# Ado (singer)

Ado (Japanese: アド, born October 24, 2002) is a Japanese singer and songwriter. In 2020, at the age of 17, she made her debut with the digital single titled "Usseewa", which peaked at number 1 on Billboard Japan Hot 100, Oricon Digital Singles Chart, and the Oricon Streaming Chart. The song reached 100 million plays on Billboard Japan within 17 weeks of charting, which was the sixth fastest in history and the youngest for a solo singer. In 2022, her song "New Genesis" was used as the theme song for the anime film One Piece Film: Red and topped Apple Music's Global Top 100 charts.
She is represented by the artist management company Cloud Nine [ja].

## Life and career
### Early life and musical beginnings: 2014–2020

Ado was born on October 24, 2002, in Tokyo, Japan.
In 2014, Ado took an interest in music after software for the video-sharing website Niconico was released on the Nintendo 3DS. She began watching videos on the small screen of the handheld game console, and was impressed by cover singers on Niconico who sang without showing their faces.
In 2017, Ado began singing as an utaite (an internet cover singer) on Niconico, beginning with uploading a video of herself singing a cover of "Kimi no Taion" on January 10, 2017. On Nippon TV, she said that during the time she was an utaite singer, she covered her closet in soundproofing material that she bought online and recorded in it.
In 2019, she featured in Kujira's digital single "Kinmokusei", which was released on December 23, 2019. A couple months later, she featured as a vocalist in a digital single "Shikabanēze" by Jon-Yakitory, which was released on March 29, 2020. In May 2020, she participated in Pony Canyon's compilation album Palette4. She recorded two songs for the album, "Call Boy" by Syudou and "Taema Naku Ai iro" by Shishi Shishi.

### Major label debut and first album: 2020–2022

On October 15, 2020, Ado announced that she would make her debut with Universal Music Japan sublabel Virgin Music. On October 23, the day before her 18th birthday, she released her debut single "Usseewa" written by Vocaloid producer Syudou. The music video, released on her YouTube channel, reached 5 million views by November 14. On December 10, 2020, "Usseewa" ranked number 1 on Spotify Viral 50 Japan. On December 24, she released her second single "Readymade" written by Vocaloid producer Surii, as a digital release.
By January 23, 2021, "Usseewa" had reached 40 million views on YouTube, and on February 3, 2021, it ranked number 1 on both Oricon Digital Singles Chart and Oricon Streaming Chart. On February 14, she released her third single, "Gira Gira", written by Vocaloid producer teniwoha, as a digital release. Four days later on February 18, the number of subscribers on her YouTube channel exceeded 1 million. On March 15, 2021, "Usseewa" reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, and on March 20, the music video on YouTube reached 100 million views, 148 days after its release. On March 29, "Usseewa" reached 100 million plays on the Billboard Japan Streaming Songs chart after 17 weeks from its initial debut, which was the sixth fastest in history and the youngest for a solo singer. On April 27, 2021, Ado released her fourth single "Odo", which was used in an NHK show about Vocaloid producers.
On June 11, 2021, she was chosen as the second Japanese female artist for "YouTube's Artist on the Rise". On June 14, 2021, she released her fifth single, "Yoru no Pierrot". Her sixth single "Aitakute" was released on August 12.
In October, Ado announced her debut studio album, Kyōgen. Released on January 26, 2022, Kyōgen sold over 140,000 physical copies in its first week, a first for a female artist since Superfly's 2008 self titled debut album. Debuting at number one on both the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart and the Oricon Albums chart, Ado become the first woman to have a debut album peak at number one on its first week on Japanese charts since Miwa's 2011 studio album, Guitarissimo.

