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.
ok on your own
mxmtoon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hope you'll understand
That even though it's over
You know it's not the end
I couldn't be your half
Just forming out a whole
I can't complete you, baby
Find solace in your soul
And I hate to leave you feeling all alone
But your story cannot start until you've grown
You can find how to be OK on your own
I just can't be the one that makes you feel at home
I need some time to myself
So I can comprehend
I'm not so scared to admit
I could use a friend
I need some time to myself
To gain some confidence
Another confidant
'Til I can fall again
You thought that I'd feel empty
I just want a hand to hold
But now that it's all over
My life isn't so cold
It wasn't meant to be
Maybe we knew that from the start
I can't complete you, baby
But I will hold you in my heart
And I hate to leave you feeling all alone
But your story cannot start until you've grown
You can find how to be OK on your own
I just can't be the one that makes you feel at home
I need some time to myself
So I can comprehend
I'm not so scared to admit
I could use a friend (a friend, yeah)
I need some time to myself
To gain some confidence (ooh)
Another confidant
'Til I can fall again
Ooh
I could use a friend
Maybe we knew that from the start
It wasn't meant to be
I could use a friend
The lyrics in mxmtoon's song "ok on your own" express the concept of needing time to be alone to understand oneself and to gain confidence. The singer apologizes for leaving, but also acknowledges that they couldn't be the other person's "half" as they need to become whole on their own first. The singer is encouraging the other person to find solace in their own soul and to learn to be okay on their own, as the other person's story cannot begin until they have grown. Though the singer cannot make the other person feel at home, they will hold them in their heart as a friend.
The song speaks to the idea of the importance of self-care and taking time for oneself. It highlights that there is strength in learning how to be okay and finding solace in oneself. The lyrics convey a sense of learning and self-discovery, acknowledging that change may be necessary for growth, which may require letting go of things or people that are no longer serving them.
Overall, "ok on your own" is a reminder that it is okay to need time alone to understand and care for oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
I had to go, I'm sorry
I needed to end this relationship, and I'm sorry for any pain it's causing you.
I hope you'll understand
I'm hoping that you'll see that this is for the best.
That even though it's over
Our romantic relationship may be over, but our lives will still continue.
You know it's not the end
We may not be together, but there's still more to come for both of us.
I couldn't be your half
I couldn't be the missing piece that completed you.
Just forming out a whole
We both need to be whole individuals first before we can find a healthy relationship.
I can't complete you, baby
No one person can complete another person; we need to find completion within ourselves.
Find solace in your soul
Find peace within yourself and focus on your own personal growth.
And I hate to leave you feeling all alone
I don't want you to feel abandoned, but I need to prioritize my own well-being.
But your story cannot start until you've grown
You need to focus on your personal growth before you can begin a new chapter in your life.
You can find how to be OK on your own
You don't need someone else to make you happy; you can find contentment in yourself.
I just can't be the one that makes you feel at home
I can't be the one who fulfills all your emotional needs; those come from within.
I need some time to myself
I need space to process my own emotions and thoughts.
So I can comprehend
I need to understand my own feelings before I can be in a healthy relationship with someone else.
I'm not so scared to admit
It's important for me to be honest about my emotional needs, even if it's scary.
I could use a friend
I need someone to lean on during this time of transition, despite ending our romantic relationship.
To gain some confidence
I need space to work on building my own self-worth and confidence.
Another confidant
I need someone to confide in and support me.
'Til I can fall again
I need time to heal and build myself back up before I can enter another romantic relationship.
You thought that I'd feel empty
You may have assumed that ending our relationship would make me feel lonely or empty, but that's not necessarily the case.
I just want a hand to hold
I still desire emotional intimacy and support, even if it's not in a romantic context.
But now that it's all over
We're moving on to a new phase in our lives without each other.
My life isn't so cold
Despite the end of our relationship, I still have other meaningful connections and experiences in my life.
Maybe we knew that from the start
Perhaps deep down, we both knew that our relationship wasn't meant to be long-term.
I will hold you in my heart
Although we're not together anymore, I will always care for and remember you fondly.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Spirit Music Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Kellen R. Pomeranz, Carly Rae Jepsen, mxmtoon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aitor Salvador Resina
Looks like we’re being blessed with another masterpiece✌🏻✨
Samira
i love ur pfp!
MajesticHeritages
As always
Aitor Salvador Resina
@eleonora I’ve just realised that😂😂🤦🏻♂️
OwenTheUnicorn
‼️‼️‼️
Dj Tye
It sppears
ɴᴜɢɢᴇᴛ. ♡
Mxmtoon is BIG now but I wish she was so much bigger! People need to give her the recognition she deserves!
Issy G
i can already tell that this is going to be a masterpiece.
Caitlin
the thumbnail art is gorgeous, I'm so excited for this!
miriã borges
same.