Mayday () is a Taiwanese band that released their first album in 1999 with five members,

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

(leader, lead guitar),

Ashin Chen Hsin-hung (); Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chhîn Sìn-fên, nicknamed Ashin (;Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: A-sìn), born 6 December 1975, is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, author, and the vocalist of the Taiwanese band Mayday. Ashin majored in art in college, wh ...

(vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums). Formerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname. Dubbed as “

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

of the Chinese-speaking world”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the

Golden Melody Award for Best Band The Golden Melody Award for Best Band () is an award given by the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern P ...

, an award given by the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.

Members

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...
()

*Real name: Wen Shang Yi () *Alias: Eugene Wen *Date of birth: 28 November 1976 *Place of birth: Hsin-Chu, Taiwan *Position: Leader *Instruments: Lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Ashin Chen Hsin-hung (); Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chhîn Sìn-fên, nicknamed Ashin (;Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: A-sìn), born 6 December 1975, is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, author, and the vocalist of the Taiwanese band Mayday. Ashin majored in art in college, wh ...
()

*Real name: Chen Hsin Hong() *Date of birth: 6 December 1975 *Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan *Instruments: Lead vocalist, Rhythm guitar, Drums

Stone ()

*Real name: Shi Chin-hang () *Date of birth: 11 December 1975 *Place of birth: Taipei, Taiwan *Instruments: Rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals

Masa ()

*Real name: Tsai Shen-yen () *Date of birth: 25 April 1977 *Place of birth: Kaohsiung, Taiwan *Instruments: Bass guitar, Piano, Backing vocals

Ming ()

*Real name: Liu Guan-you () ld Name: Liu Yen-ming ()*Date of birth: 28 July 1973 *Place of birth: Miaoli, Taiwan *Instruments: Drums, Backing vocals

Career

1995-1997: Formation

Mayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta () in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (). They were later joined by Masa and Stone, who were attending the same school. After graduation, the members went to different universities but continued to perform in pubs and eateries. They were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday. Mayday was greatly influenced by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, believing that rock had the power to change the world, and spread ideals of love and peace through their songs.

1997-1999: ''Mayday’s First Album''

Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival () on 29 March 1997, the band began to actively send demo tapes to various record companies in the hope of sealing a record deal. Their demo impressed Rock Records executive Jonathan Lee () who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future". As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998. In the same year, they also took part in the release of the ''Taiwan Independent Compilation Album'' () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording ''Motor Rock'' (). In June 1998, they also released ''Embrace'' () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties. In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang ), Ming () joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled ''Mayday's First Album'' () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. Their debut received critical acclaim, and they gained a following in Taiwan. It went on to sell more than 300,000 copies, a considerable feat for a new band in the then pessimistic and saturated music industry. The songs ''Peter and Mary ''as well as ''Embrace '' became very popular among young audiences. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert '' 168th Concert '' at the

Taipei Municipal Stadium The Taipei Municipal Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Taipei, Taiwan. The original stadium, built in 1956, was used mostly for track and field events. Entertainer Michael Jackson performed two concerts there during his ''Dangerous World ...

. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group ().

1999-2001: ''Viva Love'' and ''People Life, Ocean Wild''

The band's second album ''Viva Love'' () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, ''Viva Love'' won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). This made them the first winner of the “Best Band” award which was only introduced that year. Between 12 and 26 August 2000, Mayday held three concerts of their ''Stand Out'' tour in Taipei City, Changhua County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan. In 2001, Mayday worked for the first time on a movie soundtrack and accompanying score for the movie ''Migratory Bird'' () which starred

Rene Liu Rene Liu Ruo-ying (; born 1 June, 1969) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actress, director and writer. In the Sinophone world, Liu is widely known by her affectionate nickname "Milk Tea". Her music often focuses on love stories and has built an ...

and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album ''People Life Ocean Wild'' (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month.五月天看見支票不為動容
（銀河網路電台）2006年12月29日引用 From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour ''Where are you going'' （你要去哪裡）in Taipei City, Kaohsiung City and Changhua County in Taiwan, as well as in Singapore. As members Ashin, Monster and Masa would be enlisting in the army soon after, Stone would be going to England to learn studio techniques, and Guan-You would be heading to Los Angeles to hone his drumming skills, this was a farewell tour for the band. During their concert in Kaoshiung City, guitarist Stone successfully proposed to his girlfriend on stage.

