, called .[16]
The singer canceled his Christmas solo performance in November 2021, and in January 2022 he officially suspended his activities for treatment as he was not in good health.[17] Mao resumed his career in January 2023 when Sid performed an exclusive show for fan club members.[18]
In April 2024, Mao restarted his solo career, this time using just Mao as name. He announced a new album, Habit, and released a music video teaser for the track "ROUTE209". Starting in June, he will go on a solo tour with his support band consisting in Nishi-ken (keyboards), Leda (guitar), Shoyo (bass) and DUTTCH (drums).[19]
Mao was born in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture on October 23, but did not reveal his year of birth neither his real name. He moved to Tokyo a year after completing high school and took a part-time job at a Coco Ichibanya restaurant. He learned to sing and perform his vocal techniques on his own, but began taking formal singing lessons in 2010.[1]
The singer's biggest influence is the band Kuroyume and its vocalist Kiyoharu, with his vocal style inspired by him.[1] In the April 2011 issue of Fool's Mate magazine, he said he became a fan after a friend introduced him to the single "Ice My Life".[20]
Mao revealed in 2015 that two years earlier he was diagnosed with Ménière's disease, and after contracting gastroenteritis, he underwent surgery to remove polyps from his vocal cords.[21]
See main article: page and Sid discography.