This past September marked a major milestone in Japanese pop music history when it was announced on the final day of Ado’s nationwide MARS tour that the artist would be performing a solo show at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo next April. Only seven artists—among them, SMAP, DREAMS COME TRUE, ARASHI, and Eikichi Yazawa—have ever made it to the Stadium’s massive stage. Even as recently as 2020, no one could have expected her name to be added to the list. The honor is all the greater because she’s the first woman to ever play the stadium solo. Over the past three and a half years, Ado has shifted the tides of the scene by tearing up the old playbook and shattering expectations.

Any look at Ado’s debut requires an exploration of the term “Vocaloid-native generation.” Spurred on by the virtual singer Hatsune Miku, self-identified utaite, who covered Vocaloid songs and similar tunes and “Sang_it” on Japanese video sharing site Niconico, exploded into a subculture of its own over a decade ago. Many of today’s teenagers turn up their noses to the pop music formula and instead turn to the fun interactive content posted there. Ado, too, got her start as an utaite with little use for the more mainstream J-pop scene.

Ado was the kind of unconfident child who hated to be around other people, gave up on having a social life when she realized she was clearly headed to be a NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), and was weighed down by self-loathing. And then, the option to be an utaite came shining down on her like a ray of light. The fact that people would judge her on her music alone without ever having to know her real name or what she looks like instilled confidence in her. She got her start when she posted her first song in 2017, at which point she was only in middle school. Word about Ado slowly started to get out after she provided vocals for “Shikabanēze,” a song by well-known Vocaloid producer jon-YAKITORY that subsequently went up to number one on the Spotify Viral Chart.

Was your choice of the highly anonymous utaite style also due to it being comfortable for you?

Ado: I was never good at studying or exercising and I felt like I was useless. I developed a pretty big complex about it because I wasn’t confident about anything, I wasn’t an especially popular or interesting person in class, and it all compounded. You could say I was a very, very, very gloomy person. (laughs) So right from the outset I thought it would be too much showing my face and promoting anything. But utaite don’t reveal their faces or their real names—people don’t know where they live or what they do—they’re really active on the Internet and lots of people pay attention to their work. That alone seemed so alluring to me, and then I thought, if that were me, I might be able to do something.

—Real Sound interview, October 19, 2021

It was good timing for Ado, who showed up on the radar of the big labels at time when they were frantically searching far and wide for hidden gems in the Vocaloid scene thanks to Kenshi Yonezu’s music having become a hit. Then, in October of 2020, Ado finally made her big debut with “Usseewa,” a song written by Vocaloid producer and singer-songwriter syudou. The song spread quickly as word got around about the provocative lyrics that any teen could relate to, and by March, Billboard JAPAN measured the song as having been streamed more than 100 million times—the sixth fastest a song had ever done so, and at the youngest age in history for a solo artist. It was a watershed moment that recognized the changing times.

What made this hit song special was how it drew on and even emphasized the subculture that spawned it and kept its ideals intact. Many Vocaloid producers and utaite had crossed over to the mainstream by that point, but almost always by compromising their sound and image to better suit the public ears and eyes, typically changing their name, debuting as a vocalist within a larger group, or scrubbing their musical style and lyrics down to that old pop music formula. But “Usseewa” showed no signs of such betrayal. Ado opted for a completely different approach. Her strategy took into account the fact that pop music was already shifting to a fan-oriented culture and her label’s conviction that this swelling subculture had the power to reach a wider audience.

The reason the lyrics to the song ignited such controversy all comes down to the power of Ado’s voice. She delicately moves the goalpost verse by verse, showing off unbelievable range that climbs up into falsetto while physically overwhelming the listener with sheer volume and power. Faced with this singer who told it like it is—the way that she, faced with a sense of defeat, severed ties with the older generations and found shelter in a new society online—there was no way for listeners to ignore this new generation any longer. Ado quickly made a name for herself as an up-and-comer to watch with this bold, adventurous move, while the title itself generated so much discourse that it was recognized as one of the top 10 buzzwords in Japan that year.

Ado rode the wave from “Usseewa” all the way to her first studio album, Kyogen, which she released last year. Kyogen is a landmark release because it represents the artist and her subculture officially breaking into the mainstream and making ground there. With every track off the album written by Vocaloid producers, it also tells the story of how diverse the scene has become as it’s grown. With names like Mewhan, Hiiragi Kirai, Teniwoha, Neru, and Mafumafu—the latter of whom miraculously put on a show at Tokyo Dome—it’s no exaggeration to say Ado called in an all-star lineup Kyogen. The record is truly a dream album for listeners who have even a beginner’s understanding of the scene, with each of these big names mirroring an outstanding artist with their own unique contributions.

