, better known by her stage name May J., is a Japanese pop and R&B singer who made her major label debut under

Sony Music Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation and is ...

on July 12, 2006, with her first mini-album '' All My Girls''. She was born to an Iranian mother and Japanese father.

Early life

May J. was born as May Hashimoto on June 20, 1988, in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, Japan. The "J" in her name comes from the Persian name "

Jamileh Jamileh ( fa, جمیله) is a female given name.Babynamefacts.com - http://www.babynamefacts.com/babynames/summary.php?name=Jamileh It means "beautiful". Notable people with the given name include: * Jamileh, Iranian dancer * Jamileh Kadivar, ...

" ( fa, جمیله), meaning "beautiful". She knows how to speak four languages, including

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

. May J.'s Iranian mother refused to acknowledge her

roots due to perceived negativity towards

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ians in Japan and May J. grew up forbidden to speak the

Persian language Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...

. Believing she was American, she discovered her true heritage on a chance overhearing of a conversation between her mother and grandmother. During her formative middle school years she began listening to Iranian singers

Googoosh Faegheh Atashin ( fa, فائقه آتشین; born 5 May 1950), known professionally as Googoosh ( fa, گوگوش, ), is an Iranian singer and former actress. One of the most popular and prolific entertainers in Iran, her career has spanned over ...

and

Afshin Afshin ( fa, افشین / ''Afšīn'') is a common Persian given name, which is a modern Persian word derived from Avestan. Afshin was used by the Sogdians. Historically, it was the princely title of the rulers of Osrushana at the time of the Mu ...

and has later said she hopes to debut in Iran. At the age of 14, May J. was successful at a

audition and soon signed onto Sony Music. While waiting to make her major label debut, May J. was a dancer for

Aaron Carter Aaron Charles Carter (December 7, 1987November 5, 2022) was an American singer and rapper. He came to fame as a teen pop singer in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among preteen and teenage audiences during the first years of the ...

's Japanese concert and was featured on the track ''Luyva: Another Episode'' from

Sphere of Influence In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal al ...

's album ''Big Deal'', credited simply as May. A childhood fan of

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

she then came to admire Canadian rock singer

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

, winning a

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

lookalike contest as Avril. She began listening to R&B while studying at the

American School in Japan The American School in Japan (ASIJ; ja, アメリカンスクール・イン・ジャパン) is an international private day school located in the city of Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. The school consists of an elementary school, a middle school, and a ...

, from which she graduated in 2007 following a period of balancing her studies and her singing career.

Career

2006–2009: Debut and development

Released July 12, 2006, under Neosite Discs, the hip-hop division of Sony's

Ki/oon Records is a Japanese record label, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Artists Their artists include L'Arc-en-Ciel, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Home Made Kazoku, Puffy AmiYumi, Polysics, Supercar, Pushim, Chatmonchy, Denki Groove, Tomoe ...

, the music of her debut mini-album '' All My Girls'' was billed by her label as "Jennifer Lopez/Beyoncé style music which has never before existed in Japan." To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Neosite Discs, the single "

I Say Yeah! "I Say Yeah!" is a single released by all five of the signed artists of Neosite Discs, a sub-label of Ki/oon Records dedicated to R&B, hip hop and reggae, to celebrate the label's 10th anniversary. The single received minor popularity, enterin ...

" was released on October 4, 2006, as a collaboration by all 5 of the label's signed artists. The single marked May J.'s first appearance in the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

top 10. May J. performed as the opening act for American R&B singer

Cassie Cassie is a feminine given name and a short form of various other given names mostly used in English-speaking countries. It is more rarely a surname. People and fictional characters named Cassie include: People with the name Given name or nickna ...

alongside Rōma Tanaka at Cassie's concert at Shibuya O-EAST on November 28, 2006. December 20, 2006, saw May J.'s first solo single release when "

Here We Go Here We Go may refer to: Music Albums * ''Here We Go'' (US5 album), 2005 * ''Here We Go!'' (Arashi album), 2002 * ''Here We Go...'' (Chanty Savage album), 1994 *''Here We Go'', debut album of German duo Soul Control, 2004 EPs * ''Here We Go'' (E ...

feat. Verbal (

M-Flo is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of record producer DJ Taku Takahashi, Verbal and Lisa. Lisa left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists fo ...

)" dropped and charted at #70 on the weekly charts. Her follow-up single, " Dear…" was released on May 30, 2006, and was unlike most of her previous work. Despite the ballad being much more Japanese-friendly than her debut, the single charted at just #90. May J. was then featured on Hip-Hop artist

Zeebra , known professionally as , is a Japanese hip hop recording artist and DJ who made his first appearance in 1995. Zeebra is a former member of the hip-hop group King Giddra, which also included DJ Oasis and K Dub Shine, and the older brother of f ...

's new album ''World of Music'' on the track "Shinin' Like a Diamond". In October, it was announced that May J. would be releasing her 3rd single, "Do tha' Do tha'" on November 21, followed shortly by her first full-length studio album, ''Baby Girl'' on December 5. In October 2008, she became the co-host of

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

's English-language weekly music program ''

J-Melo ''J-Melo'' is a weekly Japanese music television program broadcast by NHK. It is recorded entirely in the English language. It began broadcasting on October 7, 2005. The program is available on NHK's World Service television station, Radio Japan, ...

