Camui Gackt

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Biography

is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor and author. Usually referred to by his Mononymous person|mononymous stage name , he is known for his career as a solo artist and as the former vocalist for the defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer .He has released fourteen albums and thirty-nine singles as a solo musician, and as of July 18, 2011 holds the male soloist record of most top 10 singles in Japan music history. His single " Returner (Yami no Shuen)|Returner ~Yami no Shuen~ ", released on June 20, 2007, was his first and only single to reach the number one spot on the Oricon charts. He became the first Japanese artist to release his music catalog on iTunes in October 2007. His music has been used as theme songs for anime films, video games, and television series such as Fist of the North Star|New Fist of the North Star and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam , Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and Samurai Warriors 3 , The Sarah Connor Chronicles amongst others.

As an actor and writer, he co-starred and co-wrote the 2003 film Moon Child (2003 film)|Moon Child and acted in the NHK drama Furin Kazan (Taiga drama)|Furin Kazan as Uesugi Kenshin . He made his international film debut in the film Bunraku (film)|Bunraku in 2010 Toronto International Film Festival|2010 at the Toronto International Film Festival .

Early life

Gackt was born in Okinawa, Okinawa|Okinawa , Japan, on July 4. His father was a music teacher primarily playing the trumpet and his mother was also a teacher . According to Gackt's autobiography , he was a mischievous child and enjoyed taking risks; at age seven he nearly drowned while swimming off the coast of Okinawa. After this near-death experience , he claims to have the ability to see and speak with deceased family members, and people. At the age of ten, he was hospitalized with a Gastrointestinal tract|gastrointestinal condition and had to remain at the hospital for a prolonged time. He made the acquaintance of several terminally ill children, some of whom died during his stay. Gackt's musical education began at age three, when his parents initiated his classical piano education. He has credited the classical pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin with being "the one who taught me the beauty, depth, fun, sadness, 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." Having only listened to classical music and enka while growing up, he did not become interested in rock music until he was a young adult. He cites Led Zeppelin 's " Stairway to Heaven " as being particularly inspiring.

Career

Malice Mizer

In 1995, Gackt joined Malice Mizer as the group's vocalist, lyricist and pianist. The band released several singles along with two albums with him as the vocalist, entitled Voyage ~Sans Retour~ and Merveilles . At the immediate start of 1999, he left Malice Mizer . Five months after his departure, kami (musician)|Kami (then drummer of Malice Mizer and close friend of Gackt's) died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage .

1999-2001: Beginning of solo career, Requiem et Reminiscence tour

Gackt launched his solo career on January 1, 1999. After having completed his recordings, his first gig as a solo artist was the 99 Gackt Resurrection tour held in 12 locations across Japan, followed on May 12 with the release of the mini album Mizerable (album)|Mizerable . Five months after Gackt's departure, kami (musician)|Kami died of a subarachnoid hemorrhage . Gackt was on the tour at the time, and it was in the middle of recording he heard about the death of his friend. The funeral was already over. Until the end of the year appeared at Shock Wave Illusion , in Osaka and Tokyo on July 11 and July 25.

Since then several singles followed, and in April 2000, he released his first studio album Mars (Gackt album)|Mars , and subsequently embarked on a nationwide tour titled Mars Sora Kara no Homonsha -Kaiso- (Mars Visitor From the Sky -Flashbacks-). For Caparison Guitars , has designed two guitars named "Marcury" and "Venus", that he occasionally uses in his live performances. On December 16, he released his first " Platinum Box ".

April 25, 2001 saw the release of his second studio album Rebirth (Gackt album)|Rebirth . It was followed by the Requiem et Reminiscence concept tour. After discovering the events of September 11 attacks|September 11th, 2001 in New York City|New York , Gackt wrote a song for a world peace. It was released that December as a single " Junigatsu no Love Song ". From 2001 to 2004, the single was recorded in four different languages: Japanese, English, Korean language|Korean and Chinese language|Chinese , all released before Christmas.

