GACKT

Biography

Gakuto Oshiro (大城 ガクト, Ōshiro Gakuto; born July 4, 1973), better known as Gackt (stylized in all caps), is a Japanese singer-songwriter, musician, record producer and actor. Born in Okinawa to a Ryukyuan family, Gackt learned the piano at a young age and was raised on classical music and enka before becoming interested in rock music while attending high school. He has been active since 1993, first as the frontman of the short-lived independent band Cains:Feel, and then from 1995 the now-defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer. Gackt started his solo career in 1999 with debut mini-album Mizérable and first full-length album Mars (2000). He has released nine studio albums and, with forty-eight singles released, holds the male soloist record for most top ten consecutive singles in Japanese music history. They are mostly conceived around two conceptual stories "Moon Saga" (Moon, Crescent, Diabolos, Last Moon) and "Requiem et Reminiscence" (Rebirth, Re:Born) which are performed live in uniquely elaborate concerts. His single "Returner (Yami no Shūen)" (2007), is his first and only single to reach the number one spot on the Oricon charts. As a solo artist, Gackt has sold over 10 million records. In 2007 became a founding member of S.K.I.N., a Japanese visual kei rock supergroup, and in 2010 formed his own band project Yellow Fried Chickenz. Besides being established in the modern entertainment industry and considered a pop icon, Gackt's music has been used as theme songs for video games (Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII), video game films (Dragon Age: Dawn of the Seeker), anime series/films (New Fist of the North Star, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Texhnolyze and Trickster) and television series (Kamen Rider Decade). In addition to his music career, Gackt has voice acted (including characters inspired by him in video games like in Bujingai and Genesis Rhapsodos in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII), and live acted in a few films, including a film he wrote, Moon Child, his international debut Bunraku, Japan Academy award nomination performance for Best Actor in Fly Me to the Saitama, and TV series most notably as Uesugi Kenshin in the NHK drama Fūrin Kazan. He also performed live in theatre stage plays, Nemuri Kyoshiro Buraihikae and a duology he has written, composed, and directed Moon Saga: Mysteries of Yoshitsune I & II. He also provided the voice samples for Internet Co., Ltd.'s first Vocaloid, Gackpoid.

== Early life == Gackt was born on July 4, 1973, as the second of three children in a Ryukyuan family, in Okinawa of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. His father was a music teacher, who primarily played the trumpet, and his mother was also a teacher. Gackt has an older sister and a younger brother. He lived in Okinawa until he was 7 years old (with short periods when was 16 and 26), because of his father's job, living in many different cities on Honshu and Kyushu islands in addition to Okinawa: Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, Shiga, Osaka, and Kyoto. He studied in the Moriyama High School in Shiga, and was enrolled in the Kyoto Gakuen University. Gackt's musical education began at age three when his parents initiated his classical piano education. At age seven, continuing his classical piano education became more difficult because of time spent at elementary school and the repeated change of instructors due to relocating from city to city. It would take another four years until his parents allowed him to quit lessons. However, after losing a piano competition to a boy he met in the middle school, Gackt voluntarily returned to his piano studies, even writing orchestral scores. He has credited the classical pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin with being "the one who taught me the beauty, depth, fun, sadness, the kindness of music; that music could grant people courage, and the meaning of the layers of sound. It isn't an exaggeration to say Chopin is the foundation of my music". Since his father played the trumpet, Gackt is also familiar with brass instruments. Having only listened to classical music and enka while growing up, he did not become interested in rock music until high school, and went on to master modern percussion.