### Growing international success, Uta's Songs, Ado's Utattemita Album, and Zanmu: 2022–present

On June 8, 2022, the cast for the Japanese animated film One Piece Film: Red was revealed. Amongst the cast, Ado was revealed as the singing voice actress for the character Uta while Kaori Nazuka reprised her role for Uta's non-singing parts. On the same day, Ado released "New Genesis", the image song for the film. "New Genesis" was a commercial success on various charts, peaking at number one on the Japan Hot 100 and number 20 on the Billboard Global 200. On Apple Music, Ado became the first artist to have a Japanese song top their Global Top 100 chart. She released another song, "I'm Invincible" two weeks later, which eventually peaked at number two on the Japan Hot 100 and number three on the Oricon Combined Singles chart. In August, Ado released the soundtrack album Uta's Songs: One Piece Film Red. The album later became a global success on various charts. On Japanese charts, Ado become the first artist to occupy the top three rankings of the Billboard Japan Hot 100 with "New Genesis", "I'm Invincible" and "Backlight" respectively. She later broke her own record, having five songs from the album chart in the top 5 of the Japan Hot 100. On the Oricon charts, Ado became the first artist in Oricon history to have five songs chart in the top 5 of the Streaming chart. Following this, Ado signed with Geffen Records to distribute the album worldwide.
Near the end of 2022, Ado released the singles "Rebellion" and "Missing". From December 2022 to January 2023, she embarked on her first tour in Japan, the Mirage tour. From June 2023 to September 2023, Ado embarked on her second tour, Mars, which lasted for 14 shows in 11 different locations across Japan. On August 3, 2023, Ado was featured on the Japanese version of "Unforgiven" by Le Sserafim and Nile Rodgers. In September 2023, Ado released "Show", commissioned by Universal Studios Japan to promote their Halloween event, Halloween Horror Nights. "Show" became a commercial success, becoming her third number-one single. In October 2023, she released "Kura Kura" which was used as the opening theme of the second season of anime adaptation of Spy × Family. Ado announced her first world tour, "Wish", on her 21st birthday; it lasted from February to April 2024.
In December 2023, Ado released her first utattemita (歌ってみた, lit. 'I tried singing') album, Ado's Utattemita Album, which included covers of Ringo Sheena's "Crime and Punishment", PinocchioP's "God-ish", Akina Nakamori's "Kazari ja Nai no yo Namida wa", and TK's "Unravel". The album went on to peak at number two on the Oricon Albums chart and number one on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart.
On April 27 and 28, 2024, Ado held two solo live performances called "Heart" at the Japan National Stadium, becoming the first solo female artist to do so.
On June 26, 2024, the idol group Phantom Siita, which Ado produced, made their debut with the single "Otomodachi".
In July 2024, Ado released her second studio album, Zanmu. Preceded by 14 singles, the album debuted at number one on both the Oricon and Billboard Japan charts. Zanmu became Ado's fourth consecutive number one album on the Japan Hot Albums chart and her second number one album on the Oricon Albums chart.
In October 2024, Ado announced her second world tour Hibana, which is scheduled to have several shows and legs from April to August 2025 across multiple continents.
Imagine Dragons released a remix of their song "Take Me to the Beach" featuring Ado on December 16, 2024.
In February 2025, it was announced that Ado would take part of the tribute compilation album Nakamori Akina Tribute Album: Meikyo, which will include cover of Nakamori's 1984's single Jukkai.

## Personal life

Having not shared any personal information of herself, little is known about Ado. In a 2024 interview with the Guardian, Ado explained her decision to not show her face is tied with the Vocaloid scene and for more focus on her artistry.

## Discography
### Albums
#### Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | JPN | JPN Comb. | JPN Hot | Sales | Certifications |
| Kyōgen | Released: January 26, 2022 Label: Virgin Format: CD, CD+DVD, digital download, streaming | 1 | 1 | 1 | JPN: 262,557 (CD) JPN: 44,935 (DL) | RIAJ: Platinum |
| Zanmu | Released: July 10, 2024 Label: Virgin Format: CD, digital download, streaming | 1 | 1 | 1 | JPN: 100,981 (CD) | RIAJ: Gold |

#### Soundtrack albums

List of soundtrack albums, with selected chart positions and certifications :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications |
| Title | Album details | JPN | JPN Comb. | JPN Hot | BEL (WA) | FRA | US Heat. | Sales | Certifications |
| Uta's Songs: One Piece Film Red | Released: August 10, 2022 Label: Virgin Format: CD, digital download, streaming | 2 | 1 | 1 | 168 | 97 | 9 | JPN: 317,513 (CD) JPN: 108,337 (DL) | RIAJ: Gold |

