Tota’s first international collaboration! The music video for the performance single “Onomatopoeia feat. 163braces,” featuring a Taiwanese female singer-songwriter, is now out! A comment has also been arrived!

04.28.2026
Tota

Bedroom artist Tota has released the music video for her new single “Onomatopoeia,” which features a performance collaboration with popular Taiwanese female singer-songwriter 163braces.

163braces first gained attention through cover some Japanese song posts on YouTube and Instagram, and currently has around 900,000 followers on YouTube. Her first full album, “HAIROCHI,” released in 2025, received widespread acclaim both in Taiwan and internationally. In January this year, she successfully held her first-ever show at Zepp New Taipei, further establishing herself as an artist to watch. After discovering 163braces through her Japanese song covers, Tota reached out, and through ongoing communication between the two, this marks Tota’s first international collaboration.

The music video features documentary footage from Tota’s debut appearance at EMERGE FEST 2026 in Taichung on March 1. With 163braces joining as a special guest, the video captures the live performance where the song was premiered to an enthusiastic crowd, along with off-shot scenes around Taichung.

The single “Onomatopoeia,” released on April 22, includes two tracks: the original Japanese version written and composed by Tota, and “Onomatopoeia feat. 163braces,” a fully Chinese-language version translated by 163braces, who also joins as a featured vocalist. This marks Tota’s first attempt at recording a song entirely in Chinese, for which they underwent vocal training in preparation for the session.

“Onomatopoeia” is inspired by the theory that such words originated in a time before formal language systems, serving as a way to convey emotions through sound. The song was created with the hope of connecting people by sharing these sensations through sound, even when they don’t understand each other’s language. Also noteworthy is its folktronica-inspired beat, a universal groove that naturally makes you want to bounce and dance. Additionally, on April 22, “To love, to see feat. Tota,” a track by 163braces featuring Tota—who also contributed Japanese lyrics—will be released in Taiwan.

Tota is currently drawing major attention, as the new track “I’ll be fine.” from their first album in about three years, “Sebone -spinal cord-,” released on March 25, has ranked No. 4 on the TikTok Viral Chart in Japan. The song has already surpassed 160 million total video views.

Be sure to stay tuned for further updates.

Tota – Comment

As the title suggests, my new song “Onomatopoeia” makes use of onomatopoeic expressions. Through this track, I sing about wanting listeners to experience sounds as they are—allowing them to feel what can’t be fully expressed in words. There’s also a theory that onomatopoeia marks the beginning of language, and while creating this song, I found myself reflecting on the importance of conveying meaning through sound, its resonance, and rhythm.

This was also my first time singing in Chinese with 163braces. We both share roots in posting acoustic cover performances, and we have similar musical tastes, so throughout the process, it felt like we naturally connected through a shared sensibility.

I discovered that Japanese has an especially rich variety of onomatopoeia, while Taiwanese onomatopoeia also carries sounds that intuitively make sense. Being able to create this across countries led to many new discoveries.

Additionally, for the Japanese version of “To love, to see,” I worked on an interpretive translation of the lyrics for the first time. I adjusted vowel sounds to match parts of the original lyrics and carefully chose Japanese phrasing that would fit the melody, which made for a fresh creative experience. I was also amazed at how fluent 163braces is in Japanese!

It turned out to be a song where you can purely enjoy the sound itself, so I really hope people in Taiwan will listen to it a lot!

新曲「オノマトペ」はタイトルの通りオノマトペを使った曲です。言葉で表しきれない感覚を、感じるまま音で聞かせて欲しいと歌っています。オノマトペを言葉の始まりとする一説もあったりして、音の響きやリズムを伝えられることの重要さについて考えたりしながら作りました。

そして163bracesとは、初めて中国語で歌いました。私たちは弾き語りでカバーを載せてきたルーツがあったり、好きな音楽が似ていたり、制作する中でお互いどこか似たような感覚を持っていました。

日本語にはオノマトペの種類が特に多いことが分かったり、台湾のオノマトペにも感覚的に納得できる音の響きがあったりして、国を跨いで作れたからこその新しい発見が沢山ありました。

また「天空」の日本語バージョンは初めて歌詞の意訳もさせてもらいました。元の歌詞にところどころ母音を合わせたり、メロディにはまる日本語を選んだり、新鮮な制作でした。そして163bracesが本当に日本語が上手で驚きました！

音の響きを純粋に楽しめる曲になったので、台湾の人にもぜひ沢山きいてほしいです！

163braces – Comment

Through this collaboration with Tota, I was able to gain different kinds of insights from each of the two songs.

“To love, to see” carries on the emotional core of the album “HAIROCHI,” while its transformation into Japanese and the new arrangement add a more introspective and emotionally pure layer to what was originally a quiet, contemplative feeling.

On the other hand, “Onomatopoeia” returns to the essence of sound itself, expressing emotions that cannot be fully captured by words through the use of onomatopoeic elements.

Throughout the creation process, I also realized how deeply we resonate with each other in our musical sensibilities.

A cross-cultural and cross-linguistic collaboration like this goes beyond simply exchanging ideas through music—it reaffirmed for me the most direct connection between sound and emotion.

這次與 Tota 的合作，讓我在兩首作品中都有不同層次的體會。《To love, to see》延續專輯『海螺記 – 天空』的情感核心，透過日文的轉換與全新編曲，讓原本的凝視多了一層更內斂、在情感中更純粹的表達；而〈onomatopoeia〉則回到聲音本質，以擬聲詞去承載那些難以言說的感受。在創作與製作過程中，我們也發現彼此對音樂的感受有許多共鳴。這次跨越語言與文化的合作，不只是作品上的交流，更讓我重新感受到聲音與情感之間最直接的連結。

163braces – Profile

Began her career on YouTube, gaining attention through original songs and cover videos. With a clear yet strong vocal tone and an authentic, down-to-earth style, she has captivated a new generation of music fans, and her channel now has over 888,000 subscribers.

In 2023, she released her debut EP “filter,” presenting her unique musical world through a genre-blending sound influenced by rock, electronic, and hyperpop. That same year, her “MINIMINI” tour across Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung sold out completely. She later successfully held her first performance in Hong Kong, marking her expansion into international markets.

In 2025, she released her first full-length original album “HAIROCHI.” In July of the same year, she launched the “‘HAIROCHI’ Shipbuilding Project” tour, performing across major Asian cities including Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Taipei. This tour marked a significant milestone in her evolution from a self-made online creator to an artist performing on larger stages. With her distinctive, bright creative perspective, consistent musical output, and strong stage presence, she continues to demonstrate remarkable potential. In recent years, she has also attracted growing attention from media and brands, steadily establishing herself as one of the leading artists of the next-generation music scene.

Onomatopoeia feat. 163braces – Music Video