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Yoshiki, leader of the group X Japan, has a long history of mental health challenges dating back to the death of his father by suicide when he was 10. His experiences and the suffering of the music community over Covid-19, inspired him to establish an annual $100,000 grant with MusiCares. ....
Visual kei pioneer plays songs from Frozen, The Lion King and more courtesy of Resonance Media February 5, 2021 Described by Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland as Neil Diamond meets speed metal, X Japan are a million-selling phenomenon in their homeland. What a child would have thought Mötley Crüe s life was like, their life is actually like, Borland, who played with X Japan during their 2008 reunion shows in Tokyo, told us in 2017. It s so outrageous, it s amazing. At the forefront of this outrageousness is the group s founder, drummer and piano player Yoshiki, one of Japan s biggest rock stars, as well as a musician of international repute. As such, he s now the subject of a new Disney+ original, ....
The face, the blood. what is that? i bought it. did it blow your mind? yes. reporter: even though yoshiki is not the singer he plays drums, piano, and writes all the songs he has become the face of the band. there was a studio in los angeles that you wanted to record in. it was booked. metallica was recording. so you just bought it? yes. reporter: this past weekend, x-japan played their first big american gig at lollapalooza in chicago. they re launching a full tour this fall and releasing their first album here. with songs in english. if it works scenes like this may be playing out more often here in america. dan harris, abc news, chicago. he does have pretty hair, i will say that. i was trying to figure out what the sound of it was like. so i searched. people are saying it s equal parts anthrax and celine dion. for these stadiums full of people, they say it s lights, it s lasers, it s pyrotechnics. ....
Japan. reporter: yoshiki is so big he has his own branded visa card, his own jewelry line, his own race car team, and he s the first person ever to have a hello kitty doll named after him. now, almost 50 years after the british invasion of the beatles, yoshiki and his band, called x-japan, are mounting a japanese invasion. why do you want to come to the u.s.? why not? there hasn t been to my knowledge a big asian act that has really broken through in the u.s. do you think x can do it? i think so. i mean, if we don t have confidence we re not here. reporter: as a child he studied classical piano exclusively. until he discovered american heavy metal. ....
Even here in chicago, he was mobbed by japanese fans. back, back! reporter: he s been called the bono of japan. reporter: yoshiki is so big he has his own branded visa card, his own jewelry line, his own race car team, and he s the first person ever to have a hello kitty doll named after him. now, almost 50 years after the british invasion of the beatles, yoshiki and his band, called x-japan, are mounting a japanese invasion. why do you want to come to the u.s.? why not? there hasn t been to my knowledge a big asian act that has really broken through in the u.s. do you think x can do it? i think so. i mean, if we don t have confidence, we are not here. reporter: as a child he studied classical piano exclusively. until he discovered american heavy metal. when i was 10, i found kiss album. i saw gene simmons just ....