May’n Profile
May’n is a J-pop and Anison singer. She debuted as May Nakabayashi before changing her stage name to May’n. She provided the singing voice of Sheryl Nome in Macross Frontier (2008).
[Photo: Keiko Yoshida, 2023]
Stage Name: May’n
Birth Name: Nakabayashi Mei (中林 芽依)
Birthdate: 21 October 1989
Birthplace: Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Nationality: Japanese
Height: 163 cm (5’4″)
Weight: —
Blood Type: O
Management: HoriPro International
Record Label: Digital Double
Website: mayn.jp
Official Fan Club: mayn.jp/fanclub_entry/
Blog: ameblo.jp/mayn-blog/
Facebook: @mayn.official
Instagram: @mayn1021
Twitter: @mayn_tw
YouTube: May’n Official YouTube Channel
May’n Facts:
– She wanted to become a singer since she was 3 years old. (Manga Tokyo)
– Her father and mother are from Mie Prefecture and Hiroshima Prefecture respectively. They currently live in Nagoya. She has mentioned one younger sister. (blog)
– In 2003, she participated in the 28th HoriPro Talent Scout Caravan “Love Music Audition”. Out of the 34,911 contestants, she was one of the 4 finalists.
– She moved to Tokyo when she was in her first year of high school. (Pia)
– Her debut single “Crazy Crazy Crazy” with Universal was released on 27 April 2005 under the name of May Nakabayashi. (Her given name is romanized as Mei.)
– Two other singles, “Sympathy” and “Fallin’ in or Not”, and two digital singles, “Happy” and “Blooming Flowers in the Rain” (雨に咲く花), were subsequently released under Universal.
– In 2007, she changed her stage name to May’n and was under the label Victor Entertainment/Flying Dog.
– May’n is derived from her real name and a play on the English word “main” – that her songs are the main theme for the audience and she is the main singer. (Anime News Network)
– She provided the singing voice of Sheryl Nome in Macross Frontier.
– She thinks, on a personal level, that singing Anison has a wider range of emotions compared to J-pop. (ibid.)
– Her debut single as May’n “Diamond Crevasse”/”Iteza☆Gogo Kuji Don’t be late” for Macross Frontier was released on 8 May 2008.
– Although May’n likes her low-pitch voice, whilst working with composer Yoko Kanno on Macross Frontier, Kanno pushed and encouraged her to sing higher, something which May’n appreciates. (Anime Diet)
– Since her childhood, she has admired artists Namie Amuro and Janet Jackson, amongst others, for setting their own trends and their originality. (Macross World)
– Masami Okui is also an influence. In 2009, she collaborated with Okui on the song “Miracle Upper WL”.
– In May 2015, she cancelled the remainder of her May’n Road to 10th Anniversary Acoustic Tour 2015 “Hang jam vol.2” due to bilateral vocal cord polyps. She had problems for a “few years” but the condition worsened. (blog)
– She received medical treatment for her condition (throat surgery) and spent a few months recovering. She worked on the song “Today with you, my voice” (君との今日、わたしの声) before surgery. (JaME)
– Her favorite anime is Sailor Moon. (Anime News Network)
– She also likes the anime The Idolmaster. (Kyodo News)
– She loves to eat and her favorite food is taiyaki. (Macross World)
– She sleeps the entire day on her days off. (Animax)
– If she weren’t a singer, she would like to be a taiyaki seller. (AnimaxAsia)
– As a singer who sings different genres, she wants others to learn different types of music through her voice. (ibid.)
– She prefers coffee over tea. (ibid.)
– She likes meat and would “want to eat delicious meat every day”. (blog)
– She loves gyozas. (blog)
– She likes sanporoku, which might be her favorite souvenir from Sapporo. (blog)
– In February 2018, it was announced that she would play the role of Toyo Odagiri along with Fuka Yuduki in the stage musical adaptation of the 1952 film Ikiru (生きる). (blog)
– In October 2018, she made her stage musical debut when Ikiru premiered. The show ran again in October and November 2020.
– “Diamond Crevasse” continues to be an important Anison to her as it is her first song as May’n. (Manga Tokyo)
– Regarding Macross Frontier and Sheryl Nome, she is “incredibly happy that it’s still popular”. (ibid.)
– Her favorite Anisons by other artists are “Beyond the Bottom” by Wake Up, Girls! and “Shine” by CINDERELLA PROJECT. (ibid.)