2002-03: Moon , Moon Child , Crescent

Between 2001 and 2002, with the release of the single " Another World (Gackt song)|Another World ", Gackt began another concept called "Moon". There were two nationwide tours represeting his new concept, a live house tour, prior the release of his third studio album Moon (Gackt album)|Moon on June 16, and a second started on October 14, known as . On September 22, he appeared in a large musical event called "China-Japan: Holding Hands, Moving Together" at the Beijing Worker's Gymnasium, in China. The event was part of a "Japan-China Diplomatic Relations Normalization 30th Anniversary Commemoration".

In 2003 Gackt announced his film Moon Child (2003 film)|Moon Child . He worked on the script, and did own action scenes on location in Taiwan. In collaboration with co-star Hyde (musician)|Hyde , he also sang the film's theme song . Film was released on April 19 in Japan, and screened on May 13 at the Cannes Film Festival and on April 12, 2004 at Philadelphia Film Festival . On May 5 launched his nationwide tour , continuing the concept of the previous one. On August 6, Gackt released " Gekkou " featuring video clips from previous singles " Kimi ga Oikaketa Yume " and " Tsuki no Uta ".

On September 27, Gackt performed as a special guest at the TV Asahi 45 anniversary commemorative "Kingdom Rock Show". On October 2, he performed the John Lennon song " Love (John Lennon song)|Love " in acoustic and rock versions at the "Dream Power: John Lennon Super Live" concert held in Saitama Super Arena . Through November and December, he released his sixteenth single " Last Song (Gackt song)|Last Song ", and his fourth concept album Crescent (Gackt album)|Crescent . Also in 2003, Gackt published a novel Moon Child Requiem , and his autobiography, Jihaku , and performed on the 54th Kohaku Uta Gassen performing "Last Song".

2004-05: Sixth Day & Seventh Night , Love Letter , Diabolos

In February 2004, Gackt released first compilation album The Sixth Day: Single Collection , which was a collection of the singer's previous A-sides, and some being re-recorded. The album was followed three months later by the release of The Seventh Night: Unplugged , another compilation album, containing the acoustic arrangements of previously released songs. He held The Sixth Day & Seventh Night nationwide tour between the releases of the albums. On October 27, he released his eighteenth single " Kimi ni Aitakute ", so the Acoustic music|unplugged theme would be continued in the release of his fifth studio album, Love Letter (Gackt album)|Love Letter on the following year's Valentine's Day . The album was re-recorded in Korean and released on June 16, 2005 for the Korean market. On December 4, he was invited to perform at the M.net KM Music Festival|M.net/Km Music Video Festival where he was awarded as the "Best Asian Rock Artist".

In 2005, with the release of his twenty-first single " Black Stone " on April 27, Gackt switched to a more alternative rock style, and on September 21 released his sixth studio album Diabolos and had a nationwide tour called Diabolos ~Aien no Shi~ with 36 performances across Japan, which ended with a final performance on December 24, 2005 at the Tokyo Dome .

2006-07: Asian concerts, Furin Kazan , S.K.I.N.

On January 14, 2006, Gackt held his first Asian concert at Fencing Stadium in Olympic Park, Seoul|Korean Olympic Park . On February 28, he appeared at the graduation of the Maiko High School in Hyogo Prefecture , maintaining a promise he made etothem. Besides he spoke to them with words of encouragement, and performed his own songs live, among them unreleased song especially written for the graduation. It was released the following year on February 7, as " No ni Saku Hana no Yo ni ". On August 23, he simultaneously released two video compilations, The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 Blue containing video clips of ballads singles, and The Greatest Filmography 1999-2006 Red of rock songs.

Also in 2006, Gackt was one of last few artists to take part in last exhibition of "Super Stars" project by photographer Leslie Kee, which was dedicated to the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|2004 tsunami disaster. Although at the beginning, due to lack of information he rejected the offer, but in the end he decided to participate in the project after talking with Leslie and seeing that they had the same idea of uniting Asia. For the shooting, to show his admiration for the artists who took part in the concept, he decided to have all their names printed onto his face and shoulder. Among the names were the words "We are all Asian."
On December 24, Gackt went on a nationwide fanclub only tour called "Training Days 2006 D.r.u.g. Party", starting with a concert at Zepp Osaka .

