| Zaq | |
| Birth Date: | March 16, 1988 |
| Birth Place: | Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan[1] |
| Instrument: | Vocals, keyboards, piano |
| Genre: | Anime song |
| Occupation: | Singer, lyricist, composer, arranger |
| Years Active: | 2012–present |
| Label: | Lantis |
Zaq (stylized in all caps, born March 16, 1988[2]) is a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer and arranger signed to Lantis.
Zaq began to learn the piano at age three.[3] During her college years, her idol was Minori Chihara, and it was during this time she decided to become a singer.[3] However, she failed all her auditions. In junior high school, Zaq's favorite bands were Mongol800 and Going Steady, two rock groups which she was addicted to.[3] She is self-taught in composing and her works were characterized by a unique style which is unrestricted by music theory and musicology.[3]
She started writing songs for other artists in 2012, and made her solo debut with Lantis with the single "Sparkling Daydream" released on October 24, 2012; the title song is used as the opening theme to the 2012 anime series Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions.[4] [5] Her second single "Alteration" was released on January 23, 2013, and the title song is used as the opening theme to the 2013 anime series Sasami-san@Ganbaranai.[6] She released two more singles in 2013, which are and . They were released on October 21 and 23, 2014, respectively, and were used as the second opening theme for High School DxD New and the opening theme for I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job.
On January 29, 2014, Zaq released her fifth single, "Voice", which is used as the opening theme for the second season of Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions. On April 16, 2014, she released her first album, Noisy Lab..[7] She then again released another single, "Overdriver" on August 20, 2014, and is used for the anime Rail Wars! as the ending theme.
On June 12, 2016, Zaq had her first concert in the United States. This concert was at the Atlantic City Convention Center in New Jersey as part of the AnimeNEXT 2016 convention.[8]
On July 13, 2016, Zaq released her second album No Rule My Rule. It was released in two editions: a standard edition, and a limited edition which includes a music video, a making-of video, and recordings of live performances.[9] Her third album Z-One was released on May 16, 2018.
| Year | Album details | Peak Oricon chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Noisy Lab.
| 8[10] |
| 2016 | No Rule My Rule
| 32[11] |
| 2018 | Z-One
| 43[12] |
| Year | Song | Peak Oricon chart positions< | --!rowspan="1" width="125" | Certifications--> | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "Sparkling Daydream" | 8[13] | NOISY Lab. | ||
| 2013 | "Alteration" | 25[14] | |||
| 61[15] | |||||
| 36[16] | |||||
| 2014 | "Voice" | 21[17] | |||
| "Overdriver" | 45[18] | No Rule My Rule | |||
| "Seven Doors" | 35[19] | ||||
| 2015 | "Philosophy of Dear World" | 46[20] | |||
| 47[21] | |||||
| 2016 | "Hopeness" | 39[22] | |||
| 59[23] | |||||
| "Serendipity" | 59[24] | Z-ONE | |||
| 2017 | "Last Proof" | 51[25] | |||
| 53[26] | |||||
| "Braver" | 100[27] | ||||