Heidi. (stylized as heidi.) is a Japanese
visual keirock band formed in
Tokyo in February 2006.[1] They gained popularity after performing at the memorial concert on the 10th anniversary of the death of the musician
hide on May 4, 2008, to tens of thousands of people. Their third album was released in Europe by
Gan-Shin records in 2009 and the following year Heidi. signed to major label
Geneon Universal Entertainment.
History
Heidi.'s first one-man show, titled 「Birth・Day」, was on June 3, 2006.[1] Their first single, "Yuuyake to Kodomo/Maria", was also sold at that show. The following year they released their debut album, Kasou, on April 25, 2007. The label was their own O Market, which was formed by their management Headwax Organization, who also managed
hide, being run by his brother Hiroshi Matsumoto.[2]
On May 4, 2008, they performed at the hide memorial summit alongside legendary bands such as
X Japan,
Luna Sea and others.[3] On September 21, 2008,
D'erlanger held Abstinence's Door #002, where Heidi.,
Inoran and
Merry performed.
In 2009, Heidi. went on a three-man tour called Counter Culture with
lynch. and
Sadie.[1] They released their third album, Panorama, on September 23. It received a European release by
Gan-Shin records on October 23. On October 25, the band performed at V-Rock Festival '09, which was broadcast live worldwide on its official website.[4]
On May 26, 2010, they released their major label debut on
Geneon Universal Entertainment, the single "Yokan". This song and their next single, "∞Loop", were both used as ending theme songs to the Kaichou wa Maid-sama! anime.[5]Senkou Mellow was released on October 6, and is currently their highest-charting album.
They covered
hide with Spread Beaver's "
Pink Spider" for the compilation Crush! -90's V-Rock Best Hit Cover Songs-, the album was released on January 26, 2011, and features current visual kei bands covering songs from bands that were important to the '90s visual kei movement.[6] Heidi.'s single "Gekkou Showtime" was used as the theme song for the movie Maebashi Visual Kei, which stars
Shunsuke Kazama as a young farmer who tries to make it big in a visual kei band.[7] The band members themselves also make an appearance in the film.[7] In July 2011, Heidi. made their
United States debut at the
anime conventionAM².[8]
They released their fifth album, Alpha, on September 19, 2012. Later in the month, they returned to the US for a performance at
Anime Weekend Atlanta.[9] On November 7, Heidi. began a nationwide tour, that ended at
Shibuya-AX, where each concert was broadcast live on
NicoNico.[10]
On August 16, 2013, heidi. performed at an event put on by the band
Angelo, alongside other acts such as Inoran, lynch. and
Mucc.[11] They contributed a cover of hide's "
Tell Me" to the Tribute II -Visual Spirits- tribute album, which was released on July 3, 2013.[12]
Throughout April 2014, the band went on their first European tour which included stops in Russia, Poland, Germany and Finland among others.[13] From November 7–9 they performed at the
Pacific Media Expo in Los Angeles.[14]