Gackt

Gakuto Oshiro (大城 ガクト, Ōshiro Gakuto, born July 4, 1973), better known by his mononymous stage name Gackt (stylized as GACKT), is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor.

Born in Okinawa, Japan, 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 for the now-defunct visual kei rock band Malice Mizer, before starting his solo career in 1999. 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. His single "Returner (Yami no Shūen)", released on June 20, 2007, was 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.

Besides being established in the modern entertainment industry, Gackt's music has been used as theme songs for video games (Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII), anime films (New Fist of the North Star and Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam) and television series (Kamen Rider Decade). In addition to his music career, Gackt has acted in a few films, including a film he wrote, Moon Child, his international debut Bunraku, and TV series such as the NHK drama Fūrin Kazan. He also performed live in theatre stage plays, one duology of which was written, composed, and directed by him: Moon Saga: Mysteries of Yoshitsune I & II. He has performed classical arrangements of his songs twice with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. He also provided the voice samples for Internet Co., Ltd.'s first Vocaloid, Gackpoid.

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