'', with

Shanti Snyder Shanti Snyder (born 4 June 1981), better known as Shanti, is a Japanese lyricist, singer, songwriter, and music TV host of mixed descent, based in Japan and hailing from Kanagawa Prefecture. She performs with a few different formations at clubs i ...

, going out to 180 countries via

NHK World NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese state-controlled public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-ser ...

. She became sole host in March 2010 and has remained ever since.

2009–present: Rise to prominence

On March 6, 2009, label

Rhythm Zone (RZN) is a record label in the Avex Group that releases urban contemporary Japanese music. History The label was founded in 1999 by Max Matsuura with a focus on urban music, signing M-Flo as its first artist, then followed by Exile. In 2000, ...

opened a new official site for May J. confirming that she had left Sony to join the

Avex is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

imprint. On the May 23, 2009, her second album ''Family'' was announced, featuring the single ''Garden'' (featuring DJ Kaori, Diggy-MO', クレンチ＆ブリスタ). The album charted at #4 on the

weekly chart. Her third full album titled ''For You'' was released on February 17, 2010. Her first solo live tour, lasting ten weeks and including 40 shows followed, culminating at Tokyo's

Shibuya AX Shibuya (wikt:渋谷, 渋谷wikt:区, 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern ...

venue on May 23, 2010. On November 24, 2010, she released a mini-album titled ''Believin...'' as a prelude to her fourth full album ''Colors,'' released on January 26, 2011. In 2012, May J. recorded the song "Back to Your Heart" with Canadian singer

Daniel Powter Daniel Richard Powter (; born February 25, 1971) is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his self-penned hit song " Bad Day" (2005), which was top of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for five weeks. Biography Early life Powter grew up in Verno ...

. May J. sang the end roll version of the title song "

Let It Go "Let It Go" is a song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert L ...

" in Disney's Japanese release of the Frozen animated movie which hit No. 8 on the Japan Hot 100 after the film's Japanese release in March 2014. In 2018, she performed the song live in the finale of the touring ice show

Fantasy on Ice is an annual touring ice show in Japan produced by CIC Co., Ltd. The show emerged from the "Philippe Candeloro Japan Tour 2001", named after retired French figure skater Philippe Candeloro, and was held under the name "Fantasy on Ice" the followi ...

Makuhari is a community in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is within Hanamigawa-ku and Mihama-ku. The seaside area of Makuhari was reclaimed from the sea. The district was constructed in a span of 10 years. Steven Poole, author of ''Trigger Happ ...

and

Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape File:もてな ...

. May J. has appeared on the variety show ''

Kanjani8 is a five-member Japanese boy band from Japan's Kansai region. They are managed by the multimedia talent agency Johnny & Associates and signed to Infinity Records. The group was formed in 2002 and made their CD debut in 2004 as "Johnny's modern ...

no Shiwake Eight'' since 2012, as part of a karaoke contest segment, winning 26 straight contests before losing to Sarah Àlainn with the

Idina Menzel Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in musicals on the Broadway stage and having achieved mainstream success across stage, film and music, Menzel has garnered the honorif ...

version of "Let It Go", on the May 3, 2014, edition.

Personal life

On June 20, 2022, May J. announced that she has married actor Shogen.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Extended plays

Best albums

Cover albums

Live albums

Video albums

As featured artist

*May 27, 2009 - "Unchain my Heart" by WISE feat. May J. (in album Love Quest) *December 15, 2010 - "HeartBeat" by TARO SOUL &

KEN THE 390 , AKA Ken the 390 (''Ken za Sankyūmaru''), is a Japanese hip hop and R&B singer/rapper and voice actor who is an artist of the Rhythm Zone label owned by the Avex Group. Life and career In 1999, Ken the 390 helped in founding the Da.Me.Recor ...

feat. May J. (in album So Much Soul) *May 16, 2012 - "REBIRTH-DAY SONG" by

Demon Kakka , previously known as , is a Japanese musician, songwriter, entertainer, journalist, sumo commentator, actor and voice actor. He first gained fame in the 1980s as vocalist of the heavy metal band Seikima-II, before starting a solo career in ...

feat. May J. (in album MYTHOLOGY) *October 24, 2012 - "who.am.i.?" by Bentley Jones feat. May J. and Curtis Young (in album UPGRADE 1.0) *March 12, 2013 - " Sweet Spot" by

Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard (born September 16, 1979), better known by his stage name Flo Rida (, ), is an American rapper and singer. His 2007 breakout single " Low" was number one for 10 weeks in the United States and broke the record for digital dow ...

featuring May J. *November 27, 2015 - "北極星" by Show Luo - 羅志祥 feat. May J. - 橋本芽生 *April 2017 - Jun.K (from 2PM) - 私たちの別れた話 (Duet with May J.)

References

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

May J. Lyrics Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:May J. 1988 births Living people American School in Japan alumni Avex Group artists Japanese women pop singers Japanese people of Iranian descent Japanese people of Russian descent Japanese rhythm and blues singers Ki/oon Music artists Musicians from Kanagawa Prefecture People from Yokohama English-language singers from Japan Fantasy on Ice guest artists 21st-century Japanese singers 21st-century Japanese women singers