New album by mao, a talented artist with a soft voice and sound.

mao, who debuted with the theme song "Yume Kanakete Doraemon" for "Doraemon," has completed her fourth album. The title "dialog" was chosen after reflecting on her life and music. The songs on the album include theme songs from the popular game brand "Otomate. The songs are mainly from Otome games, making the album soft and easy to listen to. The last song, "dialog," is a new song that expresses her own thoughts and feelings.

I sang most of the tentative songs that Katsuhiko Kurosu wrote.

─ ─ You are not only a solo artist, but also participate in the chorus of other people's songs, sing tentative songs, and work in various other ways in the music business, don't you? What made you become a professional musician in the first place?

maoI originally formed a unit as an amateur. Around that time, there was a TV program where celebrities would judge songs written by amateur artists based on a theme given by a TV program. The director of the program introduced me to a music agency to which I am still affiliated, and that is how I got into the industry. There, I started working as a tentative singer and chorus member, and after a while, I was chosen to sing the theme song for "Doraemon.

───Your debut as an artist was "Yume Kanakane Doraemon" released in July 2007. This song was written by Katsuhiko Kurosu, and you sang a provisional song for it, didn't you?

mao That's right. Even before "Doraemon" was decided, I sang almost all the tentative songs that Mr. Kurosu wrote at that time. When it came to "Doraemon," I was appointed as the singer for the actual production.

─ ─ You mean that the animation staff thought that you were the only one who could sing the songs after hearing the tentative songs?

mao I don't know (laughs). (laughs) Anyway, it was a dream come true, and I was really happy when it was decided. Mr. Kurosu and I both love "Doraemon," so just submitting a song to the theme song competition was a lot of fun.

──Does Mr. Kurosu usually comment on the quality of mao's vocals?

maoI have never heard you say so to my face. It is embarrassing for both of us (laughs). (laugh) But I have read in some media that you like my voice quality and appreciate my wide range of nuance. I think he said that I can add many nuances to each expression, such as "happy" or "sad. Even now, when Mr. Kurosu sings a tentative song, he calls on me first.

─ In that case, are these tentative songs for competitions?

mao Eighty percent of the songs are for the competition. The remaining 20% are tentative songs to be used as a guide by the artists and voice actors who will sing in the actual performance.

─ Even with the same tentative songs, isn't the way they are sung for the competition different from the way they are sung for the guide?

mao Yes. For the competition, I sing the tentative songs with all the nuance I can muster, but for the guide, I try not to add my own nuances. If I don't, the image of my singing style will be attached to the song, and it will limit the expression of the singer.

─ So you want to be expressive for the competition, and expressionless for the guide.

mao That's right. For the competition, I try to convey the charm of the music as much as possible, singing softly for cute songs for children, and shouting powerfully for rock songs. On the other hand, for guide songs, I try to sing in a way that conveys only technical aspects such as rhythm, melody line, and breath position.

─ So you are a professional who can handle various styles of singing, and that is something that is highly valued by Mr. Kurosu.