#### Compilation albums

List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions and certifications :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales |
| Title | Album details | JPN | JPN Comb. | JPN Hot | Sales |
| Ado's Utattemita Album | Released: December 13, 2023 Label: Virgin Format: CD, digital download, streaming | 2 | 2 | 1 | JPN: 70,300 (CD) |
| Ado "Ready for My Show Playlist" | Released: February 6, 2024 Label: UME Format: Digital download, streaming | — | — | — | |
| Ado's Best Adobum | Scheduled: April 9, 2025 Label: Virgin Format: CD, digital download, streaming | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart. ||||||

#### Remix albums

List of remix albums, with selected chart positions and certifications :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Sales |
| Title | Album details | JPN Dig. | JPN Hot | Sales |
| Show LP | Released: September 6, 2024 Label: Virgin Format: Digital download, streaming | 7 | 36 | JPN: 587 (dig.) |

### Singles
#### As lead artist

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, certifications, and sales, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Sales | Album |
| Title | Year | JPN | JPN Comb. | JPN Hot | US World | WW | Certifications | Sales | Album |
| "Usseewa" | 2020 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 41 | RIAJ (down.): Platinum RIAJ (st.): 3× Platinum | | Kyōgen |
| "Readymade" | 2020 | — | — | 65 | — | — | RIAJ (st.): Platinum | | Kyōgen |
| "Gira Gira" (ギラギラ) | 2021 | — | 14 | 12 | — | — | RIAJ (down.): Gold RIAJ (st.): 2× Platinum | | Kyōgen |
| "Odo" | 2021 | — | 6 | 4 | — | 122 | RIAJ (down.): Gold RIAJ (st.): 3× Platinum | | Kyōgen |
| "Yoru no Pierrot" (夜のピエロ) | 2021 | — | 17 | 13 | — | — | RIAJ (st.): Gold | | Kyōgen |
| "Aitakute" (会いたくて) | 2021 | — | 45 | 27 | — | — | RIAJ (st.): Gold | | Kyōgen |
| "Ashura-chan" (阿修羅ちゃん) | 2021 | — | 8 | 5 | — | — | RIAJ (down.): Gold RIAJ (st.): Platinum | | Kyōgen |
| "Eien no Akuruhi" (永遠のあくる日) | 2022 | — | — | 35 | — | — | | | Zanmu |
| "New Genesis" | 2022 | — | 1 | 1 | 9 | 20 | RIAJ (down.): Platinum RIAJ (st.): 3× Platinum | | Uta's Songs |
| "I'm Invincible" | 2022 | — | 3 | 2 | — | 74 | RIAJ (down.): Gold RIAJ (st.): 3× Platinum | | Uta's Songs |
| "Backlight" (逆光) | 2022 | — | 2 | 2 | — | 73 | RIAJ (down.): 2× Platinum | | Uta's Songs |
| "Rebellion" (リベリオン) | 2022 | — | 33 | 20 | — | — | RIAJ (st.): Gold | | Zanmu |
| "Missing" (行方知れず) | 2022 | — | 39 | 25 | — | — | | | Zanmu |
| "I'm a Controversy" (アタシは問題作) | 2023 | — | 39 | 27 | — | — | | | Zanmu |
| "Ibara" | 2023 | — | — | 38 | — | — | | | Zanmu |
| "Himawari" | 2023 | — | 24 | 19 | — | — | | | Zanmu |
| "Show" | 2023 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 44 | RIAJ (down.): Gold RIAJ (st.): 3× Platinum | | Zanmu |
| "Dignity" | 2023 | — | — | 34 | — | — | | | Zanmu |
| "Kura Kura" | 2023 | — | 18 | 9 | — | — | RIAJ (st.): Gold | | Zanmu |
| "All Night Radio" | 2023 | — | — | 99 | — | — | | | Zanmu |
| "Unravel" | 2023 | — | — | 50 | — | — | | | Ado's Utattemita Album |
| "Dawn and Fireflies" (夜明けと蛍) | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | | | Ado's Utattemita Album |
| "Chocolat Cadabra" | 2024 | — | 38 | 31 | — | — | | | Zanmu |
| "Value" | 2024 | — | — | 45 | — | — | | | Zanmu |
| "Mirror" | 2024 | — | — | 44 | 6 | — | | | Zanmu |
| "Rule" (ルル) | 2024 | — | — | 40 | — | — | | | Zanmu |
| "Shoka" (初夏) | 2024 | 3 | 3 | 63 | — | — | | | Ado's Best Adobum |
| "Sakura Biyori and Time Machine" (桜日和とタイムマシン) (with Hatsune Miku) | 2024 | 3 | 3 | 15 | — | — | | JPN: 3,405 (dig.) | Ado's Best Adobum |
| "Episode X" | 2024 | — | — | 39 | — | — | | | Ado's Best Adobum |
| "Elf" (エルフ) | 2025 | — | — | 44 | — | — | | | Ado's Best Adobum |
| "Bouquet for Me" (わたしに花束) | 2025 | — | — | 40 | — | — | | | Ado's Best Adobum |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or items that were ineligible to chart because no physical edition was released. ||||||||||

