■A storm of praise for his final drum performance before surgery!
YOSHIKI appeared on “24 Hour TV 47,” which was broadcast on Nippon Television on August 31st and September 1st, for two consecutive nights, livening up the beginning and end of the program.
On the first day, they made a surprise appearance at the dinner show venue, and the next day they performed a moving finale performance. They also announced that they would donate 10 million yen to the program.
He also revealed on his social media that he will not be receiving any payment for his appearance on “24 Hour TV.” In addition, YOSHIKI is scheduled to undergo his third emergency surgery in October, and it is highly likely that this performance will be his last time playing drums before the surgery.
YOSHIKI was performing his own dinner show until August 31, so his appearance on that day was realized in a special way by connecting live from the dinner show venue. He captivated the audience with his piano performance of “Forever Love” to encourage Yasuko, who is this year’s charity marathon runner.
Since it was a complete surprise appearance, Yasuko and the program staff, including the presenter, could not hide their surprise at YOSHIKI’s appearance, making it a hugely impactful appearance that was typical of YOSHIKI.
Also, during his appearance, he expressed his sympathy for Yasuko and the program, commenting, “I respect Yasuko’s challenge to run this time. I also lost my father to suicide when I was a child, and despite the pain I’ve been through I’ve been able to get to this point thanks to all my fans, so when I heard that it was a charity event for orphanages, I wanted to support it.”
Furthermore, on the September 1st broadcast, he appeared live at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall, and despite being completely exhausted after completing a dinner show, he put on a performance that he would never give up. When he appeared on stage, he revealed that he would donate 10 million yen to the show, and commented with a laugh, “I want to give energy to children, so I’ll do my best,” putting the audience at ease.
This time, it was a one-night-only live performance titled “Nothing is Impossible YOSHIKI Presents an Ultra Borderless LIVE!”
The show began with a guitar solo by guitarist Genki Yamada, who is missing all parts of his right hand except for his thumb due to a congenital limb disorder, followed by dancers who have embodied “NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE” at the forefront, such as B-boy MORIKO JAPAN, who has lost 99 percent of his eyesight due to retinitis pigmentosa, world-famous dancer VEHBI (Germany), who was born without a right arm, dancer NIKKO, who is missing a left arm, and hearing-impaired dancers MAHO, Kajimoto Mizuki, and Ko. Together with a stellar lineup including KAITA, KENZO (DA PUMP), SOTA (BE:FIRST), Takahashi Kaito (King & Prince / the official spelling of “taka” is with a ladder-shaped character), TAKAHIRO, and RIEHATA, a total of 21 people created an unprecedented stage that fused rock and dance.
YOSHIKI’s famous songs that have touched the hearts of many people were reborn in a new form through his special arrangement, making for a special performance. Furthermore, YOSHIKI appeared with the girl group “Bi-ray”, which he produces, and performed an edgy version of X JAPAN’s representative song “Rusty Nail” for the 24-hour TV Super Borderless LIVE!. In the second half of the song, the boy group “XY”, which YOSHIKI also produces, joined the stage, and YOSHIKI himself brought the excitement of the venue to a climax with his performance of brilliant piano playing and intense drum playing.
YOSHIKI will undergo his third cervical spine surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, California in October. He is currently continuing his activities in a condition where multiple doctors have told him that he should “concentrate on treatment immediately.” He has also been advised to stop playing the drums as much as possible, which places a great strain on the body, so this will likely be his last performance before the surgery.
After the performance, when asked about the condition of his neck, YOSHIKI replied, “Everyone has supported me beyond borders, so I feel like I can do my best through my neck surgery.”
At the end of the show, YOSHIKI performed “Kurenai” in collaboration with 76 members of the brass band from Chiba Prefectural Awa High School, YOSHIKI’s alma mater, and Hachioji Gakuen Hachioji High School, a school that has won numerous awards in competitions. YOSHIKI’s shout instantly raised the energy of the performance, and it was clear that he was putting his strong feelings for the show into his performance. And with Yasuko’s completion of the charity marathon, the show’s finale was filled with emotion.
He praised Yasuko, who ran to the end, saying, “The power of one person may be small, but I was really encouraged.” At this time, the show recorded its highest audience rating of 25.4 percent.
After the broadcast, social media was flooded with comments such as, “Watching YOSHIKI and other artists perform dance routines brought on so many emotions that I almost cried…”, “The power of everyone dancing to YOSHIKI’s drums was amazing”, “The drums and piano were amazing… I’m so happy to be able to watch it on TV”, and “Just hearing the intro to Rusty Nail brought tears to my eyes.” Many comments reflected the huge influence of YOSHIKI’s performance and sympathy for his thoughts on charity.
“24 Hour TV 47” program site
https://www.ntv.co.jp/24h/
YOSHIKI OFFICIAL SITE
https://jp.yoshiki.net/
