Interview with May'n

Well-known for her work as the singing voice of Sheryl Nome in the "Macross Frontier" anime, pop-rock vocalist May'n will be celebrating her 10th anniversary this year. JaME speaks to May'n about her musical journey and more.

It's your 10th anniversary. How do you feel about it?

May’n: Time flew so fast. I debuted when I was 15, and changed my name to May’n at the age of 18. I feel like everything happened in a split-second, especially after my name change.

What’s the significance of your 10th anniversary tour’s title ‘dots and lines’?

May’n: I feel like this tour is a culmination of the past 10 years. I named it that because this tour is a collection of all the dots and lines I have marked throughout my past activities. This tour is not the end because I want to go further than just connecting the dots with lines. I pluralized ‘lines’ in the title with the hope that I can draw future visions using those great pieces of the past.

You will visit many countries during the tour. Which country are you looking forward to visiting most?

May’n: I am always excited to visit somewhere new. This tour gave me a chance to perform in all 47 prefectures of Japan. I am so glad to meet all the fans, especially those who are still in school and couldn’t easily make it to events in the past. Like the last US tour, I am performing in the two lovely cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. However, I will do my best to visit other cities so I can meet more of my American fans.

Your support band and dancers have remained mostly the same since you started working as May'n. What is your relationship with them like?

May’n: I always really enjoy their company. We have been a touring team for many years, and we have gotten to know each other pretty well. Although when it comes to self-management, I always make an extra effort to take care of my health during a tour. One thing that I am usually determined about is banning the consumption of cold food during the tour season. However, I am kind of worried about becoming too stressed out by not eating cold food for a year, especially ice cream, which is my favorite. Because this is such a long tour, I will practice this rule with moderate intensity.

You recently released a new single, titled Re:REMEMBER. According to the title, is there something you never want to forget?

May’n: There are so many great memories, but the one that is outstanding is about my first solo concert in 2009. Since I was a child, I’ve always loved to sing in front of people, but that experience was overwhelming and beyond that joy of singing. It was really amazing to have all the fans singing along with me.

Tell us more about the songs on Re:REMEMBER.

May’n: I try to sing it very emotionally. It’s like I’m holding back tears and singing from the bottom of my heart. This song tells the heartbreaking feelings of not being able to forget beloved ones from the past. It would be my pleasure if that strong emotion in the lyrics shows through in my performance.

How do you feel about performing at the upcoming J-POP Summit Festival?

May’n: I am thrilled to be invited to such a big event. I would love to enjoy the “cool Japan” flows with others.

Do you prefer to be known for your works in anime or your other activities?

May’n: I actually enjoy singing songs about feelings and scenarios that I have not encountered yet. Many of my songs are born from collaborations with artworks, and those great songs cannot be created solely based on my own experiences. For me, there’s not much of a difference between releasing an anime song and non-anime song. I try to sing like a main character of each song for my own album, to emphasize what is hidden in the music.

If you had to cosplay an anime or manga character, which character would you choose?

May’n: I cannot pick one! I really love all the pieces that I was involved in, but I’m especially crazy about Hatsune Miku. I actually have a lot of her action figures, so she might be the one I would go for.

Please leave a message for your fans.

May’n: Good to see you after two years, America! I really love the audiences here because I can see them feeling the music so freely in their own ways. Let’s have fun together again!

JaME would like to thank May'n and MediaLab for making this interview possible.