#### As featured artist

| Release date | Artist | Title |
| December 12, 2019 | Kujira | "Kinmokusei" (feat. Ado) |
| March 29, 2020 | Jon-Yakitory | "Shikabanēze" (feat. Ado) |
| May 11, 2020 | Toiki | "Anemone" (feat. Ado) |
| June 30, 2020 | Nagumo Yūki | "Stick Candy" (feat. Ado) |
| August 14, 2020 | Biz | "Tokyo Cannibalism Biz" (feat Ado) |
| August 28, 2020 | Jon-Yakitory | "Eat" (feat. Ado) |
| September 11, 2020 | Biz | "Freud Meta Biz" (feat. Ado) |
| September 21, 2020 | Linmu | "Oshare banchō" (feat. Ado) |
| September 23, 2020 | Nakimushi | "Shake It Now." (feat. Ado) |
| December 11, 2020 | Jon-Yakitory | "Faking of Comedy" (feat.Ado) |
| December 12, 2020 | Hīragi Kirai | "Love Ka?" (feat. Ado) |
| February 1, 2021 | Miko Kichi | "Radio Noise" (feat. Ado) |
| March 6, 2021 | Hosomichi Okuno | "Fool Fool Fool" (feat. Ado) |
| July 15, 2021 | Jon-Yakitory | "AntiSystem's" (feat. Ado) |
| September 17, 2021 | Jon-Yakitory | "Rasen" (feat. Ado) |
| August 8, 2023 | Le Sserafim | "Unforgiven" (feat. Nile Rodgers and Ado) |
| December 16, 2024 | Imagine Dragons | "Take Me to the Beach" (feat. Ado) |

#### Promotional singles

List of promotional singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | JPN Comb. | JPN Hot | WW | Certifications | Album |
| "Kokoro to Iu Na no Fukakai" (心という名の不可解) | 2022 | 13 | 13 | — | RIAJ (streaming): Platinum | Kyōgen |
| "Senbonzakura" | 2022 | — | 59 | — | | 10 Shūnen Kinen Album All That Senbonzakura!!! |
| "Fleeting Lullaby" (ウタカタララバイ) | 2022 | 4 | 5 | 101 | RIAJ (streaming): Platinum | Uta's Songs |
| "Buriki no Dance" (ブリキノダンス) | 2023 | — | 88 | — | | Ado's Utattemita Album |
| "Kitto Coaster" (きっとコースター) | 2024 | — | — | — | | Non-album single |
| "Nukegara" (抜け空) | 2024 | — | — | — | | Zanmu |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart. |||||||

### Other charted songs

List of other charted songs, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name :
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Title | Year | JPN Comb. | JPN Hot | WW | Certifications | Album |
| "Tot Musica" | 2022 | 6 | 6 | 134 | RIAJ (streaming): Gold | Uta's Songs |
| "The World's Continuation" (世界のつづき) | 2022 | 13 | 12 | — | RIAJ (streaming): Gold | Uta's Songs |
| "Where the Wind Blows" (風のゆくえ) | 2022 | 11 | 10 | — | RIAJ (streaming): Platinum | Uta's Songs |
| "Binks' Sake" (ビンクスの酒) | 2022 | 30 | 31 | — | | Uta's Songs |
| "—" denotes items that did not chart. |||||||