2003-2005: Return to the music scene, ''Time Machine'' and ''God’s Children are all Dancing''

During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled ''The Wings of Dream'' () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days. On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their ''Castle in the Sky'' concert at the

, attracting over 40,000 fans. This officially marked their return to the music scene. On 11 November 2003, the band released their 4th studio album ''Time Machine'' (). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days. The album won them their 2nd Golden Melody Award for Best Band. In 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie ''Love of May'' （五月之戀）. Stone also acted in the movie. On 5 November 2004, Mayday released their fifth studio album ''God’s Children are all Dancing'' （神的孩子都在跳舞）, and were nominated for Best Band at the 16th Golden Melody Awards in 2005. The band embarked on their first-ever world tour ''Final Home'' from 25 December 2004 to 1 May 2005, holding a total of 14 concerts in Taiwan, USA, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Hong Kong. They then released their first compilation in August 2005, which included 7 new songs. On 11 November 2005, Mayday staged a concert on the 91st floor of the famous world highest building, the 101 Plaza, breaking the Guinness World Records for highest concert in the world.

2006-2008: ''Jump! The World'' world tour

In 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B’in Music. On 29 December 2006, they released their sixth studio album ''Born to Love''（為愛而生）, and held 12 concerts in the first quarter of 2007. They kicked off their world tour ''Jump! The World'' （離開地球表面）in Hong Kong, holding 23 concerts in the span of two years.

2008-2010: ''Poetry of the Day After'' and ''DNA'' world tour

On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, ''Poetry of the Day After''（後青春期的詩）, with preorder sales exceeding 50,000 within a short time. After the album’s release, the band even held 100 concerts in Taiwan’s schools. Nominations for the 20th Golden Melody Awards were announced on 15 May 2009, which included You are Not Truly Happy () for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart () and Like Smoke (), as well as Mayday for Best Band. The band attended the ceremony held on 27 June 2009 and returned with their third Golden Melody Award for Best Band. On 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their ''DNA'' World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts in 2 years. The Kaohsiung concert stop was held on 5 December 2009 at the

National Stadium (Kaohsiung) The National Stadium (; also named 龍騰體育場), formerly known as the World Games Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It is currently the largest stadium in Taiwan in terms of capacity. Completed i ...

with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

2011: Release of 3D film ''3DNA'' and ''Second Round''

From 20–23 May 2011, Mayday held four concerts of their ''Just Rock It!!!'' World Tour. On 16 September, Mayday released their 3D film, 3DNA. The film, costing 220 million to produce, was the first ever Chinese 3D concert movie. Ticket sales totalled close to NT200 million. On 16 December 2011, Mayday released their 8th studio album, ''

Second Round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

'' (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. As the five members of the band had different views of Doomsday, two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequence. In 2012 the album was certified 10 Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last certification awarded by RIT. Mayday embarked on their ''Nowhere'' World Tour（諾亞方舟）on 23 December 2011, playing 7 consecutive concerts in the Taipei Arena, breaking their record of 4 consecutive concerts at the same venue in 2009.

2012: Breaking records at the Golden Melody Awards and performing at the Beijing National Stadium

Mayday was nominated for 7 awards at the 23rd Golden Melody Awards, taking away 6 awards including Best Band, Best Mandarin Album, Best Arranger, Best Composer, Best Album Producer and Song of the Year. The album broke 300,000 sales in a year. From then to 29 March 2014, they played a total of 82 concerts as part of their ''NOW-HERE'' world tour, including two consecutive concerts in the Beijing Bird’s Nest（北京鳥巢）in 2012 which attracted 200,000 fans, becoming the first chinese band to perform at the

Beijing National Stadium The National Stadium (), also known as the Bird's Nest (), is an 80,000-capacity stadium in Beijing. The stadium was jointly designed by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron from Basel-based architecture team Herzog & de Meuron, p ...

. On 3 March 2012, they held their ''Just Love It!'' ''I won’t let you be alone'' charity concert to raise funds for the underprivileged.

