Princess Maki delivers an acoustic version of "You" off her recent album

Former Morning Musume member Maki Goto performed "You" off her latest album Voice on nico nico live on 11/3.



Gonna cry buckets when she goes on hiatus. For those that don't know, Maki will be taking a leave from her music career starting next year. Maki has endured many hardships in her short 26 years, with the death of her father in 1996 and her mother in 2010. Her younger brother was also arrested in 2007. Many fans believe the death of her mother has influenced her coming hiatus. Voice is Maki's first full album with avex, and on November 3rd she held her final handshake event according to Tokyohive:

On November 3rd, singer Goto Maki held a release event for her final album, “Aikotoba (VOICE)“, at Lazona Kawasaki.

Goto, who will be going on hiatus after this year, felt tears brim when she surveyed the crowd of 10,000 fans.”I’m moved to tears. I was fine just a few minutes ago, this is strange,” she said.

She continued, “It’s been a while since I met my fans. My feelings run high being welcomed at a place like this after my hiatus announcement.”

The release event consisted of a mini-live and a handshake event. Before kicking off the handshake event, Goto reflected on the time when she debuted at 13 years old. She confessed, “During that time, I was so preoccupied that I didn’t have a private life. These past few years, I was able to create music I wanted to make with the staff. I think I’m slowly growing.”

Noting that her final live at Makuhari Messe was nearing, Goto commented, “Little by little, I’m starting to feel the reality. I haven’t reached the final point yet. I want to show the Goto Maki no one has ever seen before.”

As for her plans during her hiatus, she stated, “I have no plans. I want to stay at home at my own leisure until I find something I want to do. I want to get married in about 2 or 3 years!!”

Goto also showed her interest in joining Dream Morning Musume by saying, “Standing on this stage, it’s like my home, so I would be delighted if they invited me.” She then shared that she’s been exchanging e-mails with her ’senpai’ Nakazaka Yuko, ”She told me that she’s supporting me from the shadows. I never thought I would receive a mail like that, I was so surprised.” 

Maki has grown from a wonderful Hello!Project idol to an amazing singer and songwriter.  She will be missed greatly from fans who will eagerly await her return.

Make sure to purchase her album if you enjoy it. This will be her first and final full album before her leave.

Regular Edition

Album + DVD

Album + DVD First Press Limited Edition

I'll be writing a full bio on her in a couple weeks. In the meantime, enjoy this video of two of her songs from Voice