Taiwanese band
Mayday
|
---|
Mayday in 2006
|
|
Origin
| Taiwan
|
---|
Genres
| |
---|
Years active
| 1997?present
|
---|
Labels
| |
---|
|
Members
|
|
---|
Mayday
(
Chinese
:
五月天
;
pinyin
:
W? Yue Ti?n
;
Pe?h-?e-j?
:
G??-goe?h-thiⁿ
) is a Taiwanese rock band formed in 1997. Consisting of five members,
Monster
(leader, lead guitar),
Ashin
(vocal), Stone (rhythm guitar), Masa (bass) and Ming (drums), they released their first album in 1999.
Formerly called So Band, they came to be known as Mayday in 1997, with the name originating from Masa's online nickname.
[2]
Dubbed as “
the Beatles
of the
Chinese-speaking world
”, Mayday has won many awards in their career, including the
Golden Melody Award for Best Band
, an award given by the Taiwanese
Ministry of Culture
, in 2001, 2004, 2009 and 2012.
[3]
Career
[
edit
]
1995?1997: Formation
[
edit
]
Mayday evolved from So Band which was formed by Ashin, Monster and the first drummer Chien You-ta (
錢佑達
) in 1995 while they were studying in The Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University (
師大附中
). 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.
[4]
In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival under the moniker Mayday.
[2]
Mayday was greatly influenced by
The Beatles
, 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
[
edit
]
Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival (
野臺開唱
) 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
(
李宗盛
)
[5]
who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future".
[5]
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
(
?國歌曲
) by indie music label TCM (
角頭音樂
) which included their first studio recording
Motor Rock
(
軋車
).
[
citation needed
]
In June 1998, they also released
Embrace
(
擁抱
) compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production and recording duties.
[6]
In 1999, after their third drummer Robert from Loh Tsui Kweh Commune had left (the second drummer was Chen Yung-chang
陳泳?
[7]
), Ming (
冠佑
) joined the band and completed Mayday. They went on to release their first full-length studio album titled
Mayday's First Album
(
第一張創作專輯
) 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.
[5]
The songs
Peter and Mary
(
志明與春嬌
) 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
. They were also nominated for the 11th Golden Melody Awards under the category of Best Musical Group (
十一?金曲?最佳演唱團體?
).
[8]
1999?2001:
Viva Love
and
People Life, Ocean Wild
[
edit
]
The band's second album
Viva Love
(
愛情萬歲
) was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies.
[9]
Additionally,
Viva Love
won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (
十二屆金曲?最佳樂團?
).
[10]
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
(
候鳥
) which starred
Rene Liu
and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album
People Life Ocean Wild
(
人生海海
), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month.
[11]
From 18 August to 1 September 2001, Mayday held their first ticketed tour
Where are you going
(?要去?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
[
edit
]
During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled
The Wings of Dream
(
搖滾本事
) as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack, with ticket sales hitting more than NT1.2 million in barely three days.
[12]
On 16 August 2003, Mayday held their
Castle in the Sky
concert at the
Taipei Municipal Stadium
, 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
(
時光機
). Sales of the album hit more than 150,000 within two days.
[13]
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
[
edit
]
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
(?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
[
edit
]
On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album,
Poetry of the Day After
(後?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 (
?不是?正的快樂
) for Best Song, Ashin for Best Lyricist for the songs The Yet Unbroken Part of My Heart (
我心中?未崩壞的地方
) and Like Smoke (
如煙
), 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.
[14]
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)
with 55555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by
Michael Jackson
.
[15]
2011: Release of 3D film
3DNA
and
Second Round
[
edit
]
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
(
第二人生
). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week.
[16]
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
NT$
56,158,622, which is, as of 2021
[update]
, the last certification awarded by RIT.