Beginning January 7, 2007, Gackt played the warlord Uesugi Kenshin in the NHK Taiga drama Furinkazan (Taiga drama)|Furin Kazan . Gackt's single " Returner (Yami no Shuen) ", was released on June 20, and was the first in his career (both solo and in a band) to reach the number one spot on the Japanese Oricon charts. On June 29, he performed on Skin (Japanese band)|S.K.I.N 's debut and only concert at the 2007 Anime Expo convention in Long Beach, California . In October he held a press conference at the Apple Store in Ginza , Tokyo , where after advertising the first iPhone , he announced to have his entire back catalog put up on the iTunes Store , as well that his "The Greatest Filmography" would be released on October 9, in the United States and Canada , with his album Diabolos on October 26 in eighteen European countries. On November 17, he performed at M.net KM Music Festival|M.net/Km Music Video Festival in Korea as the special guest star. While on November 27, he appeared and performed at the "2007 Japan-China Cultural Exchange Grand Concert Final" in Beijing. He sang " Junigatsu no Love Song" in Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin. On December 10, he appeared at the China Fashion Awards in Beijing , where was given the award for "Japanese Artist of the Year". Gackt also performed on the 58th Kohaku Uta Gassen .

The year 2007 also saw the creation of the "Save our Dears" charity to help the victims of the powerful 2007 Chuetsu offshore earthquake|earthquake that struck the Niigata Prefecture . To raise funds for this charity, Gackt designed a pink crystal keychain as well as bracelets similar to ones his character wore in his role on Furin Kazan . In addition, the charity also featured two Orico UPty MasterCard credit cards with a photo of himself. Gackt's fanclub Dears raised 2,000,000 (26,041) which Gackt donated to the City of Joetsu at the Great Kenshin Festival in 2008.

2008-09: Bunraku, Requiem et Reminiscence II tour and Re:Born

On August 23, 2008, Gackt reprised his Furin Kazan television role as Japanese warlord Uesugi Kenshin at Joetsu city's Great Kenshin Festival for the second year in a row, enhanching the atmosphere of the festival with almost 210,000 visitors. On December 3, Gackt's twenty-eighth single " Jesus (Gackt song)|Jesus " was released, his first single release in over a year. It was followed by nationwide tour after a three year interval, held in a record number of 60 performances in more than 45 cities, starting on December 14 at the Misato Cultural Center.

On January 28, 2009, he released his twenty-ninth single, " Ghost (Gackt song)|Ghost ", which was used as the opening song for the Japanese version of The Sarah Connor Chronicles . On May 18, Gackt was scheduled to perform a concert in Korea at Seoul's Olympic Hall, but due to the effects of the global recession the sponsors of the concert withdrew their support. As part of both his own 10th anniversary as a solo artist and the Kamen Rider Series ' Heisei period run having its 10th anniversary, Gackt became involved in the 2009 edition of the franchise Kamen Rider Decade to perform many of its theme songs, released via Avex Trax and Avex Entertainment . This began with his 30th single and the series' opening theme " Journey Through the Decade " in March 2009.

To celebrate his 10 Year Anniversary Countdown, a countdown to his 10th anniversary as solo artist, Gackt released four singles, " Koakuma Heaven ", " Faraway ", " Lost Angels (song)|Lost Angels ", and " Flower (Gackt song)|Flower ", a week after one another starting from June 17, and ending on July 1, 2009. On June 13, he began the arena part of his tour, and on July 11 and 12 he held the final performances at the Saitama Super Arena . August saw the release of his second theme song for the Kamen Rider Decade film Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker|All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker " The Next Decade ." He also appeared in the film as Decade s iteration of the character Riderman|Joji Yuki ; he also portrays this character in his music video for "The Next Decade".

