mao

**Mao** (born October 23 in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture) is the charismatic lead singer and lyricist of the visual kei rock band SID, where he's been belting out those emotional tracks since the band's early days in the late '90s. Kicking off with high school bands like Dildo and Shula, he hit it big with SID around 2010 thanks to their album *Hikari* and anime tie-ins like "Monochrome no Kiss," all with his signature lyrics—dude even self-taught his vocals before formal lessons in 2010.

Branching out solo in 2016 as Mao from SID with hits like "Tsuki/Hoshi" and the album *Maison de M*, he's kept the momentum with recent anime themes such as "貴方とだからデキちゃう未来" for *Dekichau made Kon*, plus tracks like "波の音とキミと," "ペンジュラム," "whisper," and "millennium (arrange version)." A hometown ambassador since 2021, he's also dropped a self-help book *The Magic of Positivity* amid the pandemic vibes.