2013: Release of 3D film ''Noah’s Ark'' and debut in Japan

Mayday earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song ''Cheers''（乾杯）in their 8th album ''Second Round'' (第二人生）. In July 2013, they held 6 charity concerts, donating a total of NT27 million to charity. As part of their ''NOW-HERE'' world tour, they performed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on 2 February and held 8 consecutive concerts at the

Hong Kong Coliseum Hong Kong Coliseum, commonly known as the Hung Hom Coliseum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. It is in Yau Tsim Mong District. It was built by the Urban Council and inaugurated on 27 ...

in May. On 17 August 2013, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest. In 2013, Japanese band flumpool officially debuted in Taiwan. Ashin specially gave the band a chinese name, 凡人譜. Mayday and flumpool worked together on a Japanese theme song for the movie Oshin. This was an opportunity for Mayday to enter the Japanese music industry, as they then joined record label

Amuse Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or animal actively maintains the experience, and is associated with enjoyment, happiness, laughter and pleasure. It is an emotion with posit ...

. On 13 November, Mayday officially released their first Japanese compilation. The band also held 2 concerts in Osaka and Tokyo at the start of 2014. On 18 September 2013, the band released their second 3D concert film, ''Mayday Nowhere''（5月天諾亞方舟）. It was also the world’s first 4DX concert film. Mayday worked with a German team which had been in charge of the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

opening ceremony and

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

to film with high-quality equipment such as the

Spidercam The Spidercam is a cable-suspended camera system which enables film and television cameras to move both vertically and horizontally over a predetermined area, typically the playing field of a sporting event such as a cricket pitch, football fie ...

. Post-production of the movie was done with TWR Entertainment, a Hollywood-level team. On 27 September 2013, Mayday officially entered Japan's music scene, appearing on Japanese music television program Music Station. On 1 and 2 October, the band was the guest for flumpool’s 5th anniversary concert at

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

in Japan. In the same year, Mayday also went on an interview on BBC’s show, Impact. On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, ''The Best of 1999-2013''.

2014: North American Tour, performance at Madison Square Garden

As part of their ''NOW-HERE'' world tour, Mayday performed at the Korea International Exhibition Center in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500- ...

in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe. They also performed in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

at the

Zénith Paris Zénith Paris (originally known as Zénith de Paris, ; and commonly referred to as Le Zénith, ) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paris, France. It is located in the Parc de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement on the edge of the Canal de ...

on 23 February and in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February. As part of their ''NOW-HERE'' North American Tour, the band held 7 concerts in Canada and the US from 17 to 29 March, in cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, San Jose, and Los Angeles. Notably, the band performed at the

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Chinese band to perform at the venue. The final show of the ''NOW-HERE'' world tour was held in Los Angeles on 29 March. On 27 July, Mayday started another series of ''Just Love It!'' charity ''c''oncerts, with the first ''Just Love It!'' ''Embrace'' charity concert held at the

Kaohsiung Arena The Kaohsiung Arena () is an indoor sporting arena located in Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It is used to host indoor sporting events. It was used as a host to some of the indoor sporting events during the 2009 World Games. Name Loca ...

, followed by 3 August in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, 5 August in

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

, and 8 August in

Yilan Yilan may refer to: China * Yilan County, Heilongjiang (依兰县), county of central Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China * Yilan Town, Heilongjiang (依兰镇), seat of Yilan County * Yilan, Jilin (依兰镇), town in Yanji Taiwan ...

. All proceeds were donated to charity. On 31 December, Mayday held their ''Campfire'' concert at the Kaoshiung National Stadium, counting down to 2015 with their fans. They continued to hold three more concerts at the same venue from 1 to 3 January 2015.

2016: ''History of Tomorrow''

From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the

as part of their ''Just Rock It!!!'' World Tour, breaking the record for the most concerts held at the venue by an overseas singer. On 17 July, Mayday returned to where they first performed after releasing their first album in 1999, Ximending in Taipei City, for a free live concert. More than 10,000 fans thronged the area to watch the concert. On 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, ''History of Tomorrow''. The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide. From 26–28 August, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest to perform 3 consecutive concerts for close to 300,000 fans as part of their ''Just Rock It!!!'' World Tour.

2017-2018: ''Life'' world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation

At the

28th Golden Melody Awards The 28th Golden Melody Awards () took place in Taipei, Taiwan in 2017. The award ceremony for the popular music categories was hosted by Mickey Huang and broadcast on TTV on 24 June. Winners and nominees Below is the list of winners and nominees ...