And at the very center of it all is Ado’s unparalleled vocals. “Odo,” a K-pop-inspired EDM song from Giga and TeddyLoid, is a rhythmic game of push and pull that skillfully levitates and falls as it moves along, and the sweeping, brass-laden “Ashura-chan” is punctuated by expertly timed shouts using just the right words to make the whole song incredibly cathartic.

Ado pulls back a bit and shows us the big picture in the chill synth-pop track “Hanabi.” In the J-pop-esque “Aitakute,” she’s deliberate with her sense of motion in the song, bringing the emotions relatively slowly to their climax. Though none of the tracks are easy to sing to begin with, Ado effortlessly shifts between their 14 distinct characters and gives the album 110% of what the songwriters no doubt had in mind. What producer in their right mind would refuse to work with such an artist? Ado seems to bring out a sense of desire and exploration in others.

Although the album was solid, it wasn’t enough to take all the buzz in the wider world that surrounded Ado with her earlier song and convert it into lasting support. That can be attributed to the tracks off the album being as deeply steeped in the utaite style as the many people who helped put it together. But the label quickly jumped in with an ace up their sleeve: the animated film ONE PIECE Film: Red, which was shown in theaters. The movie was used as a platform to position Ado as a J-pop singer, and she performed the singing parts for the character Uta. Not only is Uta one of the main characters in it, but with the musical scenes combined, Ado is given some 20 minutes to shine throughout the runtime of this beloved Japanese property. Rounding out the soundtrack are greats like electronica whiz Yasutaka Nakata, Mrs. GREEN APPLE frontman Motoki Ohmori, multitalented star Vaundy, and rising master of emotions Hata Motohiro. This time around, it was major stars of the mainstream supporting Ado in a brand-new kind of musical endeavor. It was the perfect move, and it happened at just the right time. As the animated movie soared in popularity, Ado became a household name everywhere. Not only did her song “New Genesis” go on to win an Excellent Work Award at that year’s Japan Record Awards, but she also performed at the Red & White Year-End Song Festival, captivating audiences of all ages and genders. With the whole world now aware of her uniqueness thanks to this popular movie, Ado had become a dual wielding force to reckon with, with her feet firmly planted on both sides of the mainstream divide.

And she continues to make good use of her dual wielding powers to this day. Just look at the singles she put out following the release of the ONE PIECE movie:  There’s the utaite subculture side represented by musicians like Chinozo, PinocchioP, Giga, and TeddyLoid, with support from mainstream contributors like Sheena Ringo, Vaundy, and biz. It’s fascinating to hear how both sides come out so clearly. It’s also incredibly interesting to see how the Vocaloid producers add through their own twists and what the more mainstream musicians do to overcome their long-established images.

Ado did an amazing collaboration with LE SSERAFIM this past August, working together on the Japanese version of their song “UNFORGIVEN.” The collaboration was surely a special one for Ado, given she loves listening to aespa, IVE, and Kep1er, and talked about how she watches LE SSERAFIM’s vlogs and other videos and identifies as FEARNOT when she was on the radio with the group. She’s become more and more popular overseas and especially in Korea thanks to her song “Kurakura” being used as the opening theme for the second season of the anime SPY x FAMILY.

Just because someone dreams of becoming a singer doesn’t mean they want to share every last part of their personal life with the world; this planet is full of people with stage fright or who would rather not be so open with so many people. Ado’s generation in particular is at risk of judging themselves too harshly as the social media sphere encourages them to unduly compare themselves to others. Luckily, Ado’s success sets a good example for them. Despite never revealing her face, she opened the world up to the beauty of Vocaloid and utaite music—styles rarely heard by ordinary listeners. She also proved to a mass of supportive listeners that their heroes wouldn’t have to be shunned out of the mainstream forever and could in fact become voices for their generation. And it’s all been built on a foundation of Japanese pop culture, piece by piece. There’s the tactic taken by so many artists on Niconico of maintaining an air of mystery by never providing a face reveal, the huge boost from the massively popular ONE PIECE, and an industry very accepting of collaborations. If these hadn’t already been so well established in the country, Ado would have had a much harder time breaking into the mainstream.

In that sense, it’s practically the opposite of K-pop, where sharing every last detail of everything that goes on is to be expected. But one thing’s for sure: Korea is going to see its own upshoot of anonymous, extremely online artists thanks to both countries sharing traits like teens comparing oneself to others and a culture of ruthless competition. Currently, the song “Karma” by the band Dareharu has over 25 million views on YouTube, and Korea’s most well-recognized utaite, Raon and DAZBEE, have both signed on with a Japanese label. And it should be noted that we can already see into the future by looking at what’s happening around us right now: ISEGYE IDOL, the idol group made up of virtual YouTubers, for example, has made it into music streaming service Melon’s hall of fame four times already. The butterfly effect from the impact made by the Vocaloid-native generation and their subsequent successes across the sea is already making waves here in Korea. And Ado’s ascent may have those winds blowing toward Korea stronger and faster than ever.