I'm a person that listens to various genres of music. While I have had a handful of favorite artists and bands, none have stayed on the top of my playlist for more than a month or two. The only artist that I have continuously returned to is, GACKT.
A lot of people do not understand why I listen to his music and obsess over his lives and music videos. I don't know why I like him that much myself. Heck, the first time my friend -who was obsessed with Malice Mizer (Gackt was vocalist) in middle school, showed me a picture of him I freaked out. I also refused to listen to the CD she brought to school because after listening to the first 20 seconds I was scared of the song and his voice.
I was not a big music fan in middle school and never tried to listen to new genres, especially foreign songs. It's weird how things turn out though.
Few months after that, I was browsing through YouTube and decided to look up Gackt since I was beginning to become curious. I found that he left the visual kei band a few years before and has been pursuing a solo since then.
After I discovered "Last Song," a song from his fourth album, I immediately became hooked on his voice, style, and music. It doesn't matter to me that I am unable to understand the song, that's what translations are for. I mostly listen to the music and the singers voice rather than the lyrics anyways. My siblings think otherwise though. They always refuse to listen to his songs and complain if I play them in the car or loudly in my room.
I don't care though. I can play his songs over and over for hours on end because, in my opinion, he is that good.
It also helps that each of his albums have different musical styles, making them more interesting to listen to. He often infuses traditional instruments into his music that can range from soft romantic ballads to heavy rock. Since I am a big fan of traditional instruments, I admire him even more for using them.
I also must note that his lives are amazing to watch and listen to. He has such a strong stage presence that I am willing to go out of my way to attend one of his concerts.
Since I heard that second song, Gackt has and will always remain, my favorite artist. He has a deep, smooth voice. He writes heart-felt lyrics. He composes beautiful music. He has wonderful stage presence. He's cool like plastic.
A few of my favorite songs:
- Last Song
- Ash
- Emu ~For My Dear~
- Sekirei
- Doomsday
- Freesia op.1 and op.2
- Oblivious (Kao no Nai Tenshi)
- The End of Silence
