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Mao Abe (阿部 真央, Abe Mao, born 24 January 1990) is a Japanese singer-songwriter.

Biography

Abe started learning the piano from age three, and from junior high school she wanted to be a singer. She gave up the piano in favour of the guitar, wanting to be an acoustic pop singer/songwriter in the style of Canadian pop musician Avril Lavigne. While at high school she frequently busked and attended music auditions. In February 2006, on a morning when she had truanted from school, she wrote her first song, "My Baby". Late in mid-2006, she entered the Yamaha Teens' Music Festival's Ōita regional contest on the recommendation of a musical instrument store manager, and performed "My Baby". She won the grand prize, and later entered the country-wide version, where she won an honourable mention prize after performing "Haha no Uta" (母の唄, Mother Song).

After finishing high school, she moved to Tokyo and was signed to the record label Pony Canyon. Abe performed at many live events, including some high-profile events like the Rock in Japan Festival. From August until November, four acoustic demos of Abe songs were released on iTunes. The third of these, "My Baby", was chosen as the October iTunes Single of the Week free download song.

Abe released her first album Free in January 2009. The eponymous title track was released as a radio single, and did extremely well on radio stations: Abe reached #1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, despite only the airplay component counting towards her ranking (as opposed to airplay and physical sales, like most other releases).

Since the album, she has released three singles, the first two reaching the top 20 on the Oricon single charts. The third, "Itsu no Hi mo", reached #2 on the Japan Hot 100 chart, a week before the physical release of the single. The single was followed by her second album, Pop, which was her first top 5 album on the Oricon albums chart.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Live albums

Singles

As a lead artist

As a featured artist

Promotional singles

Video albums

Tours

• Abe Mao Live No. 0 (2009)
• Abe Mao Live No. 0.7 (2009)
• Abe Mao Live No. 1 (2010)
• Abe Mao Live No. 2 (2010)
• Abe Mao Live Natsu no Jin (2011)
• Abe Mao Live No. 3: Zepp to Quattro Dake de Gomen ne Tour (2011)
• Abe Mao Live No. 4 (2012)
• Abe Mao Hikigatari Live 2012 Fuyu: Christmas da yo! Kuru desho? Kuru yo ne!? no Maki (2012)
• Abe Mao Hikigatari Live 2013 Natsu (2013)
• Abe Mao Live No. 5 (2013)
• 5th Anniversary Abe Mao Live "Ochikarazoe, Negaimasu." Tour 2014 (2014)
• 5th Anniversary Abe Mao Live 2014 @ Nippon Budōkan (2014)

Notes

1. Sales provided by Oricon database and are rounded to the nearest hundred copies.
2. The G-Music East Asian chart is a sub-chart, so releases listed may not have charted on the main top 20.
3. Position was taken from 2009 week 11 for Free.
4. ^ Sources for chart positions are as follows: "Free", "I Wanna See You", "Tsutaetai Koto", "Anata no Koibito ni Naritai no Desu", "Itsu no Hi mo", "Mada", "Lonely", "19-sai no Uta", "Motto", "Bitansan Syndrome", "Soba ni Ite", "Sekai wa Mada Kimi o Shiranai", "Tatakai wa Owaranai", "Saigo no Watashi", "Anata ga Suki na Watashi", "Tenshi wa Ita n da", "Believe in Yourself", "Sorezore Arukidasō".
5. Charted at number 32 on the Top Single Sales chart, and at number 63 on the Radio Songs sub-chart.
6. Charted at number 21 on the Adult Contemporary Airplay chart and at number 46 on the Hot Top Airplay chart.
7. Charted at number 53 on the Hot Top Airplay chart.

References

1. ^ "イデータ of あべま｜阿部真央オフィシャルサイト". Archived from the original on 2011-02-02. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
2. ^ "阿部真央 悲しみも孤独も楽しさもすべてリアル". Yahoo.co.jp. 2009-01-16. Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
3. ^ "阿部真央 アーティストページ - TSUTAYA online". Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
4. "Mao Abe - Free". Music Charts. Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
5. "阿部真央 リリース一覧". Oricon. Archived from the original on 2009-08-02. Retrieved 2009-12-01.
6. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 2010-01-18. Archived from the original on 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
7. "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Oricon. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-02-03. (subscription only)
8. ^ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree']. Oricon. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
9. ^ "阿部真央のリリース一覧" [List of Mao Abe's Releases]. Oricon. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
10. "G-Music J-Pop Chart" (in Chinese). G-Music. Archived from the original on May 12, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
11. "Abe Mao to release a new album in March". Tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
12. 週間 CDアルバムランキング 2020年02月03日付 [Weekly CD Album Ranking on February 3, 2020] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
13. 週間 CDアルバムランキング 2023年02月27日付 [Weekly CD Album Ranking on February 27, 2023] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
14. ^ 阿部真央、新曲はかけがえのない人への思い歌う英語詞ポップチューン (in Japanese). Natalie. September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
15. ^ "Hot 100｜JAPAN Charts｜Billboard JAPAN" (in Japanese). Billboard.
16. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). January 28, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
17. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). May 27, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
18. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). June 3, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
19. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). August 12, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
20. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). January 20, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
21. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). February 3, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
22. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). June 16, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
23. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). November 10, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
24. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). May 25, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
25. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). September 14, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
26. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). November 23, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
27. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). May 23, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
28. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). June 13, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
29. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). March 13, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
30. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). July 3, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
31. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). August 28, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
32. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). May 28, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
33. "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
34. レコード協会調べ 3月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: March Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. April 20, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
35. "Japan Billboard Top Single Sales". Billboard (in Japanese). November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
36. "Japan Billboard Radio Songs". Billboard (in Japanese). November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
37. "週間 CDシングルランキング 2019年05月20日付" [Weekly CD Single Ranking for May 20, 2019]. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved May 15, 2019.
38. "Adult Contemporary Airplay". Billboard (in Japanese). February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
39. ^ "Hot Top Airplay". Billboard (in Japanese). February 25, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.

External links

• Mao Abe Official Site (in Japanese)
• Pony Canyon Official Label Site (in Japanese)

• 1990 births
• Living people
• Japanese women pop singers
• Japanese women singer-songwriters
• Singers from Ōita Prefecture
• People from Ōita (city)
• Pony Canyon artists
• 21st-century Japanese women singers
• 21st-century Japanese singer-songwriters