In September, he performed as a representative of Japan at the Asia Song Festival in Korea. He also participated in the 2009 Animelo Summer Live concert, performing his cover of the Mobile Suit Gundam theme song "Ai Senshi" from his 2007 album 0079–0088 , "The Next Decade", and "Redemption" from Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII . In October performed as the main artist at the "Wow Live& #33; Thanks For Music" show held in Yoyogi National Gymnasium , in Japan.

On December 2, Gackt released his seventh studio album Re:Born which continued the story he had originally created in Rebirth (Gackt album)|Rebirth . By the end of the year, he held a fanclub concert on December 12 at the Saitama Super Arena called Camui Gakuen School , conceptualized on a fictional school in which the director is Gackt, and on December 24, and 25 celebrated Christmas with fans at the Zepp Osaka. January 1, 2010, saw Gackt's final single for Kamen Rider Decade for its film Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider W & Decade: Movie War 2010|Movie War 2010 , " Stay the Ride Alive ". While recording the third song, Gackt stated that each song had a theme: "Journey Through the Decade" had , "The Next Decade" was , and "Stay the Ride Alive" was .

2010: Transfer to Avex, first European appearances with YFC

On February 14, 2010, Gackt participated and performed as a representative of Japan at the Asia Pops Festival held in Niigata, Niigata|Niigata , in homage for the victims of 2007 Chuetsu offshore earthquake . September 13, 2010 On March 6, and 7, Gackt performed the Setsugekka (The End of Silence)/Zan|theme songs , on the festival organized by Koei to promote their new Wii game Samurai Warriors 3 at the Saitama Super Arena.

March 31 saw the released of his DVD with filmed final tour concert, although was initially planned to be released in November, because of the sound, and special effects, was postponed couple of times. It is dedicated to the all fans around the globe and Michael Jackson . It was screened in cinemas across Japan as well.

On April 17, Gackt officially announced transferring from his private record label Dears to Avex Group "in pursuit of creating one-of-a-kind entertainment", coinciding with the release of " Ever (Gackt song)|Ever ". Prior to the announcement, Gackt held a male-only concert, which consisted mostly of rock oriented songs, at Club Citta in Kawasaki, Kanagawa|Kawasaki , under the band name "Yellow Fried Chickenz", which refers to human cowardice. The tour was continued with a total of 30 shows starting in June and ending in August. On June 23, he released a compilation album Are You "Fried Chickenz"? ? from his former record label Nippon Crown . On July 16, as Yellow Fried Chickenz, Gackt toured Europe for the first time at a very selective choice of clubs in London , Paris , Barcelona , Munich , and Bochum . On July 21, Nippon Crown released a compilation album The Eleventh Day: Single Collection , which was a collection of the singer's singles from the second half of his tenure with the label, and reissued The Sixth Day: Single Collection .

On August 23, Gackt participated in the 85th Great Kenshin Festival for his third time, with record attendance of more than 240,000 visitors. On December 14, Gackt, alongside other Asian celebrities, participated and performed in a Hohoemi project charity event called "Message& #33; to Asia", by DATV at Tokyo Dome, whose profit was planned to help street children in Cambodia and the Philippines . For an auction at the event, he auctioned his custom 1999 Pontiac Firebird|Pontiac Firebird Trans Am MS6 , which got sold for 6,015,000 (72,033).

2011-present: Show Your Heart, world tour Show Your Soul.I with YFC

Because of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami , Gackt founded the "Show Your Heart" charity for collecting money to buy supplies for the victims. Many Japanese and Asian musicians and singers, actors, designers, sportspeople, and other entertainers joined Gackt's initiative. In March 2011, Gackt sent a truck convoy with of food and clothes. He also held a street corner fund-raising campaign in over 130 locations all across Japan at the same time, collecting 25,234,490 (or 320,193). All money collected through bank transfers and street fundraising activities was transferred to the Japanese Red Cross, totalling 208,181,735 (2,641,564).

In May 2011, it was announced that Gackt would start a new tour called the "World Tour *Show Your Soul.I*" under the Yellow Fried Chickenz moniker, with new band members and songs, including visits in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, and Russia. On September 14, he began a Japanese nationwide tour. Part of the world tour revenue would be donated to the Japanese Red Cross.