[17]
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
[
edit
]
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
. 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
[
edit
]
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
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
. 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
opening ceremony and
FIFA World Cup
to film with high-quality equipment such as the
Spidercam
. 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
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?2015: North American Tour, first shows at Madison Square Garden and Nippon Budokan
[
edit
]
As part of their
NOW-HERE
world tour, Mayday performed at the
Korea International Exhibition Center
in
Seoul
, South Korea, on 8 February 2014. On 21 February 2014, they held the first concert of their European tour at the
Wembley Arena
in London, attracting more than 10,000 fans from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Europe.
[18]
They also performed in
Paris
at the
Zenith Paris
on 23 February and in the
Netherlands
at the Amsterdam Heineken Music Hall on 26 February.
[19]
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
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
, followed by 3 August in
Beijing
, 5 August in
Shenzhen
, and 8 August in
Yilan
. 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 2 more concerts at the same venue on 2 and 3 January 2015. On 1 January 2015, Mayday, together with artists from their record label B'in Music, held a New Year's concert at the intersection of Kaixuan and Ersheng Road ? the site of the tragic
2014 Kaohsiung gas explosions
. The free concert aimed to boost tourism and celebrate the citizens' courage during the aftermath of the accident.
On 29 March 2015, the anniversary of the band’s formation, Mayday announced that they would be bringing their
Just Rock It!!!
World Tour to
Nippon Budokan
with 2 shows on 28 and 29 August 2015, making their mark as the first Mandarin-speaking band to hold a concert at the venue. On 17 June 2015, Mayday also released their second Japanese single,
YOUR LEGEND ~Moyuru Inochi~.
[20]
Through the activities in Japan, the band wished to create one Asia beyond borders and language barriers.
[21]
On 26 June 2015, Mayday released
''Her Story''
, an album which invited 10 female singers and their creative teams to remake Mayday's well-loved hits into their signature styles, with an underlying concept of womanhood. In August 2015, the band announced that they would be stopping all public activities for 6?12 months in preparation for their new album.
2016:
History of Tomorrow
[
edit
]
From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held 10 consecutive concerts at the
Hong Kong Coliseum
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
.
[22]
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. From 17 December 2016 to 1 January 2017, Mayday held 9 concerts at Taipei Arena as part of their once-off
RE:LIVE Just Rock It!!!
series to look back on the significant concerts that have shaped their career. Each concert aimed to replicate one of the past concert themes, including
''R
e:JUST ROCK IT!
''
,
''R
e:NOWHERE
''
,
''R
e:DNA
''
,
''R
e:JUMP
''
,
''R
e:FINAL HOME
'', ''R
e:UNION
''
,
''R
e:Where are you going?
''
,
''R
e:Stand out
''
and
''R
e:168
''
.
2017?2018:
Life
world tour and 20th anniversary of Mayday’s formation
[
edit
]
At the
28th Golden Melody Awards
, 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
presenting song called "?胎?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.
[23]
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
,
Xiamen
and
Hangzhou
in China throughout April 2017. From 10 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
,
Malaysia
. Mayday held their North American Tour from 8?26 November 2017, performing in 7 North American cities, including stops at
Anaheim
’s
Honda Center
and
Brooklyn
’s
Barclays Center
.
[23]
The band then returned to Asia to hold 5 consecutive concerts at
Hongkou Football Stadium
in
Shanghai
, China, from 2?8 December 2017, followed by 3 consecutive concerts at the
Singapore Indoor Stadium
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
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
.
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
in Paris, France, and one on 4 March 2018 at the
O2 Arena
in
London
,
England
. 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
, 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
Nippon Budokan
in
Tokyo
,
Japan
. The band returned to Singapore on 2 June 2018, this time performing to 40,000 fans at the
Singapore National Stadium
. 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
in
Seoul
, 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
, where they performed three shows in
Melbourne
,
Sydney
and
Auckland
from 18 to 23 September 2018. On 6 October 2018, the band performed in
Bangkok
,
Thailand
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
, 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
[
edit
]
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?), "World Crazy" (?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
Hong Kong Disneyland
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
Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium
in
Taoyuan
,
Taiwan
, even donating all revenue from one of the concerts to the underprivileged.