– As of August 2018, she has been kickboxing two or three times per week for over two years as part of her physical training. (J-Generation)
– In October 2018, she started keeping a cat named Muu-chan (むぅちゃん), a female. (blog)
– In March 2021, she transferred her label to Digital Double.
– She wrote much of the lyrics on her 2021 album momentbook. Up till then, she has never written that many lyrics for one album and she tends to write and compose at her own pace, so it was difficult to work to a deadline. (Spice)
– In September and October 2021, she starred in the stage musical Jack the Ripper as Gloria.
– In December 2021 and January 2022, she starred in the stage musical adaptation of the manga Fist of the North Star as Yuria, sharing the role with Ayaka Hirahara. The show also ran in September and October 2022.
– She thought she was the opposite of the character of Yuria. Even her family said, “Why is May’n Yuria?” She found Yuria’s motherly nature, gentleness and dignified beauty to be most challenging. (Theater Girl)
– Director Sachiko Ishimaru guided her on how to express herself more softly.
– She practiced her lines and songs on her own but the most important thing was her posture.
– Ayaka Hirahara played Yuria differently which she couldn’t do. She studied what she thought was good and then made the character her own. (ibid.)
– She always loved watching musicals. Now that she has been in them, she finds them more appealing.
– She loves hippos. As of 2021, she has been collecting hippo items for about 15 years. (ibid.)
– She has participated in Anime Festival Asia every year that it ran since the first in 2008.
– For the Macross 40th Anniversary Collaboration Album “DeCulture!! Mixture!!!!!”, both she and Megumi Nakajima thought that Walküre’s song lyrics were the “opposite” of Sheryl’s and Ranka’s image. (AnimeAnime)
– She found JUNNA’s key difficult to sing in as it was higher than she thought it would be.
– “GIRAFFE BLUES” is her favorite Walküre song. She used to sing it a lot in karaoke in private. (ibid.)
– She is a fan of the Chunichi Dragons, the Nagoya-based NPB team.
– On 18 July 2022, she threw the ceremonial first pitch for the Chunichi Dragons vs Yokohama DeNA BayStars game. (blog)
– She plays the role of Neo, leader of the group Abyssmare, as part of Bushiroad’s franchise D4DJ.
– Since 2023, she has appeared in commercials for Denroku featuring the song “Setsubumbun!” (せつぶんぶん!) by her and JUVENILE.
– The Nakano Sunplaza in Tokyo closed in 2023. She performed at the “Sayonara Nakano Sunplaza Music Festival” in May. (Pia)
– As a singer, she is herself on stage but as an actress in a musical, she is acting and feels like she is “lying”. She had to learn to be in the right place emotionally to not merely “act”. (ibid.)
– On 10 February 2024, she celebrated her 300th solo live show in Japan. (blog)
– She and Megumi Nakajima in effect started their careers together in Macross Frontier (2008). May’n believes they inspire each other and Megumi is the only one who can understand everything she feels about her musical life and Macross Frontier. (Animate Times)
– It is important to her to try new things even though she was afraid that people would think she was a “Jack of all trades”. (Animate Times)
May’n – Solo Albums:
Prismverse (2024)
momentbook (2021)
15Colors -soul tracks- (2020 mini album)
15Colors -unplugged- (2020 mini album)
15Colors -nu skool- (2020 mini album)
Yell! (2019 mini album)
Peace of Smile (2017)
Powers of Voice (2015 “best of” album)
May’n Road to 10th Anniversary Premium Concert CD “Re:May’n Act” (2015 live album)
New World (2014)
Heat (2012)
If You… (2011)
Styles (2009)
May’n Street (2009 mini album)
Profile by bongjoi.
(Sources: Manga Tokyo, blog 03-Jan-2009, Pia, Anime News Network, Anime Diet, Macross World, blog 18-May-2015, JaME, Anime News Network, Kyodo News, Animax, AnimaxAsia Part 1, AnimaxAsia Part 2, blog 21-Jan-2023, blog 29-Jun-2023, blog 11-Jul-2023, blog 28-Feb-2018, J-Generation, blog 17-Oct-2018, Spice, Theater Girl interview 1, Theater Girl interview 2, AnimeAnime, blog 19-Jul-2022, blog 10-Feb-2024, Animate Times 25-May-2024, Animate Times 18-Jul-2024.)
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