generasia:Featured article for 2010 week 30

GACKT

GACKT (ガクト, but most often written in English, even in Japan; pronounced Gakuto) is a vocalist, songwriter, multi-talented instrumentalist, actor, as well as a beloved celebrity amongst females, both in Japan and in the international J-Pop fan community. He is the former singer of both CAINS:FELL and MALICE MIZER. It was during his time in MALICE MIZER that he began to gain some national recognition. He can play the: trumpet, tuba, horn, trombone, piano, guitar, drums, bass, other standard orchestral instruments, and most traditional Japanese instruments. Gackt can also speak: Japanese, English, Mandarin, Korean, and French, all with varying degrees of fluency. His fanclub is called "Dears", which is named from track #10 of his debut album MARS.

Since Gackt became a member of MALICE MIZER, he has claimed (jokingly) to be a vampire and to have been born on July 4th, 1540. He himself announced on November 5th, 2009 that his actual birth year is 1973, and said he never particularly concealed his age. Born in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, Gackt's parents were strict while he was growing up. His television viewing was restricted to national or educational programming. At the age of seven, Gackt nearly drowned in the Sea of Okinawa. In his autobiography, he claims that after being rescued he became aware of supernatural abilities - he goes on to say that he does not wish to have children, for fear of passing these abilities on.

After leaving MALICE MIZER, Gackt started a solo career with his backing band GACKTJob. The band curently consists of: Fujimura "Chachamaru" Yukihito, You, Ju-ken, Jun-ji, and Igao. His solo career is a great success as he continues to maintain a level of popularity even greater than when he was with MALICE MIZER.

In addition to music, Gackt has done work as an actor in TV, movies, and commercials, usually "playing" himself. Gackt starred in the Japanese drama Hero's Hero as well as co-starred in and authored the script for the movie Moon Child with hyde, the vocalist of L'Arc~en~Ciel. He also played Uesugi Kenshin in the NHK drama Fuurinkazan.

GACKT's most recent single, "EVER", was released on July 28th. The title track was used as the image song for the online game Dragon Nest.