2020?2023: Online concerts,
Fly to 2021/2022/2023
World Tour and
Now-Here
World Tour 10th Anniversary shows
[
edit
]
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
Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium
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.
[24]
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.
[25]
Mayday held 4
Fly to 2022
concerts at the
Kaoshiung National Stadium
from 25 December 2021 to 1 January 2022,
[26]
as well as their third online concert on 31 December 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
.
[27]
The 5 Taichung concerts were eventually held from 15 to 23 January 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
in
Las Vegas
and
Barclays Center
in
New York
respectively.
[28]
On 2 August 2022, they announced an encore Las Vegas show to be held on 13 November 2022. Mayday also successfully held their long-awaited Singapore show to 40,000 attendees at the Singapore National Stadium on 3 December 2022.
[29]
On 17 October 2022, Mayday announced their
MAYDAY NOWHERE Re: Live 2022?2023
concerts. With 8 shows held from 23 December 2022 to 8 January 2023 at
Rakuten Taoyuan Baseball Stadium
, 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.
[30]
As the pandemic eased globally, Mayday continued to bring their tours to eager fans all over the world. On 11 February 2023, the band held their
Fly to 2023
concert in
Bukit Jalil National Stadium
, Malaysia.
Fly to 2023
concerts were also held from 14?23 April 2023 at Central Harbourfront Event Space, Hong Kong, 10 May 2023 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and 12?13 May 2023 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
[31]
From 26 May to 3 June 2023, Mayday returned to the Beijing Bird’s Nest for 3
Fly to 2023
shows and 3
MAYDAY NOWHERE Re: Live
shows. The 6 consecutive shows was the most ever by any artist at the Bird’s Nest, and culminated in an unprecedented 20 shows by Mayday at the venue since its construction, officially kicking off Mayday’s mainland China tour.
[32]
Following that, Mayday continued to hold concerts in the mainland China cities of Hangzhou, Wuhan, Shenzhen, Shenyang, Quanzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu and Guangzhou from June to November 2023.
[33]
The band also announced their Fly to 2023 European Tour, with concerts on 28 November 2023 at The O2 in London, 1 December 2023 at Verti Music Hall in Berlin, and 7 December 2023 at Accor Arena in Paris, which marked the conclusion of their
Fly to 2023
World Tour.
[34]
2023-present: #5525
Back To That Day
25th Anniversary World Tour
[
edit
]
The final shows of the
MAYDAY NOWHERE Re: Live
Tour were held at Singapore’s
National Stadium
on 13 and 14 January 2024.
[35]
To celebrate Mayday’s 25th debut anniversary, the band announced their brand new #5525
Back To That Day
world tour. The first 6 shows were held at Taichung Continental Baseball Stadium, from 31 December 2023 to 7 January 2024. Following that, 5 shows were held at Kaoshiung National Stadium from 23?31 March 2024, setting a new record for the greatest number of consecutive shows held at the 55,000 capacity venue.
[36]
From 30 Apr 2024 to 9 May 2024, Mayday held 7 shows at Hong Kong’s Central Harbourfront Event Space. On 30 Apr, Mayday ended the concert prematurely when an amber rainstorm warning was issued by the Hong Kong Observatory, signalling heavy rain that could potentially cause significant disruptions and flooding. In an unexpected move, Mayday announced they would continue their performance virtually via their social media platforms. The band went live on their Facebook and Instagram pages at 10.30pm, where they delivered a heartfelt performance, singing and chatting with fans for more than 30 minutes. In the afternoon of 1 May, heavy rain caused a gigantic LED sphere installation suspended above the stage to catch fire. Due to heavy rain, wind and equipment safety, the 1 May show was postponed to 9 May.
[37]
From 18 May 2024 to 1 June 2024, Mayday held 10 shows at the 80,000-capacity Bird’s Nest in Beijing. This marked Mayday’s eighth appearance at the famed venue, breaking multiple records including first artist to play 10 consecutive shows at the venue and first artist to play a total of 30 shows at the venue.
