Mayday () is a Taiwanese rock band founded in 1997, consisting of members Monster, Ashin, Stone, Masa, and Ming. Nicknamed "the Beatles of the Chinese-speaking world", Mayday has won many awards during 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. Their albums Born to Love (2006), Poetry of the Day After (2008), and Second Round (2011) all hit number 1 in Taiwan, with the latter reaching 10× Platinum certification. Their Life Tour from 2017 to 2019 is one of the most-attended concert tours of all time, with 4.15 million attendees.
Career 1995–1997: SoBand and formation of Mayday In 1995, Chen Hsin-hung (Ashin), guitarist Wen Shang-yi (Monster), and drummer Chien You-ta () formed a band. They later recruited bass player Tsai Sheng-yen (Masa) and guitarist Shih Chin-hang (Stone). They were first called So Band. The members had first met as schoolmates and members of the guitar club at the Affiliated Senior High School of National Taiwan Normal University () and had gone to different universities after graduation. They performed in pubs and eateries and were also actively involved in promoting the growing rock music trend in Taiwan. In 1997, the band registered to perform at the Formoz Festival () under the name "Mayday", which was Masa's online username.
1997–1999: Mayday's First Album Shortly after participating in the Formoz Festival, 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 () who described them as "the ones who would usher in the sound of the future". As a result, they signed their first record deal with Rock Records in 1998.
That same year, Mayday took part in the release of the Taiwan Independent Compilation Album () by indie music label TCM () which included their first studio recording Motor Rock (). In June 1998, they also released Embrace () compilation album for which they took on most of the songwriting, production, and recording duties. To gain further experience, they accompanied their labelmate Richie Jen during his performances and frequently performed at various universities and colleges.
In 1999, Mayday's original drummer left, as did their next two drummers Chen Yung-chang () and Robert (任柏璋) (formerly of LTK Commune). In 1999, Liu Yen-ming (Ming), then known as the drummer of disbanded indie jazz fusion band Why Not, agreed to join Mayday permanently; he had been acquainted with the Mayday members as they rented his music studio for their rehearsals.
Mayday released their first full-length studio album titled Mayday's First Album () under Rock Records on 7 July 1999. The album received critical acclaim and they gained a following in Taiwan. The album went on to sell more than 300,000 copies. Not long after, on 28 August 1999, Mayday held their first large-scale concert titled 168th Concert at the Taipei Municipal Stadium.
1999–2001: Viva Love and People Life, Ocean Wild The band's second album Viva Love () was released on 7 July 2000. Sales of Viva Love exceeded their previous album, selling more than 350,000 copies. Additionally, Viva Love won them the "Best Band" award at the 12th Golden Melody Awards (). 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 dabbled in film music by composing and recording the theme song and score of Migratory Bird () which starred Rene Liu and Huang Pin Yuan. Two months later, Mayday released their third album People Life, Ocean Wild (), sales of which hit more than 350,000 copies after just a month.五月天看見支票不為動容 （銀河網路電台）2006年12月29日引用 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. It was considered a "farewell tour" due to the members' upcoming enlistments for compulsory military service. Monster, Ashin, and Masa reported to basic military training in November. Stone was granted an exemption due to congenital heart arrhythmia while Ming had completed his military service after graduating from high school.
2003–2013: Return to the music scene and further albums During their hiatus, Mayday released the autobiographical documentary The Wings of Dream () as well as an accompanying movie soundtrack. On 16 August 2003, Mayday regrouped and 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 fourth studio album Time Machine ()
In 2004, Mayday produced their third movie soundtrack, this time for the movie Love of May. 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, the United States, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and Hong Kong.
In 2006, Mayday left Rock Records to set up their own record label, B'in Music (相信音樂), with Rock Records executives Chen Yongzhi and Xie Zhifen. 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).第20屆金曲獎得獎消息 2009年6月27日引用 On 19 March 2009, Mayday announced their DNA World Tour, holding a total of 44 concerts over two 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.
From 20 to 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 NT$220 million to produce, was the first ever concert film to be produced in 3D in the Mandarin-speaking music industry and the first by a Taiwanese artist. Ticket sales totaled close to NT$200 million.
On 16 December 2011, Mayday released their eighth studio album, Second Round (). The album was highly anticipated, with preorders totaling 129,958 in one week. Two versions of the album were released, with different covers and song sequences. In 2012 the album was certified 10× Platinum by the Recording Industry Foundation in Taiwan (RIT) for sales of 128,754 units and , which is, , the last such certification awarded by RIT. 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 earned another award for Best Music Video at the 24th Golden Melody Awards for the song "Cheers" (乾杯) from their album Second Round (第二人生). In July 2013, they held six charity concerts, donating a total of NT$27 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 eight 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 twp 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. On 30 December, the band released their third compilation, The Best of 1999–2013.
2014–2016: North American Tour, Nippon Budokan 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. 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. As part of their NOW-HERE North American Tour, the band held seven 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 Madison Square Garden in New York on 22 March, becoming the first Mandarin-language 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 performed two 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.
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 two 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~", On 26 June 2015, Mayday released 'Her Story''', an album which invited ten female singers and their creative teams to remake Mayday songs 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 six to twelve months in preparation for their new album.
From 20 May to 1 June 2016, Mayday held ten 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 ninth studio album, History of Tomorrow. The track, "Here, After Us", is one of the most-viewed Chinese music videos on YouTube.
2017–2018: Life world tour and 20th anniversary