Recording with GarageBand in her parents' guest bedroom, creating percussion tracks with hair straighteners, Maia began self-releasing songs on YouTube as "mxmtoon" in 2017. After initially attempting to write comedy songs, she began writing songs that embodied her emotions such as "feelings are fatal", which only required a USB microphone and GarageBand. The song currently has over 23 million streams on Spotify. Her 2017 collaboration with Japanese lo-fi producer peachy!, "Falling for U", reached nearly 40 million streams on Spotify by June 2019. Maia began secretly releasing music to the public, but was later compelled to tell her friends and family after experiencing viral success online. In 2018, Maia released her debut EP, plum blossom, which was reviewed by Earmilk, i-D and Hypebeast, and gained more than 100 million streams on Spotify by August 2019. The EP's single "i feel like chet" is a tribute to one of her favorite jazz musicians, Chet Baker.
After high school, Maia took a "gap year" by postponing college to focus on her music. She was planning to study architecture after graduating high school, until her music went viral in April 2018. In November 2018, she announced her "plum blossom tour". Her first tour, initially scheduled for five US shows with fellow Californian singer-songwriter khai dreams in March 2019, sold out, and was extended to include additional concerts in North America and Europe, including opening appearances for bedroom pop YouTuber Cavetown in the United Kingdom. Maia made her first appearance on a billboard in Times Square when Spotify advertised her single "dream of you" for their New Music Friday playlist.
Prior to the release of the masquerade, Spotify announced the release of 21 Days, a music podcast that follows Maia while she works on the album in New York City. Liz Gateley of Spotify praised Maia's online following as well as her social presence, stating that "She obviously has lots of followers already, but that's not enough. The person had to be the right human too, and we felt she had both." The podcast is an eight-episode audio diary that includes interviews with family, friends and collaborators, including the album's producer Cavetown.
Maia's debut studio album the masquerade was released on September 17, 2019. The album peaked at 17 on the US Heatseekers Chart and at 45 on the US Indie Albums Chart. It features "prom dress", a "light and peachy tune" described as "relatable, infectious hook-led pop that speaks to millennials". The single is inspired by experiences from her own big night and deals with social anxiety and the problems that come with being a teen in modern society. The song has been streamed over 30 million times on Spotify, and has been used in 100,000 videos on TikTok. Maia's back catalogue of songs have also received tens of millions of online streams.
Joshua Bote of Paste described the ten-track album as "comforting twee-pop that wrings out genuine pathos from mxmtoon’s internet celebrity". Matt Yuyitung of Exclaim! wrote "[Maia] brings her wry sense of humour and diary-entry lyricism to her debut record, recalling the lo-fi relatability of Frankie Cosmos."
Maia embarked on her sold out "the masquerade Tour" of North America and United Kingdom in September 2019. She released her first graphic novel "The Adventures Of Mxmtoon: The Masquerade" in October 2019. Kirsten Spruch from Billboard wrote, "The novel seamlessly pairs with the album, encapsulating her introverted, teenage tendencies and free-flowing creativity." Gabe Bergado from Teen Vogue described the book "a captivating, charming visual journey that complements the dreamy album." She released an accompanying animated short film for the graphic novel in November 2019.
In November 2019, Maia announced via Twitter that she would be joining American singer-songwriter Lauv for his 2020 summer tour of Asia supporting his album how i'm feeling.
On November 19, 2019, Kobalt Music Group announced that they would be signing mxmtoon to their label under a global publishing deal. This deal will include administration and creative support for current music catalogue and future works. Creative Vice-President at Kobalt, Melissa Emert-Hutner, stated "Maia is truly the voice of her generation; by sharing her beautiful, heartfelt music with the world and growing her brand organically, she exemplifies the DIY spirit and aesthetic that Kobalt embraces." Emily Bines, a senior creative director at Kobalt added "Mxmtoon is exactly the type of forward-thinking creative that we dream about working with at Kobalt. Her vision, matched with her team’s passion to bring it to fruition is unwavering. We will be hearing from Maia for a long time to come."
Maia released the masquerade (the edits) on November 22, 2019. The EP features remixes from songs on the masquerade from names like Chloe Lilac, Alexander 23 and Chloe Moriondo. In November 2019, Dork put Maia on their Hype List of 2020, alongside names like girl in red, Beabadoobee and Maisie Peters.
In December 2019, Maia re-recorded the song "prom dress" in Simlish, the fictional language used in The Sims games, to help promotion. The Simlish version was added to The Sims 4 on December 12, 2019. Maia reacted on Twitter with "countless hours of playing the sims has helped me become fluent in simlish... and guess what?? prom dress was just added to #thesims4 today!" A week later Maia released the music video for "unspoken words", which revolves around her Chinese-American upbringing as well as her relationship with her Chinese grandmother.