[38]
Musical style and influences
[
edit
]
Mayday's songs are written mostly in
Mandarin
with some
Taiwanese Hokkien
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.
[39]
Mayday's early style of music was marked by a raw style of music production that tended towards Hokkien
garage rock
tunes. They were also themes of teenage angst and growing up, with several songs making oblique references to the issues.
[40]
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
,
Superman
,
Neil Armstrong
and Che Guevara. Ashin has also cited movies and novels as inspiration for his songs including "Viva Love" (
愛情萬歲
) which was inspired by avant-garde Taiwanese director Tsai Ming Liang's 1994 movie,
Vive L'Amour
[41]
and the song "Armor" (
武裝
), which was influenced by a Chinese drama (
?子
) and
Haruki Murakami
's novel
Kafka on the Shore
.
[42]
Mayday has expressed their admiration of
the Beatles
, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music.
[43]
The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon (
約翰藍?
) where the band espouses its dreams to become the "Beatles of the Chinese World" (
華人世界的披頭四
). Other musical influences include the Irish band
U2
, the British band
Oasis
, and the Japanese pop music artists
Mr. Children
.
[44]
Collaborations
[
edit
]
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
,
Fish Leong
,
Twins
,
Nicholas Tse
,
Jam Hsiao
,
S.H.E
,
Alan Tam
,
Leehom Wang
,
Rene Liu
,
Della Ding
and many others. In 2019, Ashin was featured on
Jay Chou
’s single "
Won't Cry
".
[45]
Other members of the band have also undertaken album and song production.
Discography
[
edit
]
Tours
[
edit
]
- 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
(2017?2019)
- Fly to 2021/2022/2023 Concerts (2020?2023)
- NOWHERE Re: Live Tour (2022?2024)
- 5525 Back to That Day Tour (2023-present)
Awards and nominations
[
edit
]
Politics
[
edit
]
In 2019, the
protests in Hong Kong
drew global attention, including in Taiwan. In June 2019, Stone Shi Chin-hang replied to a Hong Kong netizen's comment related to the protests on his Facebook page, expressing unwavering support. His response triggered malicious reports to Facebook from Chinese netizens. The flood of reports resulted in the temporary disabling of his Facebook page.
[46]
Around end of December 2023, weeks prior to the
Taiwan's 13 Jan presidential and legislative elections
, Taiwan's internal security authorities revealed that the
Chinese government
tried to pressure Mayday into publicly supporting
Chinese unification
. This request was made by China's
National Radio and Television Administration
, and the band did not comply. Following media coverage of the incident, the Taiwanese government, both the ruling
Democratic Progressive Party
and the main opposition
Kuomintang
, condemned the Chinese government's actions. China's
Taiwan Affairs Office
denied the allegations, calling them "fake news." Additionally, Chinese authorities initiated a lip-sync investigation against Mayday, which is viewed as part of a broader campaign to influence Taiwanese voters, particularly the youth.
[47]
[48]
[49]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Herman, Tamar (1 August 2017).
"Taiwanese Band Mayday Talks 20-Year Career"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
a
b
"Hitoradio | 人物 | 歌手資料庫 | 五月天 / Mayday"
. Hitoradio.com. Archived from
the original
on 19 May 2008
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
Jennifer Huang; Maia Huang (5 November 2013).
"
'Chinese Beatles' want to meet British Beatle at London concert"
.
CNA
. Retrieved
6 November
2013
.
- ^
"精彩?? : ?散:???,?在台??好??"
(in Simplified Chinese). Livehouse.cn
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
"台???五月天部分?料"
. Ent.sina.com.cn
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"?介?五月天?_雅虎知?堂"
. Ks.cn.yahoo.com. Archived from
the original
on 21 July 2011
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"音速?春: 大家好,我們是五月天"
.
pulp.bluecircus.net
. Retrieved
2 December
2019
.