, Mayday was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Band, Best Composer, and Song of the Year. In the end, the band took away awards for Best Mandarin Album and Best Lyricist (Ashin). On 14 February 2017, they collaborate for the first time with

Alan Tam Alan Tam Wing-lun MH (; born 23 August 1950) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. He played a major role in developing the Cantopop scene in the 1980s as he was known for singing romantic ballads with modern arrangements. From 1983 to 1987, Alan Tam ...

presenting song called "脱胎换骨" (Reborn) from his eighteenth Mandarin studio album ''Appreciation'' (欣賞). Mayday’s ''Life'' world tour, the band’s 10th large-scale concert tour, kicked off on 18 March 2017 with 4 consecutive shows at the Kaohsiung National Stadium, drawing a crowd of over 200,000 fans. The ''Life'' tour is a spectacular performance with impressive production designed by world-renowned Creative Director LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works, who had worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, and more. On 29 March 2017, Mayday celebrated their 20th anniversary with a free outdoor concert in Taipei and a worldwide livestream of the show. Over 35,000 fans were in attendance, while millions more watched a free livestream of the concert. The band continued their tour, with shows in cities such as

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...

and

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

in China throughout April 2017. From 10 May to 23 May 2017, they held 10 consecutive sold-out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum, rocking to over 100,000 fans. From 27 May to 14 October, Mayday continued holding shows in cities all over China, including two consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest to over 200,000 fans, on 18 and 19 August 2017. On 28 October 2017, the band performed at Stadium Merdeka in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. Mayday held their North American Tour from 8–26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

’s

Honda Center The Honda Center (formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim) is an indoor arena located in Anaheim, California. The arena is home to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League. Originally named the Anaheim Arena during construction ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

’s

Barclays Center Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...

. The band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at Hongkou Football Stadium in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

, China, from 2–8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the

Singapore Indoor Stadium The Singapore Indoor Stadium, known exonymously as the Indoor Stadium, is an indoor arena located in Kallang, Singapore. It is within walking distance of the Singapore National Stadium, and collectively form a part of the wider Singapore Spor ...

from 15–17 December 2017. From 23 December 2017 to 7 January 2018, the band held 11 consecutive concerts at the

Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium The Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium (), originally known as Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium () until Rakuten acquired the naming rights in 2022, is a multi-use stadium located in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. The stadium opened in 2010 and has a c ...

in Taoyuan, Taiwan, welcoming the new year with their fans. From 26 January to 1 February 2018, the band held 4 shows at the Cotai Arena in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

. The 4th leg of the ''Life'' tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, one on 2 March 2018 at the

AccorHotels Arena Accor Arena (originally known as Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, and previously as AccorHotels Arena; also known as Bercy in competitions where commercial names are prohibited, such as in the Olympic Games) is an indoor sports arena and concert ...

in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decemb ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. This was followed by concerts in China throughout March and April 2018. From 4 to 13 May 2018, the band performed 6 shows at

Hong Kong Disneyland Hong Kong Disneyland () (local nickname ''HKDL''; also known as HK Disneyland) is a theme park located on reclaimed land in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. It is located inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and it is owned and managed by Hong Ko ...

, which was a bigger venue to allow the fans to take in the full stage and special effects. On 19 and 20 May 2018, the band performed at the

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the

Singapore National Stadium The Singapore National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Opened on 30 June 2014, it was constructed on the site of the Former National Stadium, Singapore, former National Stadium, which was closed in 2007 and demolished i ...

. Mayday continued to tour China, returning to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for the fifth time, this time performing 3 consecutive shows, from 24–26 August 2018. On 8 September 2018, the band performed at the

Olympic Hall Olympic Hall is a music venue located within the Olympic Park, in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea. In 2011, the Olympic Hall was renovated as a concert hall by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion ...

, South Korea. On 5 May 2018, they released a single named "I Will Carry You", a theme song for Android game, '' Honor of Kings''. Leg 6 of the tour brought Mayday to

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

, where they performed three shows in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

from 18 to 23 September 2018. On 6 October 2018, the band performed in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

for the first time. The final leg of the tour brought them back to Taiwan, as they held 10 consecutive shows at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of T ...

, Taiwan to round up the tour. The ''Life'' world tour visited 55 cities and comprised a total of 122 shows. It is the largest scaled tour the band has held to date, attracting more than 4.15 million attendees. Nearly 90 shows were held in massive outdoor stadiums, and all tickets were nearly sold out, resulting in the addition of extra shows in cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.

