Ado opened and closed her first-ever SUMMER SONIC headline set with a cover of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’, using the 1991 anthem to answer critics who had questioned whether she belonged on the rock festival’s stage. The performance took place at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Tokyo on August 15th, with a second headline date at Osaka’s Expo ’70 Commemorative Park on August 16th.
Ado had been confirmed as the final headliner for SUMMER SONIC 2026 back in April, following The Strokes and L’Arc-en-Ciel. It marked the first time in the festival’s history that two Japanese artists were selected as headliners, and Ado stepped in after another act fell through during booking.
The set opened with a screen montage of hostile posts that had circulated after her booking was announced, including comments dismissing her as “not rock” and questioning whether she was worthy of the slot. The words “Are you prepared?” then appeared before she launched into ‘Enter Sandman’.
Metallica already had history with SUMMER SONIC, having headlined the festival in both 2006 and 2013. Their 2006 Tokyo performance ran for two hours and 20 minutes, which was reported as the longest set in the festival’s history, and included ‘Master of Puppets’ performed in full to mark the album’s 20th anniversary.
Writing after the show on social media, Ado explained that the choice went beyond responding to criticism, with the cover intended as a tribute to SUMMER SONIC’s history and the artists who had come before her.
“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to hear calls for an encore, so when I heard the crowd calling for one, I was genuinely overwhelmed with emotion.
For both the opening song and the encore, I performed Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ for the first time.
It wasn’t simply a cover. I chose the song because, as a Japanese artist, I wanted to express my deepest respect for the 25-year history that SUMMER SONIC has built as a rock festival, and for every headliner and artist who has stood on its stages over the years.
More than anything, I feel incredibly honoured to have been able to perform at SUMMER SONIC. Thank you so much to everyone who believed in my voice and came to hear me sing. I feel that, precisely because I am Japanese, I was able to witness such an incredible sight.”
Alongside ‘Enter Sandman’, Ado also made the surprise debut of her new song, ‘ASTEROID’, her first track written entirely in English, produced by KIRA, with further release details still to come.
About Ado
Ado is a Tokyo-born singer and utaite who emerged from Japan’s online cover-song scene to become one of the country’s biggest international artists. She began uploading covers in 2017 and made her major debut at 17 with 'Usseewa' in 2020. The song became a huge hit in Japan and introduced the vocal style that has become central to her music, shifting from whispers and deep growls to screams and rapid-fire delivery. Ado has remained visually anonymous throughout her career, usually performing in silhouette and using illustrated characters in place of a public-facing image. Her debut album, 'Kyougen', arrived in 2022, the same year she reached a wider audience as the singing voice of Uta in One Piece Film: Red. Songs including 'New Genesis', 'Backlight', and 'Fleeting Lullaby' joined a catalogue that already included 'Gira Gira' and 'Odo'. Her music has moved freely through Vocaloid-influenced pop, electronic music, rock, rap, and heavier experimental territory, with collaborators including Giga, TeddyLoid, Yasutaka Nakata, Vaundy, natori, MARETU, and Kikuo. Her second original album, 'Zanmu', followed in 2024, with the 40-track 'Ado's Best Adobum' marking five years since her major debut in 2025. Ado's live career has grown just as quickly. Her first world tour, 'Wish', travelled across Asia, Europe, and the United States in 2024, including a sold-out UK debut at London's Troxy. Weeks later, she became the first female solo artist to headline Japan's National Stadium, performing to more than 140,000 people across two nights. She returned overseas in 2025 with 'Hibana', a 33-city world tour across five continents that drew more than 500,000 fans and included a sold-out show at The O2 in London. Ado has also moved into artist production with the horror-inspired idol group Phantom Siita. In 2026, she signed with WME for representation outside Japan, performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago, and headlined SUMMER SONIC in Japan. Despite the increasingly large stages, her roots in utaite and Vocaloid culture are still easy to trace. Her career has been built around the strength and versatility of her voice, with her identity kept deliberately out of view.