- ^
"第一十六屆金曲?完整入圍名單 音樂新聞 KingNet 影音台-影音新聞"
. Movie.kingnet.com.tw. 12 May 2005. Archived from
the original
on 10 February 2012
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"Hitoradio?Hit FM -華人音樂入口指標"
. Hitoradio.com
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"中華民國行政院新聞局全球資訊網 ? 第十二屆金曲?得?名單"
. Archived from
the original
on 9 February 2012
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
五月天看見支票不?動容
Archived
27 September 2007 at the
Wayback Machine
(銀河網路電台)2006年12月29日引用
- ^
"銀河互動網路"
. .iwant-song.com. Archived from
the original
on 7 May 2008
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"銀河互動網路"
. .iwant-song.com. Archived from
the original
on 7 May 2008
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
第20屆金曲?得?消息
2009年6月27日引用
[
dead link
]
- ^
"五月天"?造55555人"演唱?DNA无限放大版再度《?造》票房奇迹 ? 中??"
.
news.yule.com.cn
. Retrieved
15 August
2021
.
- ^
"相信音樂官方網站"
. Archived from
the original
on 18 June 2012
. Retrieved
30 June
2012
.
- ^
"認證紀錄"
. Retrieved
8 March
2021
.
- ^
"Mayday begins European tour with concert in London"
.
Taiwan News
. Retrieved
18 December
2020
.
- ^
"Mayday prepares to rock fans on first European tour"
.
Taiwan News
. Retrieved
18 December
2020
.
- ^
JpopAsia.
"Mayday Announces New Japanese Single & Special Two-Day Live at Nippon Budokan"
.
JpopAsia
. Retrieved
3 September
2023
.
- ^
"Mayday "Just Rock It 2015 TOKYO" at Nippon Budokan"
.
www.mayday.jp
(in Japanese)
. Retrieved
3 September
2023
.
- ^
"五月天的《自?》藏了多少歌迷才?的故事?--文化--人民?"
.
- ^
a
b
"Mayday, Asia's Top Rock Band, Announce Their North American Tour"
.
Live Nation Entertainment
. 31 May 2017
. Retrieved
22 December
2020
.
- ^
Music, Bin.
"相隔16年五月天台南開唱 瑪莎「?魚返?」當嘉賓 力邀周華健〈刀劍如夢〉合體助陣 ? 相信音樂 B'in Music"
.
www.bin-music.com.tw
. Retrieved
13 August
2022
.
- ^
Music, Bin.
"五月天「好好好想見到?」跨年夜桃園開唱 現場、線上同步陪伴全球歌迷一起倒數! ? 相信音樂 B'in Music"
.
www.bin-music.com.tw
. Retrieved
13 August
2022
.
- ^
Music, Bin.
"好想和五月天再跨一次年! 五月天「好好好想見到?」演唱會前進高雄! ? 相信音樂 B'in Music"
.
www.bin-music.com.tw
. Retrieved
13 August
2022
.
- ^
Music, Bin.
"五月天「陪?跨年演唱會」陸海空成就解鎖 「周五」再度週五合體迎向2022年 ? 相信音樂 B'in Music"
.
www.bin-music.com.tw
. Retrieved
13 August
2022
.
- ^
Music, Bin.
"五月天開?最?任意門「好好好想見到?演唱會」 11月北美雙城開唱! ? 相信音樂 B'in Music"
.
www.bin-music.com.tw
. Retrieved
13 August
2022
.
- ^
Correspondent, Benson AngLifestyle (4 December 2022).
"Four years after their last performance in S'pore, Mayday stage electrifying show"
.
The Straits Times
.
ISSN
0585-3923
. Retrieved
3 September
2023
.
- ^
"Mayday to hold 8 concerts in Taoyuan, welcome New Year with fans ? Focus Taiwan"
.
focustaiwan.tw
. 17 October 2022
. Retrieved
12 November
2022
.