On August 22, he participated in 86th "Great Kenshin Festival", playing the role of Uesugi Kenshin for the fourth time.

On November 30, 2011, Gackt released his 40th single titled "GRAFFITI". It is used as the current opening theme for the anime Sket Dance .

Projects

Nemuri X Gackt Project

Chosen personally by the family of former actor, at a press conferences on November 5, 2009 and on February 2, 2010 it was announced Gackt would lend his image to a new Nemuri Kyoshiro project, beginning with a live theatre|stage production in Nemuri Kyoshiro|Nemuri Kyoshiro Buraihikae on May 14, 2010 at Nissei Theatre, penned by Koyama Kundo . The stage run until the final 120 performance on February 27, 2011, held in seven cities nationwide with estimated 150,000 spectators. The project is planned to span a variety of media, including film , Japanese television drama|television , anime , manga , and video game s.

Gackpoid

Gackt lent his voice and stage name for the creation of the Vocaloid . Yamaha wanted to utilize the voice of a musician but felt it would be difficult to acquire cooperation. They consulted Dwango (new owner of Vocaloid publisher Internet Co., Ltd. ), who suggested Gackt, as Gackt had previously provided his voice for Dwango's cell phone services. Referred to alternately as Gakupoid or Gackupo, the most recent release includes a new program, OPUS Express, for mixing vocal parts with accompaniment and phoneme data. The new software will be available for download for users with registered copies of previous Vocaloids. Besides the new program, Gackpoid will include two of Gackt's songs and three example songs.

The product was originally intended to be released in June 2008, but although Gackt existed as a model for the Vocaloid, it lacked an illustrated avatar to match the previous Vocaloids. Popular Mangaka|manga author Kentaro Miura , famous for his dark fantasy epic Berserk (manga)|Berserk , was approached. Due to Miura's affection for Nico Nico Douga , he agreed to offer his services as character designer for free. As a fan of Berserk , Gackt was more than satisfied with this arrangement, and requested Miura's sketches be faxed to him as well as the developers, even though he was on location for the filming of Guy Moshe's Bunraku (film)|Bunraku . Gackpoid was released on July 31, 2008. Miura's design for Gakupo has a samurai aesthetic—the Vocaloid is clad in a hakama and kimono , and carries a katana that somehow acts as a musical instrument.

In 2009, Gackt challenged Gackpoid users to create a song, with the prize being 10 million yen, stating if the song was to his liking he would sing and include it in his next album. The winning song "Episode 0" and runner up song "Paranoid Doll" are set to be released as a single by Gackt on July 13, 2011.

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
2003	Moon Child	Sho	Film he (co)wrote, (co)directed and starred
2007	Arthur and the Minimoys	Maltazard	Voice-over in Japanese version
2009	Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker	Joji Yuki	Film
2010	Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard	Maltazard	Voice-over in Japanese version
2010	Bunraku	Yoshi	Film First role in an international film
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes	-
2001	Fly to Madagascar	Self	TV Documentary
2002	''Hero's Hero	Self	Short TV documentary-drama
2003	Namahousou wa Tomaranai!	Self	Short TV drama
2007	Furin Kazan	Uesugi Kenshin	TV drama TV Navi Award Best Supporting Actor (Drama category)
2009	Mr. Brain	Takegami Teijirou	TV series (episode 2)
2010	Shiki	Seishiro Kirishiki	TV anime series His first regular voice cast member role.cite web	url = http:/ / www.tokyograph.com/ news/ gackts-first-regular-voice-acting-role	title = Gackt’s first regular voice acting role	date = 2010-02-21	work = tokyograph.com	accessdate = August 11, 2011
2011	Supernatural: The Animation	Andrew (Andy) Gallagher	TV anime series
	The Tempest	Jotei Gai	TV Drama
	Sket Dance	Dante	TV anime series
Video games & Animation
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	New Fist of the North Star	Seiji	Original video animation Two of his older songs were used as theme songs and released as a single Lu:na/ Oasis
2003	Bujingai	Lau Wong	Video Game
2006	Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII	Genesis Rhapsodos	Genesis's physical appearance is based on Gackt, and voice either.
2007	Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII	Genesis Rhapsodos	Video game
2010	Dragon Nest	Belscard	He composed and performed the theme song, which was set to be released as a single on June 16, but was postponed and released on July 28, titled " Ever (Gackt song)>Ever ".cite news
	Tono to Issho	Uesugi Kenshin	Animation
	Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs.	Ex	Video game
2011	Tono to Issho	Uesugi Kenshin	Animation