== Music career ==

=== 1993–1998: First musical efforts and Malice Mizer === In the early 1990s, Gackt was working as a host and dealer in a casino, while also being an assistant drummer for an amateur band. At the time he wanted to become more serious about his music activity but had a negative perspective on life. While at the casino, he met a businessman who inspired him to find a purpose in life, that being music. About a year later he left the band and he found himself working multiple jobs, among them as a sound technician at a studio where he could practice drums. When Gackt was twenty-years old, he met guitarist You Kurosaki, his future solo career support guitarist, at a music live house in Kyoto. They formed the band, Cains:Feel, whose name had biblical reference to the story of Cain and Abel. The group lacked a vocalist, so Gackt became the frontman, and the band went to record a demo tape before disbanding. In 1995, he was introduced to the visual kei band Malice Mizer which was on hiatus due to the departure of their frontman Tetsu. Gackt moved to Tokyo and joined them in October 1995. As their vocalist, pianist and primary lyricist on studio albums Voyage Sans Retour (1996) and Merveilles (1998), he also contributed three songs in their catalog, "Regret", "Hamon" and "Le Ciel", the latter being their most successful single as a band. During this time, the band's fame soared; and, after four years and two studio albums, in January 1999, it was officially announced that he left the band. According to his interviews and autobiography, the issues with the management office, members' differences, and his isolation from the band led to his departure.

=== 1999–2001: Solo debut, Mizérable, Mars, and Rebirth === Gackt launched his solo career on January 1, 1999. After completing his recordings, his first gig as a solo artist was the 99 Gackt Resurrection tour held in 11 locations across Japan. It was followed on May 12 with his debut release, the extended play Mizérable, released by Nippon Crown. The album peaked at number two, spending 12 weeks on the Oricon charts. It spanned the same-titled single "Mizérable", which peaked at number three, spending nine weeks on the charts. In July, he performed at Shock Wave Illusion in Osaka and Tokyo. On August 11, Gackt released his second single, "Vanilla". It peaked at number four, spent 10 weeks on the charts, and enjoyed considerable success. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). In 2000, on February 9 and 16, the third and fourth singles were released, "Mirror" and "Oasis". They peaked at number nine and number seven, respectively, and both spent six weeks on the charts. His fifth single was released on March 8, "Seki-Ray", which peaked at number seven, charting for six weeks. At the beginning of the year, Gackt was joined by support guitarist and associate producer Chachamaru. For Caparison Guitars, Gackt designed two guitars, named "Marcury" and "Venus", which he occasionally uses in his live performances. On April 26, his first full-length studio album, Mars, was released. It peaked at number three, spent five weeks on the charts, and was certified gold by RIAJ. The following day Gackt went on a nationwide tour Mars Sora Kara no Homonsha -Kaisō-, which included 16 concerts, and on July 1, he performed the final concert at Yokohama Arena. On August 30, the sixth single, "Saikai (Story)", was released. It peaked at number seven, spending six weeks on the charts. The seventh single, "Secret Garden", was released on November 16; it reached number ten, and charted for five weeks. On December 16, 2000, Gackt released the first in the series of Platinum Boxes. In 2001, on March 14, Gackt released his eighth single, "Kimi no Tame ni Dekiru Koto", which peaked at number six, and charted for 18 weeks, Gackt's longest-charted single until 2009. On April 25, the second studio album, Rebirth was released. It was Gackt's first concept album, conceived around a fictional narrative during the time of World War II, named "Requiem et Reminiscence". The album includes previously released singles "Seki-Ray" and "Secret Garden". It peaked at number three, spent 21 weeks on the charts. On May 3, Gackt went on the Requiem et Reminiscence tour, which included 18 concerts at fourteen venues. The final concert was held on June 23 at the Yokohama Arena. His ninth single, "Another World" was released on September 5. It was Gackt's first single to reach number two spot on the charts, spent 17 weeks on them, and managed to sell over two hundred and fifty thousand copies. After the events of September 11th, 2001, in New York, Gackt wrote a song for a world peace. It was released December 2001 as a single, "Jūnigatsu no Love Song". It peaked at number five and charted for nine weeks. From 2001 to 2004, the single was recorded in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean, which were all released before Christmas. In the same month on TV performed in duet with Ayumi Hamasaki the B'z's popular song "Itsuka no Merry Christmas", and again with Namie Amuro the next year. On New Year's Eve, Gackt's performance of "Another World" was his first participation at the annual music show, the 52nd Kōhaku Uta Gassen.

