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.
used to you
mxmtoon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tell me what I can say
And I can say it
Tell me what I can do
And I can do my best
Tell me who I should be
And I can change it
Say the things that you need
And I can give 'em
Say the things that you want
And I can try my best
Say your feelings to me
So I won't overthink mine
If I could read your mind
I'd save a lot of time 'cause
I've been spending all my time
Sitting by the phone just waiting for a call
I used to wanna be alone
'Til your name was in my phone
Now I'm getting kinda used to you
Dum, dum, da da dum dum, dum dum
I'm getting kinda used to you
Dum, dum, da da dum dum, dum dum
If I say I love you more
I'm afraid that it'd mean less
But if I don't say it enough
Will you still remember it
If I say I love you more (you more)
I'm afraid that it'd mean less
But if I don't say it enough (enough)
Will you still remember it
If I could read your mind
I'd save a lot of time 'cause
I've been spending all my time
Sitting by the phone just waiting for a call
I used to wanna be alone
'Til your name was in my phone
Now I'm getting kinda used to you
If I say I love you more
I'm afraid that it'd mean less
(I'm getting kinda used to you)
But if don't say it enough
Will you still remember it
(I'm getting kinda used to you)
If I say I love you more (spending all my time)
I'm afraid that it'd mean less
(I'm getting kinda used to you)
But if don't say it enough (I used to wanna be alone)
Will you still remember it ('til your name was in my phone)
I'm getting kinda used to you
Dum, dum, da da dum dum, dum dum
Dum, dum, da da dum dum, dum dum
The song "Used To You" by mxmtoon deals with the vulnerability and uncertainty that comes with new romantic relationships. The opening verse presents the singer as eager to please and willing to change for their partner's sake. They are seeking guidance and direction from their lover, indicating a lack of confidence in their own ability to make decisions. The chorus reinforces this vulnerability, as the singer expresses fear of appearing too vulnerable or not expressing their love enough.
The second verse delves into the singer's feelings of dependence on their partner. They admit to spending all their time waiting by the phone for a call, indicating an intense desire for contact and connection. The repetition of "Now I'm getting kinda used to you" further emphasizes this need for companionship and hints at an emerging codependency.
Overall, the song portrays a new relationship fraught with insecurities and self-doubt. Despite this, the singer expresses an earnest desire to make the relationship work and fears losing the person they've grown accustomed to.
Line by Line Meaning
Tell me what I can say
Please give me direction so I know how to communicate with you
And I can say it
I will try to say what you want me to say
Tell me what I can do
Give me instructions on what actions I should take
And I can do my best
I will try my hardest to follow through on your instructions
Tell me who I should be
Let me know how you want me to portray myself
And I can change it
I am willing to adjust how I present myself to you
(And I can change it)
I am capable of changing who I am to meet your expectations
Say the things that you need
Tell me what you require from me
And I can give 'em
I will provide what you have requested to the best of my ability
Say the things that you want
Let me know your desires
And I can try my best
I will do everything in my power to fulfill your wishes
Say your feelings to me
Tell me how you feel
So I won't overthink mine
If you share your feelings with me, it will prevent me from worrying excessively about my own
If I could read your mind
If I knew what you were thinking without you saying it
I'd save a lot of time 'cause
It would be much more efficient if I didn't have to guess what you're thinking
I've been spending all my time
I have been dedicating most of my time and attention to one particular thing
Sitting by the phone just waiting for a call
I have been eagerly anticipating a call from you
I used to wanna be alone
I used to prefer being by myself
'Til your name was in my phone
But now that I have your number, I want to talk to you more
Now I'm getting kinda used to you
I am starting to become more comfortable with you and our interactions
If I say I love you more
If I express my love for you more often
I'm afraid that it'd mean less
I worry that saying 'I love you' too much will cause it to lose its meaning
But if I don't say it enough
If I don't express my love frequently
Will you still remember it
Will you still know that I love you even if I don't say it often
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Micah Premnath, Luke Niccoli, mxmtoon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@just.peachy3845
I love the fact that, even though its just an audio, she still puts effort into the visual effects, how its not just a picture. I dont really watch them, but honestly that's just amazing how much thought she puts into her music, channel, and content.
@briannamarie5199
It's gorgeous
@lizzy9177
I also love how she has those little comics that were made to represent each of the songs. I think it's so cool that her and the people that worked on them were able to translate the songs into visuals while still keeping the original feeling of the songs. I just think it's so cool that she can still get the vibe across in two different mediums! Sorry if that doesn't make sense idk if I explained that well haha.
@emmvids6920
@@lizzy9177 so true!
@ivanhdz8758
The visuals of dream of you are the best
@zainekatsumi
Absolute chad❤️
@ryleed3187
a lil fun fact: listening to her music and playing animal crossing at the same time hits different 😌
@owenphillips13
Rylee’s Randoms that’s exactly why I’m doing now
@autumnkat7531
Her music is perfect for animal crossing
@vikkiecarroll6249
Omg, that's exactly what I'm doing right now lmaooo