Kyosuke Himuro (氷室 京介, Himuro Kyōsuke, born October 7, 1960, in
Takasaki, Gunma, Japan) is a former Japanese musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of the
rock band
Boøwy from 1981 to 1988. After the band disbanded, he went on to have a successful solo career, becoming one of
Japan's best-selling artists. In 2003,
HMV Japan ranked Himuro at number 76 on their list of the 100 most important Japanese pop acts.[1] He currently lives in
Los Angeles, California.
Life and career
He was born Kyosuke Himuro (氷室狂介), which is pronounced the same but written with different characters, before adopting his stage name at the end of 1984.
Himuro has frequently played music with
Steve Stevens, best known as the backing guitarist for
Billy Idol. Stevens participated in Himuro's album as a guitarist and his
concert tour after his album I·De·A.[citation needed]
On August 22, 2004, he held a concert, entitled "21st Century Boøwys VS Himuro", at the
Tokyo Dome.[2] He sang many
Boøwy songs for the first time in sixteen years.[citation needed]
Himuro's song "Calling", from his 1989 album Neo Fascio, was used in the ending credits to the 2005 film Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. The film's director,
Tetsuya Nomura, noted that Himuro's music has been highly influential in his own work. When asked about his contribution to the film, Himuro said that he was happy his work would be used in "the best CG movie ever made in Japan".[citation needed]
From August 5 to August 6 2006, he held a concert called "Kyosuke Himuro + Glay 2006 at Ajonomoto-Stadium "Swing Addition"" with Japanese band
Glay in
Ajinomoto Stadium.[citation needed] In addition, Himuro released his first collaborated single with Glay, called "Answer", on August 2, 2006.[citation needed]
The Japanese release of Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete featured a new ending song by Himuro: "Safe and Sound", which features
My Chemical Romance lead singer
Gerard Way and replaces "Calling". "Safe and Sound" was released on the
iTunes Store on April 29, 2009. However, the North American release continues to use "Calling" instead of "Safe and Sound".[3]
Himuro held two consecutive sold-out charity concerts at the
Tokyo Dome on June 20, 2011 which attracted over 104,000 people, making them the biggest charity live event ever held in Japan. The raised sum of 669,220,940 yen (around US$8.7 million) was donated to Fukushima, Miyagi, and Iwate prefectures for recovery after the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[4]
20th Anniversary Tour 2008 Just Movin' On -Moral~Present- Special Live at Budokan (2009)
Great East Japan Earthquake Reconstruction Charity Live Kyosuke Himuro Gig at Tokyo Dome "We Are Down But Never Give Up!!" (東日本大震災復興支援チャリティライブ KYOSUKE HIMURO GIG at TOKYO DOME "We Are Down But Never Give Up!!", 2011) No. 2[8]
Kyosuke Himuro Tour 2010-11 Borderless 50x50 Rock' N' Roll Suicide (2012) No. 6[8]
21st Century Boøwys Vs Himuro "An Attempt to Discover New Truths" (2012) No. 8[8]
Special Gigs The Borderless From Boøwy to Himuro (2012)