### Video albums

List of media, with selected chart positions :
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | JPN DVD |
| Campanella (カムパネルラ) | Released: June 21, 2023 Label: Virgin Format: DVD, Blu-ray | 1 |
| Mars (マーズ) | Released: April 10, 2024 Label: Virgin Format: DVD, Blu-ray | 1 |
| Shinzou (心臓) | Released: December 25, 2024 Label: Virgin Format: DVD, Blu-ray | 4 |

## Music videos

| Release date | Song title | Movie Director |
| October 23, 2020 | Usseewa | Wooma |
| December 24, 2020 | Readymade | Yasutatsu |
| February 14, 2021 | Gira Gira | Numata Zombi |
| April 27, 2021 | Odo | Kayuka |
| June 14, 2021 | Yoru no Pierrot | Jinguji |
| August 12, 2021 | Aitakute | Mono-Devoid |
| October 28, 2021 | Ashura-chan | Mono-Devoid |
| January 17, 2022 | KokoroToIuNanoFukakai | Akito Nakayama |
| January 26, 2022 | Fireworks | goru |
| March 6, 2022 | Kagakushū | Saki Naito |
| March 14, 2022 | Eien No Akuruhi | nanon |
| March 26, 2022 | Domestic De Violence | Akito Nakayama |
| May 8, 2022 | Motherland | yasutatsu |
| May 8, 2022 | Lucky Bruto | Akito Nakayama |
| June 15, 2022 | New Genesis | hmng |
| June 22, 2022 | I'm invincible | Ai Nina |
| July 6, 2022 | Backlight | Hironobu Nagasawa |
| August 6, 2022 | Fleeting Lullaby | Wotakichi (NIN) |
| August 10, 2022 | The World's Continuation | Sto1e |
| August 17, 2022 | Tot Musica | Wooma |
| August 24, 2022 | Where the Wind Blows | Chie Miyasaka |
| September 19, 2022 | Rebellion | Kantaro |
| October 10, 2022 | Missing | Sakiyama |
| October 24, 2022 | Freedom | Keigo Inoue |
| February 20, 2023 | I'm a Controversy | Eiri Na Hamono |
| August 22, 2023 | Unforgiven (feat. Nile Rodgers and Ado) | Soonsik Yang |
| September 6, 2023 | Show | Tohru Mitsuhashi |
| September 28, 2023 | Dignity | kairi |
| October 7, 2023 | Kura Kura | KZM |
| November 11, 2023 | All Night Radio | Sohta Ozawa |
| November 15, 2023 | Unravel (cover) | Hano |
| November 29, 2023 | Buriki no Dance (cover) | iga kitty |
| December 25, 2023 | Hello Signals | Kazz Fukuda |
| January 31, 2024 | Chocolat Cadabra | Yoh Yoshinari |
| February 23, 2024 | Value | G-ko |
| May 31, 2024 | Mirror | KZM |
| July 5, 2024 | Rule | Namuru |
| September 6, 2024 | Show (Another Story) | Tohru Mitsuhashi |
| October 14, 2024 | Shoka | mino |
| October 23, 2024 | Sakura Biyori and Time Machine | Saki Naito |
| December 6, 2024 | Episode X | Nina |
| December 30, 2024 | Nukegara | Syamo.G |
| January 24, 2025 | Elf | mino |

## Tours

* The First World Tour 'Wish' (2024)
* Hibana World Tour (2025)

## Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominee(s)/work(s) | Result |
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2021 | Best New Asian Artist (Japan) | Ado | Won |
| MTV Video Music Awards Japan | 2021 | MTV Breakthrough Song | "Usseewa" | Won |
| 63rd Japan Record Awards | 2021 | Special Award | Ado | Won |
| Billboard Japan Music Awards | 2022 | Artist of the Year | Ado | Won |
| MTV Video Music Awards Japan | 2022 | Song of the Year | "New Genesis" | Won |
| 64th Japan Record Awards | 2022 | Excellent Work Awards | "New Genesis" | Won |
| 64th Japan Record Awards | 2022 | Special Prize | Ado | Won |
| 7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards | 2023 | Best Anime Song | "New Genesis" | Nominated |
| 65th Japan Record Awards | 2023 | Excellent Work Awards | "Show" | Won |