Ado stands poised to introduce a new era of Japanese music to the world. Since debuting as a high schooler, the 21-year-old artist has created some of the biggest J-pop hits of the 2020s by capturing both the angst and optimism of her young generation, and sharing it with the world. Following a series of sold-out shows across Asia and Europe at the start of 2024, Ado brought THE FIRST WORLD TOUR “Wish” to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Austin. Each stop sold out, with venues filled completely with fans eager to see a creator who has bridged the worlds of pop music, Vocaloid and anime. 

To celebrate completing one of the most successful debut global tours by a Japanese artist ever, Ado has shared a special playlist, highlighting songs from the tour and bonus voice memos featuring Ado greeting listeners in their respective languages while also sharing her heartfelt memories of every city she visited. 

Fans first found this playlist following the link of large QR codes on the side of Ado-themed buses roving the streets in cities where she performs, as well as in projection displays seen in Los Angeles on April 1st located across several locations, including 6th Vermont Ave., Hollywood and Highland, and Hill Street and 8th.

Amidst a cool evening in downtown Los Angeles, Ado fans gathered at various locations around the city to glimpse at projections on the side of some of  L.A’.s most historic buildings. An image lit up the buildings and fans were treated to a fast-paced video revisiting each stop on Ado’s world tour, spotlighting clips of passionate crowds around the world. Near the end of the recap, a bright QR code appeared at the end of the short film, directing them towards a surprise from Ado: a special playlist of songs from the tour and voice messages from Ado for each city of her historic tour.

Ado came up in Japan’s Vocaloid community — referring to songs made using the singing-synthesizer software of the same name — as someone covering songs using her natural voice. Reflecting that world, she emphasizes the music over herself, hiding her identity and performing in silhouette.

Besides being a force in J-pop, Ado has crossed over into the world of film, providing the singing voice to the character UTA in the film ONE PIECE FILM RED, the latest full-length offering from the globally beloved ONE PIECE series. One song from the film made in collaboration with producer Yasutaka Nakata (Perfume, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu) titled “New Genesis” became a monster hit domestically, while also breaking through abroad. It landed at number one on Apple Music’s Top 100: Global chart, becoming the first Japanese song ever to accomplish this feat.

With THE FIRST WORLD TOUR, Ado has taken an even bigger step into the global limelight, while also underlining the growing interest in Japanese music all over the world. She stands as a key voice in this new era.

All live photos “By Viola Kim (V’z Twinkle)”

All LA projection photos “By Hokan Lo”

About Ado:

Ado is a new-era creator who first started her music career as part of Japan’s rich Vocaloid community, serving as an UTAITE singer (someone who covers songs made using singing-synthesizer technology with their own voice). She became a mainstream name in Japan via her 2020 major label debut “Usseewa.” The thunderous song, which finds Ado verbally broadsiding modern Japan and its tendency to marginalize younger people, became a hit. “Usseewa” topped multiple charts in the country, garnered hundreds of millions of YouTube views and cemented itself as a defining number of the early 2020s. Her hotly anticipated 2022 debut album Kyougen, which went on to debut at number one on multiple domestic charts

Ado’s domestic momentum didn’t slow down in 2023. She toured Japan throughout the year, including shows at the historic Nippon Budokan. She landed tie-up songs with a variety of Japanese movies and anime series, including the extremely popular series SPY X FAMILY. Her single “Show,” produced by Japanese electronic artists Giga and TeddyLoid, became a hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 Japan charts for multiple weeks.

Now, she’s stepping out onto the global stage after completing a historic first world tour, with much more to come.