Yoshiki

Yoshiki's a composer, classically-trained pianist, rock drummer & leader of the rock group X Japan. He was named "one of the most influential musicians and composers in Japanese history" by Consequence of Sound. He's described by Billboard Magazine as "prolific" & "a musical innovator". He received the Asian Icon Award from UK's Classic Rock Magazine & chosen to be the first-ever Japanese man on the Vogue Japan cover in 2017. His film & TV credits include composing music for Saw IV (2007), Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008), Goemon (2009), The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2012) & the hit anime series Attack on Titan (2013). His studio, multimedia & on-stage collaborations include Gene Simmons, Stan Lee, Marilyn Manson, Skrillex, Sarah Brightman, and David Lynch. He composed the theme song "La Venus" for the X Japan documentary We Are X (2016). The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was awarded the Special Jury Award for Best Editing and went on to win awards at SXSW before its nationwide U.S. theatrical release. We Are X has continued to garner critical acclaim with premieres around the world and invitations to over 30 international film festivals. X Japan has sold 30 million singles & albums combined, sold out the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome a record 18 times. Now the band's popularity's spreading throughout the world w/ sold-out performances in North America, Europe, Latin America & Southeast Asia. In 1999, he was asked to compose & perform a piano concerto w/ a 77-piece orchestra to celebrate the 10th year of the Japanese Emperor's reign. In 2005, he composed the theme song & conducted the orchestra for the opening ceremony of the World Expo. In 2010, he launched Yoshiki Foundation America, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, which supports various charitable organizations, including the Grammy Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation & the 2011 Japanese earthquake victims. In 2013, he released his classical solo album, Yoshiki Classical, which included works co-produced by acclaimed The Beatles producer Sir George Martin. The album debuted at #1 on the iTunes Classical Music chart in 10 countries & featured performances by Yoshiki as both the composer & pianist w/ the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2014, he performed his first Yoshiki Classical World Tour w/sold-out shows in 10 countries. That same year, X Japan headlined New York's Madison Square Garden. In 2015, he introduced the Yoshikimono collection of rock-themed kimonos, inspired by his family's kimono business. The collection debuted as the finale of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Tokyo. Yoshikimono was later invited to open Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo 2017 S/S. Yoshiki Channel was launched on the Nico Nico platform, Japan's largest video-streaming service. It has become the platform's #1 artist channel w/ the highest number of subscribers by far. In 2016, he founded the rock festival Visual Japan Summit w/ over 50 bands performing for sold-out audiences of 100,000 fans over 3 nights in Japan, ranking #6 in the top-attended music festivals in Japan that year. In 2017, he performed 2 sold-out classical concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall w/ the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the Yoshiki Classical Tour. Later in 2017, X Japan headlined London's Wembley Arena. The We Are X Original Soundtrack claimed the #1 position on the UK Rock Chart. Following the We Are X U.S. Blu-ray release, the film was chosen as iTunes' "Editor's Choice" and Amazon's "Indie Pick of the Week" in the U.S. Beyond music, he has his own Visa & MasterCard issued by 1 of the largest Japanese banks. The legendary Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee created a super hero comic book based on Yoshiki titled "Blood Red Dragon." For the 1st time, a Hello Kitty product line was named after a person-"Yoshikitty". X Japan made its Coachella debut in 2018, selling out 3 concerts at Makuhari Messe in September 2018 for 100,000 fans. Due to a powerful typhoon on the final night, X Japan sent the audience home & performed an unprecedented "no audience" live concert broadcast for over 1 million viewers. In October 2018, he composed the theme song "Red Swan" for the 'Attack on Titan' anime series, 1 of the most popular animes in the world. The track reached #1 on iTunes Rock charts in 14 countries. In November 2018, he performed his sold-out classical concert series Yoshiki Classical 2018 at the Tokyo International Forum w/ guest performers HYDE & Sarah Brightman. The special-edition digital single of Sarah Brightman's performance of "Miracle" (which was composed by Yoshiki) was released worldwide in November 2018, ranking in the Top 10 iTunes Classical Music charts in 15 countries. He's composing music for xXx 4, the next film in the blockbuster franchise starring Vin Diesel. He's finalizing X Japan's 1st new studio album in over 22 years, which the acclaimed musician promised Billboard Magazine "will bring rock back to the mainstream again."