=== 2002–2003: Moon and Crescent === In the second half of 2001, during the release of "Another World", Gackt started his second concept, project "Moon Saga". In 2002, on April 24, he released his eleventh single "Wasurenai Kara". It peaked at number four, spending five weeks on the charts. On June 6, Gackt went on the nationwide live house tour which represented his new concept and included nine concerts at eight venues. The final concert was held on July 10, at Zepp Sendai. On June 16, the third studio concept album Moon was released. It is Gackt's best-selling album, reached number two on the charts, and was certified gold by RIAJ. On September 22, 2002, at the Beijing Worker's Gymnasium, in China, a large musical event "China-Japan: Holding Hands, Moving Together" was held as part of "Japan-China Diplomatic Relations Normalization 30th Anniversary Commemoration", and Gackt was among the handful who represented his homeland. On October 14, he continued the concept with the nationwide tour Kagen no Tsuki (下弦の月, The Waning Moon), which included 22 concerts among fifteen venues. The final concert was held on December 24, at the Yokohama Arena. On New Year's Eve, Gackt performed "Jūnigatsu no Love Song" at the 53rd Kōhaku Uta Gassen. On March 19, his thirteenth single, "Kimi ga Oikaketa Yume", was released, which is the second of five to reach number two on the charts, spending 10 weeks on them. It was certified gold by RIAJ. On May 4 the nationwide tour Jōgen no Tsuki (上弦の月, The Waxing Moon) was launched, continuing the concept of the previous one, and included 13 concerts at eight venues. On June 11, the fourteenth single, "Tsuki no Uta", was released and was ending theme for anime Texhnolyze. It peaked at number three, and it was certified gold by RIAJ. On July 6, the final concert of the tour was held at the Yokohama Arena. On August 16 headlined the All Night Nippon summer festival organized by Nippon Broadcasting System. On September 26, Gackt released his autobiography Confession (自白, Jihaku). On September 27, he performed as a special guest at the TV Asahi 45th anniversary commemorative "Kingdom Rock Show". On October 2, Gackt performed the John Lennon song "Love", at the "Dream Power: John Lennon Super Live" concert organized by Yoko Ono in Saitama Super Arena. Besides the film and musical recordings for the project, in October he published a novel Moon Child Requiem (Moon Child 鎮魂歌). On November 12, the sixteenth single, "Last Song", was released and peaked at number five. It spent 13 weeks on the charts and was certified gold by RIAJ. On December 3, the fourth studio concept album, Crescent, was released. It also peaked at number five, through 11 weeks on the charts, and was certified platinum by RIAJ. It included his movie Moon Child theme song "Orange no Taiyō" (オレンジの太陽, Orenji no Taiyō; "The Orange Sun") which sang with co-star Hyde (singer of L'Arc-en-Ciel). On New Year's Eve, Gackt performed "Last Song" at the 54th Kōhaku Uta Gassen.

