Maya and Rol3ert Release Collaborative Single “ROMANTICIZE” Today, with Official Music Video Now Available

“ROMANTICIZE,” a collaborative single by Maya, a high school singer-songwriter based in the United States, and Rol3ert, who was selected for Spotify’s “RADAR: Early Noise 2026,” was released today, Wednesday, May 13. Built around the theme of “romanticizing the past,” the song is a mid-tempo ballad with entirely English lyrics, portraying the relationship between two people after a breakup while weaving in familiar motifs such as guitars and Polaroids. The track was produced by Tokyo-based beatmaker and producer A.G.O. Centered on floating synth textures and a minimal beat, the overlapping vocals of Maya and Rol3ert express subtle emotional fluctuations. The official music video is also now available. Created in collaboration with video director Futoshi Nakazawa, the video is set at an airport and features a nostalgic visual atmosphere. Maya commented that the song was mainly written around the concept of “romanticizing the past” and has a strong narrative quality. As a songwriter, she is most particular about how much of herself she can place into a song. By using everyday nouns from her own life, such as guitars, hair ties, Polaroids, and bunk beds, she tried to let listeners imagine fragments of a fictional couple whose relationship has fallen apart. She also emphasized the back-and-forth between the two characters. In the chorus, the male voice first asks, “Do you feel the same way?” and the female voice responds ambiguously, depicting the frustration of wanting to go back but being unable to do so. Maya said the past is fragile and fades more as time passes; even painful memories can start to look beautiful once they fade, making people want to return even to a painful past. Rol3ert commented that the song was completed, both lyrics and track, on the day of his first session with Maya. Because of that, they valued the instinctive flashes of inspiration and impulses of the moment all the way through. For the track, whenever they found a sound that felt right, they used it immediately. The lyrics also came together quickly after he and Maya noticed shared feelings during their conversation, which led them to decide on the theme right away. He feels the song clearly reflects why people of the same generation and age group need to create and express music together. Maya × Rol3ert’s digital single “ROMANTICIZE” was released on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. The pre-add/pre-save link is https://orcd.co/maya_romanticize. Maya is currently a high school student living in the United States. In 2023, a cover she uploaded to TikTok drew attention and opened the path to her career as an artist. Her acoustic covers of songs such as Grover Washington Jr.’s “Just the Two of Us,” Måneskin’s “Beggin’,” and Vaundy’s “napori” have each surpassed several million plays. In January 2024, her voice caught the attention of music producer Yoko Kanno, leading to “Blue feat. Maya” being used in a global Honda commercial. In July of the same year, she participated as a vocalist on “HyperNova,” the first single marking the return of m-flo’s loves series, released as m-flo loves Maya, and also performed the collaboration at SUMMER SONIC 2024. On August 6, 2025, she released her debut single “Red Lights,” which generated buzz and ranked No. 4 on J-WAVE’s “SAISON CARD TOKIO HOT 100” broadcast on September 21, 2025. On November 21, 2025, she released “Shukusai no Uta,” an insert song for Mamoru Hosoda’s film “Hateshinaki Scarlet,” sharing vocals with Ayumu Matsuda of Rikon Densetsu. On May 13, 2026, she released the digital single “ROMANTICIZE,” co-written with Rol3ert, who was selected for Spotify’s “RADAR: Early Noise 2026.” Maya is an anticipated singer-songwriter gaining popularity across generations and genres, with her appeal expected to spread further in Japan and around the world. Rol3ert was born in the United States in 2005 and has lived in Japan since the age of two. He began full-scale activities as a solo artist in January 2025. In his released works, he primarily uses English lyrics to reach listeners around the world while incorporating Japanese and J-POP-derived melodies, establishing a distinctive musical identity. Cover videos posted on Instagram have gone viral globally, including videos surpassing 4 million views. His original songs have also been featured on playlists in multiple countries, and he has many listeners and social media followers not only in Japan but also in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, the United States, Brazil, and beyond. Although only about seven months had passed since the start of his activities, he appeared at major festivals such as FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL ’25 and SWEET LOVE SHOWER 2025. His latest song “savior” was picked up by Spotify’s “New Music Friday” in 22 countries and he was selected for “RADAR: Early Noise 2026.” He has also appeared on a giant screen in New York’s Times Square and sold out his solo show at Shibuya WWW X. In addition, on March 24, 2026, he was selected as one of 25 acts representing Japan in Rolling Stone’s global “Future of Music” project, drawing attention as a new talent from Japan taking on the global music scene.