Band-Maid is a Japanese rock band formed in 2013. Guitarist/singer Miku Kobato, formerly an employee of a Japanese maid cafe, envisioned forming a band that juxtaposed the maid image with rock music. Band-Maid’s image is modeled on maid cafe hostesses, with the standard uniform adapted to match each member’s personality. Kobato recruited lead guitarist Kanami Tōno after an Internet search. Tōno had performed as a singer-songwriter and suggested her occasional backing drummer Akane Hirose for the new band. Hirose in turn suggested bassist Misa, with whom she had attended music school. In July 2013, they had their first live performance as a quartet with Kobato on vocals at the PP Audition held at Osaka Deep. The band then decided to recruit an additional lead singer and selected Saiki Atsumi during auditions. Their first performance as a five-piece was at the P Festival at Shibuya-AX in August 2013.
Early in their history, Band-Maid regularly performed live at various venues around the Tokyo area. The group released their debut mini-album ‘Maid in Japan ‘in January 2014, written in collaboration with musicians Masahiko Fukui and Kentaro Akutsu. In August 2014, they released the maxi-single “Ai to Jōnetsu no Matador” (titled “Love, Passion, Matador” internationally). In November 2015 they released their mini-album ‘New Beginning’. The mini-album was their first chart placement, reaching No. 64 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart.
Band-Maid first gained international notice in April 2015 when the English-language Facebook page of internet radio station Jrock Radio promoted the music video for “Thrill”, which led to over 1 million views in the following year. In March 2016 they had their first overseas performance at Sakura-Con in Seattle, Washington. The group released their third mini-album and major label debut, ‘Brand New Maid’ in May 2016 on the label Crown Stones, followed by a JPU Records release in Europe in July. The album reached No. 19 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart.
In January 2017, Band-Maid released their first full-length album titled ‘Just Bring It’. It was preceded by the single “YOLO”, released in November 2016. Just Bring It reached No. 16 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart. The band released their second full-length album titled World Domination in February 2018, which reached no. 9 on the Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart. The maxi-single “Start Over” was released in July 2018. The CD singles “Glory” and “Bubble” were released simultaneously in January 2019. “Glory” serves as the second ending theme for the second season of the Japanese anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, while “Bubble” serves as the theme song for the Japanese drama series Perfect Crime.
The band’s third full-length album ‘Conqueror’ was released in December 2019. The album featured one song produced by Tony Visconti. It debuted at no. 9 on Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart and debuted at no. 1 on the Oricon weekly Rock Albums chart. The band’s fourth full-length album, ‘Unseen World’, was released in January 2021. It debuted at no. 8 on Japanese Oricon weekly albums chart and at no. 1 on the Oricon weekly Rock Albums chart. Band-Maid released an EP titled Unleash in September 2022. In early January 2023, the band announced a 10th anniversary tour, planned to begin in March in Japan, with U.S. shows in May and August, and culminating with a show at Yokohama Arena in November 2023.