Maia released her first single of 2020, "Fever Dream" in January 2020.
First
mxmtoon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It wasn't hard to see
The time we had together
Was over, we agree
But I have no regrets
Just strange to sit and think
You spend your time with someone else
It's odd that I can write these songs
Never knowing right from wrong
But when I finally found
That my heart could pound
The chapter seemed to end
I can't believe you've come and gone
And you think your future's long
But there was just no way
Nothing we could say
The chapter has to end
But still know I am thankful
For everything you've done
Although it wasn't easy
I'm proud we gave it a run
The first of many lessons
That I will undergo
Our journeys will diverge here
And we'll learn from what we know
But it's odd that I can write these songs
Never knowing right from wrong
But when I finally found
That my heart could pound
The chapter seemed to end
And I can't believe you've come and gone
When you think your future's long
There was just no way
Nothing we could say
The chapter had to end
In "First," mxmtoon reflects on a breakup that has already happened. The lyrics suggest that the singer and their partner saw the breakup coming, and both parties agreed that their time together had come to an end. While the singer has no regrets about the relationship, it feels strange to think about their former partner spending time with someone else after they've gone. The song acknowledges the sometimes inexplicable nature of love and relationships, with the singer admitting that they can write songs about their experiences, but they never really know right from wrong until their heart is involved.
Despite the difficult emotions surrounding the breakup, the singer expresses gratitude for their time with their former partner and the lessons they learned from the relationship. The song acknowledges the inevitability of change and that people's journeys will diverge. The final line, "the chapter had to end," reinforces the idea that the end of the relationship was necessary for both parties to grow and move forward.
Overall, "First" is a heartfelt and introspective reflection on the end of a relationship. The lyrics are relatable and honest, capturing the complexities of emotions that come with letting go of someone you once loved.
Line by Line Meaning
I think we saw it coming
It was evident that our relationship was ending.
It wasn't hard to see
It was clear.
The time we had together
Our relationship.
Was over, we agree
Both of us knew our relationship had ended.
But I have no regrets
I am content with the way things are.
Just strange to sit and think
I feel confused about what happened.
You spend your time with someone else
You moved on to another person.
And then they're gone within a blink
Your relationship ended quickly.
It's odd that I can write these songs
It's strange how I can express myself through music.
Never knowing right from wrong
I don't always know what the right choice is.
But when I finally found
But when I fell in love.
That my heart could pound
I felt love in my heart.
The chapter seemed to end
Our relationship came to an end.
I can't believe you've come and gone
It's hard to believe our relationship ended so quickly.
And you think your future's long
It seems like you have a long life ahead of you.
But there was just no way
However, our relationship couldn't continue.
Nothing we could say
There was nothing we could do or say to fix it.
The chapter has to end
Our relationship had to end because we couldn't fix it.
But still know I am thankful
However, I'm grateful for the experience.
For everything you've done
For all the good things that happened during our relationship.
Although it wasn't easy
Even though it was difficult.
I'm proud we gave it a run
I'm happy that we tried to make it work.
The first of many lessons
Our relationship taught me a valuable lesson.
That I will undergo
I will learn from it.
Our journeys will diverge here
Our paths will separate from here.
And we'll learn from what we know
And we will learn from our experiences.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Maia
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-iz7wt1sq2q
I think we saw it coming
It wasn't hard to see
The time we had together
Was over, we agree
But I have no regrets
Just strange to sit and think
You spend your time with someone else
And then they're gone within a blink
It's odd that I can write these songs
Never knowing right from wrong
But when I finally found
That my heart could pound
The chapter seemed to end
I can't believe you've come and gone
And you think your future's long
But there was just no way
Nothing we could say
The chapter has to end
But still know I am thankful
For everything you've done
Although it wasn't easy
I'm proud we gave it a run
The first of many lessons
That I will undergo
Our journeys will diverge here
And we'll learn from what we know
But it's odd that I can write these songs
Never knowing right from wrong
But when I finally found
That my heart could pound
The chapter seemed to end
And I can't believe you've come and gone
When you think your future's long
There was just no way
Nothing we could say
The chapter had to end
@sharonrgaray
her, her voice. and her music is just-
chefs kiss
@fIamangoes
😚👌
@emailicantsend
this>>>
@lisasemii
yesss
@gabbym8873
Gordon Ramsey olive oil
@luv4eva1111
i think you mean her is just chefs kiss
@axolonix
Her music is just my aesthetic but in sound form.
@mamina_
agreed ~
@nicola2626
i wish for your aesthetic
@ItsValleskaGaming
Ikr