Ado, the chart-topping Japanese singer who’s never revealed her identity publicly, has signed with WME for global representation all areas, excluding Japan, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.
The 23-year-old singer — who refers to herself as an “Utaite,” a Japanese word for a typically amateur singer who uses an avatar to post song covers online — shot to the top of music charts in her home country when she was just a teenager. She remains one of Japan’s biggest artists.
Ado has toured globally more than once, remaining one of the only J-pop acts to consistently promote in the U.S. Last year, her 34-date Hibana tour drew more than 500,000 fans across five continents, according to a release. She sold out the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and New Jesery’s Prudential Center.
Earlier this year, Ado headlined a new music festival, Zipangu, in L.A., which was the largest J-pop festival in North America. The event was put on by her management, Cloud Nine, and Goldenvoice. She’s slated to appear at Lollpalooza in Chicago later this summer.
Domestically, she’s performed at Japan’s National Stadium, which holds over 60,000 fans, and is scheduled to hold two shows at the stadium next month. She’ll then headline Japan’s Summer Sonic music festival in August, becoming the first female solo artist to do so.
Earlier this year, Ado released “Vivarium,” a self-written song that draw inspiration from author Narumi Komatsu’s biography of the singer, Vivarium: Ado and Me. The book, released only in Japanese, features in-depth interviews with the musician that were conducted over three years.
The music video for “Vivarium” marked the first live-action music video for the singer and the first time that Ado herself has appeared in a video. The singer, however, is never seen head-on, mostly shown in shadow or in fast glimpses from different angles.
Next, Ado’s set to release “Monstruo,” the theme song for the live-action adaptation of popular Japanese soccer manga, Blue Lock. The film is set to open Aug. 7 in Japan.
WME and Ado working together marks the talent agency’s second major signing of J-pop talent this year. Japan — the second largest music market in the world behind the U.S. — has begun pushing artists globally in the last few years, marking a distinct shift for an industry previously focused on domestic promotion. Ado and WME’s earlier signing, trio Number_i, are among the artists leading the charge of J-pop’s globalization.
