Anonymous Japanese singer Ado performed at a sold-out Crypto.com Arena on July 16 for her third North American stop on her “Hibana World Tour.” Crowd-pleasing staples such as “Usseewa” set the stage for the three-hour concert and a surprise triple encore of the electric “ROCKSTAR,” the skillfully covered “Chandelier” and the deeply vulnerable “New Genesis.”
Getting her start as a Vocaloid cover artist, a genre of music created by music software that allows users to create realistic vocal tracks, Ado has risen to a paradoxical anonymous fame since 2017. Ado’s first single, “Usseewa,” posted the day before her 18th birthday, propelled her to the top of the streaming charts, garnering over 253 million plays on Spotify worldwide.
Since then, she has collaborated with a variety of artists, from LE SSERAFIM to Imagine Dragons, and headlined some of the world’s most prestigious festivals, including opening day of Expo 2025 Osaka. Ado has finally made her way back to Los Angeles, after performing at the Peacock Theater during her “Wish” tour in 2024 and at matsuri’25 in 2025.
While Ado came on stage at 8:05 p.m, the hustle and bustle began much earlier. The official Ado merchandise trailer offered ways to support Ado, including exclusive shirts, light sticks, plushies, and more. Others showed their support by showing up in tailored suiting, cosplay, giving away fan-made merch and In-N-Out cardboard hats.
Due to high demand, Ado’s merchandise was sold the day before her concert. Fans lined up early in the morning to save a spot in line.
“We left the house at 5 and came here around 6:24 a.m.” said Trinity Nguyen, a fan waiting eagerly at the front of the line.
The show began on a high note as Ado opened with “Usseewa,” sending the audience of more than 18,000 fans into a frenzy. With lights and lasers beaming, the audience sang and waved their light sticks in sync to Ado’s emotional performance.
Ado’s shadowy figure enraptures the audience as she performs in the “Ado Box,” a semi-transparent cage designed to conceal her identity and a staple of her performances. The box barely restricts the power of her movements. Ado kneels on a chair, jumps gracefully, and leans backward with enough energy to fill the hottest arena in town.
Pyrotechnics shot thin jets of flame timed to drummer Ryunosuke Morita’s impassioned beats, guitar slinger Takafumi “CO-K” Kokei adeptly switched between solos and harmonic support, bassist Takuma Kaneko kept the audience’s knees bouncing and keyboardist Sara Wakui drove the melodic line forward with key changes and impromptu riffs as the massive digital screen transported the audiences through time and space.
The audience rose out of their seats, waving their official Ado light sticks over their In-N-Out cardboard crowns – a symbol of Ado’s professed love for Los Angeles fast food.
Ado has always stressed the quality of her music and remained true to her Vocaloid roots despite mounting pressure from both the industry and parts of her audience to reveal her personal life. For long-time fans, anonymity has remained a core part of Ado’s identity since her YouTube debut in 2018.
Ado started as an “utaite,” a cover artist who uploads their covers, primarily of Vocaloid and anime music, on platforms like Nico Nico and YouTube.
Winter Loren, a fan of Vocaloid since 2010 and an Ado fan since “Usseewa,” said the combination of Ado’s voice and Vocaloid’s fandom was the perfect storm for her to flourish.
“Vocaloid made music composing more accessible so anyone could make their own music,” Loren said. “Ado brought so much emotion to every single song, and you can really just feel the energy. It really differentiates her from Vocaloid.”
Despite now creating her own original songs, Ado still creates covers, most notably in her “Ado’s Utattemita Album.” This album is a compilation album featuring Vocaloid and J-pop covers, including her famous cover of “Aishte Aishte Aishte,” a song created by Vocaloid producer Kikuo and voiced by Vocaloid software voicebank Hatsune Miku. With the cover’s popularity among fans, it has become a staple of Ado’s concerts, where fans cheer along with Ado’s screams.
Ado’s roots and love for Vocaloid have even led her to go on to create her own original song featuring Hatsune Miku, “Sakura Biyori and Time Machine.” The song marked the first collaboration between the two artists, who have been seen performing on stage together at the National Stadium in Tokyo. The song has gone to garner more than 9 million listens on Spotify.
Ado’s music frequently deals with themes of rebellion and self-acceptance. These themes are complemented by her powerful voice, which explores feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction with a sense of conviction and hope.
In “Gira Gira,” which translates to “sparkling,” Ado sings about a lonely girl who finds a way to live life despite her self-esteem issues. Seeing the beauty of the world, she takes comfort in the night and accepts the world as it is.
Riley Earl, who attended the concert in cosplay, said “Gira Gira” was released at a time when he was coming to terms with his struggle to accept himself.
“I’ve never really liked my appearance that much. I used to look in the mirror and just go, ‘Ugh’” Earl said. “Now I just see something I can work towards. So that song really resonated with me then.”
Kelly Hang, an active member of the community who handed out free Pokémon cards at the concert venue, said Ado’s humility makes her easier to root for.
“Ado is just a girl the same age as me who loves to sing and has an amazing voice,” Hang said. “She might be faceless, but watch her interviews and live streams. That kind of personhood is super, super charming.”
Ado’s ability to balance these seemingly contradictory worlds – stardom and normality or anonymity and community – stems from the gratitude Ado has for her fans who have given her the opportunity to achieve her dreams.
“I was a gloomy, lonely girl, dreaming all alone in my tiny closet. I’m still gloomy right now,” Ado said during an MC, an on-stage address of the crowd.
“Even if you have insecurities, even if you feel that you’re alone, you can still dream,” Ado said. “You can still sing. This is the message I want to share- beyond borders, beyond language.”