Famed Japanese kei visual rock musician/singer/songwriter of X Japan, Yoshiki will join equally iconic American rock band Kiss “…during the broadcast of the NHK‘s 70th Kōhaku Uta Gassen (“Red and White Song Contest”) contest on New Year’s Eve. ” According to Anime News Network the androgynous Japanese glam rock icon Yoshiki spoke about the forthcoming televised New Year’s Eve collaboration performance with Kiss saying, “Kōhaku is watched around the world, so having everyone in Kiss participate makes the program even more global.”
This will not be the first time the two pioneer veteran acts collaborated, most recently performing with one another earlier this month. As previously reported here on mxdwn, “At the end of Kiss’s set at the Tokyo Dome, Japanese rock icon Yoshiki was called upon by the band to take the stage during their encore and perform alongside the band. Yoshiki played keyboard to play ‘Beth’ with the band, and then took to the drum set to perform ‘Rock and Roll All Nite.'” Prior to the aforementioned stage performance, Yoshiki paralleled the bombastically loud and theatrical approach of Kiss, when “the artist collaborated with the band to create a 72-piece orchestral cover of ‘Black Diamond’ for the 1994 tribute album Kiss My Ass…” These pivotal events must have spearheaded and put in motion for the two iconic rock acts to be prompted to end the decade with a bang.
There is a mutual admiration and respect for one another’s craft felt by both Yoshiki and Kiss. As previously reported by Anime News Network, “Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley said, ‘We don’t normally perform alongside other musicians, but we made an exception for YOSHIKI.’ Bass guitarist Gene Simmons described Yoshiki as ‘a man who is modest despite being a legend in Japan.'” YOSHIKI cites Kiss as the reason he came to be introduced to rock music during a difficult time in his childhood.” The aforementioned Anime News Network article also concluded with “This year’s competition will be broadcast on NHKGeneral from 7:15pm to 11:45pm.”
Photo Credit: Gary Moratz
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