The Japanese Ado will give her first concert in France, in Paris. Engaged in a world tour, the young Japanese star will be on Monday March 11 on the stage of a packed Zénith. The opportunity to discover a singer with an atypical background, mysterious to the point of hiding behind a manga-inspired avatar, in which black and purple dominate.
Born October 24, 2002 in Tokyo, Ado – who values her anonymity – has been interested in music since the discovery, on the sharing site Niconico, of the phenomenon of utaite. This Japanese word used to describe singers in general. Today it defines the people who represent songs created in the Vocaloid universe, named after Yamaha software which allows pre-recorded voices to be synthesized and associated with avatars. The best known are Hatsune Miku and Kagamine Rin & Len, created by Crypton Future Media, or Sweet Ann and Big Al, born in the Swedish Power FX studios. In their videos, the utaite perform covers without showing their faces and illustrating them with manga-style animations.
“I discovered the existence of singers utaite when I was in the fifth or sixth year of primary school. They completely changed the image I had of “people who sing”explained Ado, in 2022, on a daily basis Yomiuri Shimbun. With l’utaite, you don’t know what kind of people the singers are. Sometimes you don’t even know their gender or age. These people, who use pseudonyms, are cool and mysterious. They look like anime, which I think is awesome. »
Against corporate culture
Ado begins to compose in middle school and becomes herself utaite in 2017. She shared cover videos before expanding her repertoire by creating and performing original songs. The name Ado comes from Kyogen, a form of traditional Japanese theater. UN farewell y designates the second role, after the shitthe main role. “In college, we had a course in Kyogen. I thought Ado sounded good”assures the singer, who adds that the greatest influence on her work comes from the Disney universe.
October 23, 2020, the day before his 18the birthday, she releases the digital single Usseewa written by Syudou, a Vocaloid producer – also preferring the anonymity of a pseudonym. The clip, broadcast on his YouTube channel, reached 5 million views on November 14, and 40 million on January 23, 2021.
The phenomenon immediately arouses criticism. The title is an aggressive pronunciation of the phrase meaning “shut up.” The song is a full-blown attack on corporate culture, dreary daily routines, meaningless jobs and even drinking evenings with colleagues.
You have 40.49% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.