Ado

Ado is a Japanese singer and utaite, known for performing while keeping her identity largely anonymous. She is born in Tokyo, Japan and begins her music interest in 2014 after watching Niconico videos on a Nintendo 3DS. She is influenced by the cover singers on Niconico who perform without showing their faces, and she later becomes a utaite on Niconico in 2017 after uploading a cover of “Kimi no taion”.

Career

Ado makes her debut in 2020 with the digital single “Usseewa”. The song reaches number 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, the Oricon Digital Singles Chart, the Oricon Streaming Chart and Spotify Viral 50 Japan. Its music video reaches 100 million views on YouTube in 148 days, and the song reaches 100 million plays on Billboard Japan in 17 weeks, making it the sixth fastest to do so and the youngest by a solo singer.

She remains publicly anonymous after her breakthrough, and her face is still mostly unknown.

Albums and later work

In 2022, Ado releases her first two albums, Kyougen and an album connected with One Piece: Film Red. She also contributes two theme songs for the live-action film Karada Sagashi and takes part in live performances, collaborations and other events during the year.

The One Piece: Film Red album performs strongly on Japanese charts, with all of its songs placing highly on services including Spotify, Billboard and Apple Music. On 14 August, seven of its songs occupy the top seven positions on Apple Music, and she becomes the only Japanese artist to hold all of the top five positions on a chart with songs from the same album.

In 2023, she continues to release singles, including “Show” and “Kura Kura”. “Kura Kura” is used as the opening theme for Spy x Family, becoming her first television anime opening. Her third album, Ado’s Utattemita Album, is released in December 2023 and contains cover versions of Vocaloid and J-pop songs chosen by fans.

In 2024, she announces her second studio album, Zanmu. It is released alongside a live CD from her first world tour, Wish, recorded at Peacock Theater in California.

Style and background

Ado is associated with J-pop, pop and utaite, and she is also listed with techno among her genres. She is described as a fan of Hatsune Miku and other Vocaloids throughout her life.