=== 2004–2005: The Sixth Day and The Seventh Night, Love Letter, Diabolos and Tokyo Dome === In February 2004, his first compilation album, The Sixth Day: Single Collection was released. It peaked at number three, spent 23 weeks on the charts, and was certified platinum by RIAJ. On April 29, Gackt went on the nationwide tour The Sixth Day & Seventh Night, which included 15 concerts in eight venues. In May, Gackt released another compilation album, The Seventh Night: Unplugged, containing the acoustic arrangements of previously released songs. It peaked at number five, spent eight weeks on the charts, and was certified gold by RIAJ. On July 4 was held the final concert of the tour at the Yokohama Arena. In October, the eighteenth single, "Kimi ni Aitakute", was released. It peaked at number two, spent 17 weeks on the charts, and was certified gold by RIAJ. In December, he appeared and performed at the M.net/Km Music Video Festival, where he received the award for "Best Asian Rock Artist". On New Year's Eve, Gackt performed "Kimi ni Aitakute" at the 55th Kōhaku Uta Gassen. In January 2005, Gackt released the single "Arittake no Ai de", which peaked at number seven, and his fifth studio album, Love Letter, on Valentine's Day. It peaked at number five, spent 13 weeks on the charts, was certified gold by RIAJ, and was re-recorded in Korean and released in June for the Korean market. In April he returned to dark rock style and "Moon Saga" with the single "Black Stone". The single peaked at number three and was certified gold by RIAJ. In May, his twenty-second single, "Metamorphoze", was used in the movie Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam. It was his fourth single to reach number two, spent 13 weeks on the charts, and was certified gold by RIAJ. In August, Gackt released his twenty-third single, "Todokanai Ai to Shitteita no ni Osaekirezu ni Aishitsuzuketa...". It peaked at number three and was certified gold by RIAJ. In September, his sixth studio album, Diabolos, was released. Conceptually, it was a prequel to the previous "Moon Saga" albums. It reached number four on the charts and was certified gold by RIAJ. Gackt launched his nationwide tour, Diabolos ~Aien no Shi~, including 36 concerts across Japan, which ended with a final Christmas Eve spectacle at the Tokyo Dome, in front of more than forty-two thousand people and costing 500 million Yen (roughly $4.3 million).

=== 2006–2007: First solo tours in Asia, international releases and S.K.I.N. === In 2006, he continued his tour with a concert on January 14, in Korea, at Fencing Stadium in Korean Olympic Park, which was his first Asian solo concert. In the same month his twenty-fourth single, "Redemption" was released, which included theme songs "Redemption" and "Longing" of the Square Enix game, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. On February 28, he appeared at the graduation of the Maiko High School in Hyōgo Prefecture. Besides the words of encouragement, he performed an unreleased song especially written for the graduation. It was released the following year on February 7, as "No ni Saku Hana no Yō ni". Since then he continued to appear in graduation ceremonies, with 16 performances by 2025. In August, at an Otakon conference, it was publicly announced that he would form a rock supergroup, S.K.I.N., with X Japan drummer Yoshiki, Luna Sea guitarist Sugizo, and guitarist Miyavi. The group had an ambitious vision to be the first Asian band to conquer the world charts. On December 24, Gackt went on a small nationwide fan club tour Training Days – Dears Reserved Unique Gackt (D.r.u.g./Drug) Party, which also continued with four concerts in Korea and Taiwan in January 2007. The tour, being his first livehouse tour since going solo, had a specific theme as while performing rock songs embraced an all-out androgynous style approach. On June 20, Gackt released his twenty-seventh single, "Returner (Yami no Shūen)", which was the first in his career (both solo and as a member of a band) to reach the number one spot on the Oricon charts. Its music and video were inspired by the NHK Taiga drama Fūrin Kazan in which Gackt played Uesugi Kenshin. The supergroup S.K.I.N. made debut performance on June 29, 2007 at Long Beach Arena, California, but no further activities were announced. On 10 October, he held a press conference at the Apple Store in Ginza, Tokyo, where besides advertising the first iPhone, Gackt announced he would have his entire back catalog, with new, previously toured, live song recordings, put up on the iTunes Store, as well as that "The Greatest Filmography" would be released on October 9 in the United States and Canada. His album Diabolos was released on October 26 in eighteen European countries. On November 17 and 27, he performed at M.net/Km Music Video Festival in Korea as a special guest star, and he appeared and performed at the 2007 Japan-China Cultural Exchange Grand Concert Final in Beijing where sang "Jūnigatsu no Love Song" in Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin. On December 19, Gackt released a compilation album, 0079–0088, including songs used in the Gundam franchise. Gackt also performed at the 58th Kōhaku Uta Gassen.