2019: Release of 3D film ''Life'' and 20th anniversary of the Blue Trilogy

The 3D concert film ''Mayday LiFE'' was released on 24 May 2019. It comprised scenes from the 122 concerts of the Life world tour, and was the third 3D concert film by the band thus far. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the band’s first three albums, which fans affectionately call the ''Blue Trilogy'', Mayday recreated and filmed new music videos for three songs in the ''Blue Trilogy'', namely "Innocence" (純真), "World Crazy" (瘋狂世界) and "Tenderness" (溫柔), even inviting singer Stefanie Sun for a collaboration on "Tenderness". Mayday also kicked off their "Just Rock It!!! Blue" tour with two concerts in Osaka, Japan on 6 and 7 April 2019. They then returned to the

to hold 6 concerts in May. From 23–25 August, Mayday held 3 consecutive shows at the Beijing Bird’s Nest, making it their sixth time performing at the famed venue. Just like previous years, Mayday returned to Taiwan to welcome the new year with their fans, performing 11 consecutive shows at the

in Taoyuan,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.

2020-present: Online concerts, ''Fly to 2021/2022'' World Tour and 10th anniversary of ''Now-Here'' World Tour

On 6 January 2020, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their ''Just Rock It!!! Blue'' tour to Singapore on 30 August 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concert was rescheduled twice, first to 27 February 2021 and then to 4 September 2021. It was then announced the show would be replaced with the latest tour ''Mayday Fly to 2022 Live in Singapore'', to be held on 3 December 2022. On 28 January 2020, the music video for "I Won’t Let You Be Lonely" passed 100 million views on Youtube, becoming the first music video by the band to reach 100 million views. On 31 May 2020, the band held the ''Mayday Live in the Sky'', the first online concert which amassed more than 42 million views worldwide. On 18 October, the music video for "Here, After Us" passed 100 million views, making Mayday the first Chinese speaking band to have two music videos with more than 100 million views on Youtube. On 7 November 2020, Mayday announced their ''Fly to 2021'' concert tour, with 5 concerts at

from 26 December 2020 to 2 January 2021, which was postponed to 31 December 2020 to 10 January 2021 due to the pandemic; 5 concerts at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium from 17 to 22 February 2021, which was postponed to 4 to 12 December 2021 due to the pandemic; and 5 concerts at Tainan Municipal Stadium from 20 to 29 March 2021. One additional show was later added to the Taoyuan list, held on 8 January 2021. This tour was exceptionally meaningful as the band had not held a Taiwan tour since 2004. As a gesture of gratitude to COVID-19 frontline workers, the band’s company B’in Music gave out 6000 free tickets to medical staff in Taoyuan, Taichung and Tainan. On 24 December 2020, Mayday released their first single in 971 days, "Because of You", composed and written by Ashin. Mayday also held a second online concert, ''Mayday Fly to 2021'', to countdown to the new year with their fans. More than 29 million fans watched the livestream at the same time. Mayday held 4 ''Fly to 2022'' concerts at the Kaoshiung National Stadium from 25 Dec 2021 to 1 Jan 2022, as well as their third online concert on 31 Dec 2021, continuing their yearly tradition of counting down to the new year together with their fans. The hour-long online concert features various scenic locations in Kaoshiung, with scenes shot in a helicopter, on a boat, and in the middle of a river, even employing novel XR technology. The 5 Taichung concerts were eventually held from 15 to 23 Jan 2022, after one more postponement due to venue constraints. On 29 July 2022, the band announced their ''Fly to 2022'' USA Tour, consisting of two shows held on 12 November 2022 and 19 November 2022 at

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena (originally known as the MGM Grand Garden Special Events Center) is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. Sporting events From its opening on December 18, 1993 ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

respectively. On 2 August 2022, they announced an encore Las Vegas show to be held on 13 November 2022. On 17 October 2022, Mayday announced their ''MAYDAY NOWHERE Re: Live 2022-2023'' concerts. With 8 shows held from 23 Dec 2022 to 8 January 2023 at

Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium The Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium (), originally known as Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium () until Rakuten acquired the naming rights in 2022, is a multi-use stadium located in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. The stadium opened in 2010 and has a c ...

, the concerts mark the 10th anniversary of the band’s ''Now-Here'' World Tour, which visited 40 cities and was seen by nearly 2.5 million fans.

