MOSHI MOSHI pick up artists! Tracing the Evolution of J-pop Princess May’n

10.March.2016 | MUSIC

Known widely for her music on Macross Frontier, 2015 marked a mighty decade since J-pop princess May’n first launched her career as a singer. Enticing us with her wide-ranged vocals, there’s no question she’s been a star nestling pitch-perfect singing talents right from the start. But as like every human being on this planet, every singer’s got a story behind their blossoming under a ten-year span — how has May’n evolved across the years playing Sheryl Nome? Read on as we take you through the ultimate May’n timeline!

 

Takes on the role as a singer on anime show, “Macross Frontier”

It was way back in 2003 when May’n participated in an audition and landed one foot in to the entertainment industry. May’n fans may already be familiar with the fact that she initially went by her real name, “Mei Nakabayashi” when she landed her major label debut in 2005 — but it was the spring of 2008 when things took a turn. This was the year she took on the role as a singer on the long-running “Macross” series. She was 17 when she was pronounced the much-loved Sheryl Nome (aka Galactic Fairy): one of the main heroines on the show.

 

Fans had extremely high expectations for the singer who would fulfill the charismatic Sheryl, but May’n exceeded the highly-held expectations with her strong, soulful voice, which perfectly matched the confident and mesmerizing character of Sheryl. This skyrocketed May’n’s career, and it was from here where things started moving at light speed.

 

 

May’n as Sheryl: the Evolution

In 2008, the track “Diamond Crevasse/Iteza☆Gogo Kuji Don’t be late” was released under her moniker Sheryl Nome Starring May’n and landed #3 on the Weekly Oricon Singles Chart. This kicked things off for her, and what followed were a slew of what we now know to be as May’n’s hit singles including “Lion,” “Universal Bunny,” all of which entered top 10 on the Weekly Oricon Singles Charts. She then started up an official blog as Sheryl Nome and provided fans with Sheryl Nome x May’n collab items — May’n was then called for a range of other tie-up projects, all of which came to life by May’n’s captivating voice that would go on to be loved by all Macross fans.

In October of 2008, she held a “Macross F Galaxy Tour FINAL” with her co-star Ai Nakajima aka Ranka Lee. The tour was held in a total of three venues including the Nihon Budokan, all of which sold out on the day of release. In the following month, May’n took part in “Anime Festival Asia 2008” — blowing fans away with her impressive performance. This then kicked off a strand of shows all across Asia, which got her booked for shows in 2010, 2011 and 2012 where she was able to expand her fan base to an even wider extent.

 

Fictional Diva Enters Reality

It was in May of 2009 when May’n switched from “Sheryl Nome Starring May’n” to “May’n” and released her first debut single”Kimishinitamoukotonakare” under her newly-made moniker. This track was used as the opening theme to anime series “Shangri La” and from then on, people started to gradually acknowledge her as May’n.

In January of 2010, she held her first solo show at Nihon Budokan. This was also sold out on the day of release, and this marked the first time she stood independent from her character Sheryl Nome, and as “May’n” herself. Her popularity grew astronomically — not to mention that at this point, she was touring nationwide as well as worldwide. Busying herself with her tour life, May’n also sang for a string of other anime series including “Scarlet Ballet” (Opening theme to “Aria the Scarlet Ammo” (2011)), “Chase the World” (Opening theme to “Accel World” (2012)), “Yamaidare darlin'” (Opening theme to Aquarion Logos (2015)).

Her talents weren’t limited to the anime field but also extended to the field of film, where her song “Shinjitemiru” was chosen for the theme song to “The Incite Mill” as well as “Run Real Run” for “Real Onigokko THE ORIGIN.”

 

 

10 years and on!

Yes, she’s celebrated her decade, but no, that doesn’t make it any excuse for her to slow down. Now that our ultimate timeline’s caught up to present day, we’re happy to announce her tour, “May’n Hall Tour 2016 “SPRING OUT!!” will be starting on May 15th! 10 years is quite a hefty amount of time, but here she is, being humble and more driven than ever, commenting how “there’s more to come.” If you’ve been yearning for a show that sends shivers up and down your spine, this one just may be it.

 

Words:Kakoi(SHUTTER)

May’n Official Website: http://mayn.jp/

 

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