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Mayday (Taiwanese band)

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Mayday
Mayday holding different parts of Xbox 360 at X06 Taiwan in November 2006
Mayday in 2006
Background information
OriginTaiwan
Genres
Years active1997–present
Labels
Members

Mayday (Chinese: 五月天; pinyin: Wǔ Yuè Tiān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Gō͘-goe̍h-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

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1995–1997: Formation

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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.[citation needed]

1997–1999: Mayday’s First Album

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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 (ㄞ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 陳泳錩[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.[5] Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium.[8]

1999–2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild

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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 (十二屆金曲獎最佳樂團獎).[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 (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.[citation needed]

2003–2013: Return to the music scene and further albums

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During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary titled The Wings of Dream (搖滾本事) as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack.[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)[13]

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.

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.

On 23 October 2008, Mayday released their seventh studio album, Poetry of the Day After (後青春期的詩).[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 55,555 attendees, breaking the record for the concert with most attendees in Taiwan previously held by Michael Jackson.[15]

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.[citation needed] 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, 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. 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. 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.

Mayday in 2013

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. Mayday also entered 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.[citation needed] On 30 December, the band released their 3rd compilation, The Best of 1999–2013.

2014–2016: North American Tour, Nippon Budokan

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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 Zénith 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 concerts, 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.[citation needed]

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] 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.[citation needed]

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. 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. On 21 July, Mayday officially released their 9th studio album, History of Tomorrow.[21] The album sold over 200 million copies worldwide.[citation needed]

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

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Mayday performing in 2018

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). 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.[22] 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.[citation needed] The tour began in Hong Kong and China before continuing to Southeast Asia, North America, and returning to Asia. The 4th leg of the Life tour brought the band to Europe, where they held two shows, before further dates in East Asia.

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 in 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. The tour grossed around USD$333.33 million.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

2020–2023: Pandemic era

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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 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.[23] 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.[24] The band subsequently began touring again in East Asia, North America, and Europe.

A bus promoting Mayday's 2023 tour in Hong Kong

2023-present: #5525 Back To That Day 25th Anniversary World Tour

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The final shows of the MAYDAY NOWHERE Re: Live Tour were held at Singapore’s National Stadium on 13 and 14 January 2024.[25] To celebrate Mayday’s 25th debut anniversary, the band announced their brand new #5525 Back To That Day world tour.[26]

Musical style and influences

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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.[27]

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.[28]

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[29] and the song "Armor" (武裝), which was influenced by a Chinese drama (孽子) and Haruki Murakami's novel Kafka on the Shore.[30]

Mayday has expressed their admiration of the Beatles, whom they cite as influencing their ideals of rock music.[31] The eighth track of their fifth album has a track called John Lennon (約翰藍儂) 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.[32]

Collaborations

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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".[33] Other members of the band have also undertaken album and song production.

Discography

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Main article: Mayday discography

Tours

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  • 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

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Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Mayday

Politics

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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.[34]

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.[35][36][37]

References

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  1. ^ Herman, Tamar (1 August 2017). "Taiwanese Band Mayday Talks 20-Year Career". Billboard. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Jennifer Huang; Maia Huang (5 November 2013). "'Chinese Beatles' want to meet British Beatle at London concert". CNA. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  4. ^ "精彩乐评 : 弥散：摇滚乐，你在台湾还好吗？" (in Simplified Chinese). Livehouse.cn. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
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  7. ^ "音速青春: 大家好，我們是五月天". pulp.bluecircus.net. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  8. ^ "第一十六屆金曲獎完整入圍名單 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.
  9. ^ "Hitoradio‧Hit FM -華人音樂入口指標". Hitoradio.com. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
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  11. ^ 五月天看見支票不為動容 Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine（銀河網路電台）2006年12月29日引用
  12. ^ "銀河互動網路". .iwant-song.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  13. ^ "銀河互動網路". .iwant-song.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  14. ^ 第20屆金曲獎得獎消息 2009年6月27日引用 [dead link]
  15. ^ "五月天"创造55555人"演唱会DNA无限放大版再度《创造》票房奇迹 – 中娱网". news.yule.com.cn. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  16. ^ "相信音樂官方網站". Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  17. ^ "認證紀錄". Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Mayday begins European tour with concert in London". Taiwan News. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Mayday prepares to rock fans on first European tour". Taiwan News. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  20. ^ JpopAsia. "Mayday Announces New Japanese Single & Special Two-Day Live at Nippon Budokan". JpopAsia. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  21. ^ "五月天的《自传》藏了多少歌迷才懂的故事?--文化--人民网".
  22. ^ "Mayday, Asia's Top Rock Band, Announce Their North American Tour". Live Nation Entertainment. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  23. ^ Music, Bin. "相隔16年五月天台南開唱 瑪莎「鮭魚返鄉」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.
  24. ^ Music, Bin. "五月天「好好好想見到你」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.
  25. ^ "五月天狮城演唱会 首场4万张门票一小时被抢空 | 联合早报". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  26. ^ "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、145萬人噴淚搶聽". Yahoo News (in Chinese). 29 March 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  27. ^ "U-town音乐神话 20070428 有你在身旁－-五月天-为爱而生专辑――山大视点". View.sdu.edu.cn. 28 April 2007. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  28. ^ "Who said Mayday was a sellout?". Taipei Times. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  29. ^ "band – discography". Maydaymayday.net. 7 January 2009. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  30. ^ "网易娱乐频道". Ent.163.com. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  31. ^ "五月天：摇滚的温情-人物_青年人". Qnr.cn. 23 July 2005. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  32. ^ "Simply Rock". Taipei Times. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  33. ^ "Jay Chou's surprise collaboration with Mayday's Ashin was a spur-of-the-moment idea". 8 Days. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  34. ^ DailyView網路溫度計; DailyView網路溫度計 (18 June 2019). "【逃犯條例】五月天石頭留言撐香港人 Facebook專頁即時被消失？". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  35. ^ Lee, Yimou (28 December 2023). "China pressures influential Taiwanese band ahead of elections, sources say". Reuters. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  36. ^ 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.
  37. ^ "China Pressures Influential Taiwanese Band Ahead of Elections, Sources Say". Voice of America. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
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