- ^
"Iconic Asian rock band Mayday 五月天 announce 2023 Australia Tour"
.
Live Nation News
. 14 March 2023
. Retrieved
3 September
2023
.
- ^
李?.
"LIVE SHOWS RETURN TO HUGE RESPONSE ? Chinadaily.com.cn"
.
epaper.chinadaily.com.cn
. Retrieved
3 September
2023
.
- ^
Music, Bin.
"五月天《好好好想見到?》亞洲最終場上海完美落幕 倫敦、柏林、巴黎3場歲末開唱 ? 相信音樂 B'in Music"
.
www.bin-music.com.tw
. Retrieved
5 December
2023
.
- ^
"MAYDAY ANNOUNCE, 'MAYDAY [FLY TO 2023] EUROPEAN TOUR'
"
.
Metal Planet Music
. 14 August 2023
. Retrieved
3 September
2023
.
- ^
"五月天?城演唱? 首?4万??票一小?被?空 | ?合早?"
.
www.zaobao.com.sg
(in Simplified Chinese)
. Retrieved
5 December
2023
.
- ^
"五月天成軍25年演唱會創全台無人打破紀錄! 9度唱進高雄世運、145萬人噴淚?聽"
.
Yahoo News
(in Chinese). 29 March 2024
. Retrieved
21 May
2024
.
- ^
Soh, Joanne (1 May 2024).
"Mayday's Hong Kong concerts disrupted by heavy rain, second show on May 1 axed"
.
The Straits Times
.
ISSN
0585-3923
. Retrieved
21 May
2024
.
- ^
"有一?友情叫做五月天,有一?相聚叫做???巢!_中??"
.
ent.china.com.cn
. Retrieved
21 May
2024
.
- ^
"U-town音?神? 20070428 有?在身旁--五月天-??而生??――山大?点"
. View.sdu.edu.cn. 28 April 2007. Archived from
the original
on 8 February 2012
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"Who said Mayday was a sellout?"
.
Taipei Times
. 27 July 2012
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"band ? discography"
. Maydaymayday.net. 7 January 2009. Archived from
the original
on 7 January 2009
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"?易???道"
. Ent.163.com
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"五月天:??的?情-人物_?年人"
. Qnr.cn. 23 July 2005
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"Simply Rock"
.
Taipei Times
. 27 July 2012
. Retrieved
3 August
2012
.
- ^
"Jay Chou's surprise collaboration with Mayday's Ashin was a spur-of-the-moment idea"
.
8 Days
. Retrieved
27 February
2021
.
- ^
DailyView網路溫度計; DailyView網路溫度計 (18 June 2019).
"【逃犯條例】五月天石頭留言?香港人 Facebook專頁?時被消失?"
.
香港01
(in Chinese (Hong Kong))
. Retrieved
2 February
2020
.
- ^
Lee, Yimou (28 December 2023).
"China pressures influential Taiwanese band ahead of elections, sources say"
.
Reuters
. Retrieved
29 December
2023
.
- ^
Cheung, Eric (28 December 2023).
"China lip-synch probe into top Taiwanese rock band is politically motivated, Taiwan intelligence officials claim"
.
CNN
. Retrieved
29 December
2023
.
- ^
"China Pressures Influential Taiwanese Band Ahead of Elections, Sources Say"
.
Voice of America
. 28 December 2023
. Retrieved
29 December
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Studio albums
| |
---|
Tours
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|
|
---|
2004
| |
---|
2005
| |
---|
2006
| |
---|
2007
| |
---|
2008
| |
---|
2009
| |
---|
2010
| |
---|
2011
| |
---|
2012
| |
---|
2013
| |
---|
2014
| |
---|
2015
| |
---|
2017
| |
---|
2019
| |
---|
2020
| |
---|
2021
| |
---|
In 2010, the list started to include Chinese celebrities born in
Hong Kong
,
Taiwan
, and other countries. Prior to that it only included celebrities born in
mainland China
.
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Artists
| |
---|