Discography

; Extended play:

1999: Mizérable (EP)|Mizérable

; Studio albums:

2000: Mars (Gackt album)|Mars

2001: Rebirth (Gackt album)|Rebirth

2002: Moon (Gackt album)|Moon

2003: Crescent (Gackt album)|Crescent

2005: Love Letter (Gackt album)|Love Letter

2005: Diabolos

2009: Re:Born

; Compilation albums

2004: The Sixth Day: Single Collection

2004: The Seventh Night: Unplugged

2007: 0079–0088

2010: Are You "Fried Chickenz"? ?

2010: The Eleventh Day: Single Collection

Concerts

; Arena concerts:

2000: Mars Sora Kara no Homonsha ()

2001: Requiem et Reminiscence

2002: Kagen no Tsuki ()

2003: Jogen no Tsuki ()

2004: The Sixth Day & Seventh Night

2005-2006: Diabolos ~Aien no Shi~ (DIABOLOS ???????????)

2008-2009: Requiem et Reminiscence ~Saisei to Kaikou~()

; Club Concerts:

1999: Easter Live

1999: Shockwave Illusion Live

2000: Starlight Gig

2006-2007: Training Days D.r.u.g. Party

2010: Yellow Fried Chickenz

Supporting band

Gackt's live support band. As of 2010 its lineup is as follows:

Chachamaru (musician)|Yukihiro "Chachamaru" Fujimura – lead guitar , backing vocals

You Kurosaki – guitar , violin

Hiroshi "Chirolyn" Watanabe – Bass guitar|bass

Jun-ji – Drum kit|drums

;Support members/When needed

Ju-ken – bass

Nell – bass

Minami – drums

Jinsei Rikori – Tour instruments specialist and drums

; Former members

Masa (musician)|Masa – rhythm guitar

Ren – bass

Toshi – drums

Ryu – drums

Igao – Keyboard instrument|keyboard

Copyright Citations

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Camui Gackt Photo by: content8.flixster.com

World Music Artists

Camui Gackt

Biography

Early life

Career

Malice Mizer

1999-2001: Beginning of solo career, Requiem et Reminiscence tour

2002-03: Moon , Moon Child , Crescent

2004-05: Sixth Day & Seventh Night , Love Letter , Diabolos

2006-07: Asian concerts, Furin Kazan , S.K.I.N.

2008-09: Bunraku, Requiem et Reminiscence II tour and Re:Born

2010: Transfer to Avex, first European appearances with YFC

2011-present: Show Your Heart, world tour Show Your Soul.I with YFC

Projects

Nemuri X Gackt Project

Gackpoid

Filmography

Discography

Concerts

Supporting band

References

External links

Copyright Citations

World Music Artists

Camui Gackt

Biography

Early life

Career

Malice Mizer

1999-2001: Beginning of solo career, Requiem et Reminiscence tour

2002-03: Moon , Moon Child , Crescent

2004-05: Sixth Day & Seventh Night , Love Letter , Diabolos

2006-07: Asian concerts, Furin Kazan , S.K.I.N.

2008-09: Bunraku, Requiem et Reminiscence II tour and Re:Born

2010: Transfer to Avex, first European appearances with YFC

2011-present: Show Your Heart, world tour *Show Your Soul.I* with YFC

Projects

Nemuri X Gackt Project

Gackpoid

Filmography

Discography

Concerts

Supporting band

References

External links

Copyright Citations

2011-present: Show Your Heart, world tour Show Your Soul.I with YFC