Why So Much Buzz Around Japanese Artist Yoshiki?

Yoshiki, is the first Japanese celebrity, to join hundreds of legendary celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and George Clooney, among others, with hand and footprints immortalized in cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood. 

The rockstar, who received his first-ever piano at the age of four, has risen as one of the most influential musicians and composers in Japanese history. He has sold over 30 million albums and singles. 

Who is Yoshiki?

He is the lead of rock band X Japan, the most successful rock band in Japanese history, known for albums like Blue Blood and Jealousy. X goes back to the 80s, but it still commands a large following. 

Yoshiki is also a solo artist and has composed numerous songs for anime like Attack on Titan; Buddha: The Great Departure; and Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary. He has been into music since as a kid and formed the band Dynamite with his friend Toshimitsu Deyama when they were 11-years-of-age. They were into western acts such as Sex and Pistols, and David Bowie. The rockstar shared that he saw guys with makeup on at the rock section at a record store and was intrigued. And he was captivated by Love Gun. 

However, it wasn’t all roses for his band group X. Yoshiki said they were hated. Critics said X played heavy music, but dressed like princesses. Despite the criticism, their show was always packed. Yoshiki said in an interview that he had a huge ambition, and wanted to be the biggest rock star in the world. The Japanese musician wanted to release an American album, but his band mates didn’t share his ambition. 

They hit rock bottom when during a press conference, they couldn’t speak English. The members went more into solo projects. 

Japanese Artist Immortalized

And now Yoshiki has been immortalized in cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Dressed all in black, he told reporters there were countless times he wanted to give up, but stayed on the path. “I wanted to prove that nothing is impossible. I wanted to prove that a person from Asia, a person from Japan, who didn’t speak English could still pursue the American dream, could still pursue the Hollywood dream regardless of race, regardless of who you are.” 

Yoshiki says nothing is impossible. “Be your own rock star.”