Musical style and influences

Mayday's songs are written mostly in Mandarin with some

Taiwanese Hokkien Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/ Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about ...

tracks by Ashin, who speaks fluent Hokkien in addition to Mandarin. They are popular for their student band roots, and their ability to capture the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth in the mid to late 1990s. Mayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues. Earlier lyrics written by Ashin often included themes such as teenage angst and growing up. In albums later on, Ashin has alluded to several cultural icons, notably the Chinese mythical monkey-god Sun Wu-Kong,

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...

and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" () which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie, '' Vive L'Amour'' and the song "Armor" (), which was influenced by a Chinese drama () and

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been bestsellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his ...

's novel Kafka on the Shore. Mayday has expressed their admiration of

, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music. The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon () where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (). Other musical influences include the Irish band U2, the British band

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

, and the Japanese pop music artists

Mr. Children , commonly referred to by their contracted nickname , are a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1989. Consisting of Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki, they made their major label debut in 1992. They are one o ...

Collaborations

Mayday has collaborated with many famous singers on songs. Notably, lead singer Ashin and others has written lyrics and composed songs for many singers, including Victor Wong, JJ Lin,

Jolin Tsai Jolin Tsai (; ; born September 15, 1980) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, and actress. Referred to as the " Queen of C-Pop", she is considered one of the most influential figures in Chinese popular culture. She is known for her continual rein ...

Fish Leong Fish Leong (born Leong Chui Peng on 16 June 1978) is a Malaysian singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 20 million records to date, she has achieved popularity and success in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, and Malays ...

, Twins,

Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, singer, songwriter, entrepreneur and chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. As multi talented celebrity, he became a TV c ...

Jam Hsiao Jam Hsiao Ching-Teng (, born 30 March 1987) is a Taiwanese singer and actor. At the age of 17, while still in high school, he began working as a restaurant singer. In May 2007, Hsiao took part in the first season of China Television (CTV)'s sta ...

S.H.E S.H.E is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen, Hebe Tien, and Ella Chen. They formed in 2001 and are managed by HIM International Music but decided not to renew their contract in 2019 due to having their own management company. Si ...

, Leehom Wang,

, Della Ding and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured in Mandopop king Jay Chou’s surprise new single Won't Cry under his label JVR Music International. Other members of the band have also dabbled in album and song production, playing a role in many popular songs of today.

Discography

* ''Mayday's First Album'' (1999) * ''Viva Love'' (2000) * ''People Life, Ocean Wild'' (2001) * ''Time Machine'' (2003) * ''God's Children Are All Dancing'' (2004) * '' Born to Love'' (2006) * '' Poetry of the Day After'' (2008) * ''

'' (2011) * ''

History of Tomorrow ''History of Tomorrow'' () is Taiwanese Mandopop rock band Mayday's ninth studio album, 5 years since ''Second Round''. The first Single,"Party Animal", was released on May 20. It was released on July 21, 2016. Promotion Tour They first an ...

'' (2016)

Tours

*168 Live (1999) *Stand Out Live (2000) *Where are you going Live Tour (2001) *Union Live (2003) *Final Home World Tour (2004–2006) *Jump! The World Tour (2007–2008) *D.N.A World Tour (2009–2010) *Just Rock It! World Tour (2011–2020) *Nowhere World Tour (2011–2014) *

Life Tour The Life Tour was the tenth concert tour by Taiwanese-band Mayday, in support of the band’s ninth studio album '' History of Tomorrow'' (2016). The tour began on March 18, 2017 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and concluded on January 6, 2019 in Taichu ...

(2017–2019) *Fly to 2021/Fly to 2022 Concerts (2020-2022)

Awards and nominations

Social Incidents

In 2019, the protests in Hong Kong drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to netizens' comments related to the protests on his Facebook page, and his response triggered many hostile reports to Facebook from pro-China netizens. These reports prompted Facebook to shut down the page.

References

External links

Mayday's official facebook
*
TaipeiMetal "News about Taiwan's Growing Metal Scene"GigGuide Taiwan: A Directory of Live Shows and reviews of metal music in TaiwanEncyclopaedia Metallum- The Metal Archives' directory of metal bands in Taiwan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayday Taiwanese rock music groups Mandopop musical groups Musical groups established in 1997 Taiwanese idols Taiwanese Hokkien-language bands A-Sketch artists