News
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Singer Kyōsuke Himuro to Stop Performing Live
posted on by Egan Loo
53-year-old singer Kyōsuke Himuro announced at his Yamaguchi concert on Sunday that he is retiring from live stage performances. He made his announcement by saying that he would be "graduating" during his July 19 and 20 concerts at Yokohama Stadium.
Himuro said during the talk segment of his Sunday concert that if he could not perform like he wanted, he would retire. Since there was times when he was unable to convey the image he wanted in his current tour, he proclaimed that he would retire like a sports athlete would under similar circumstances. Initially, his distributor Warner Music told the Daily Sports newspaper that its staff members had not heard the retirement announcement yet and that they would confirm Himuro's intentions with the singer himself after Sunday's concert.
However, Himuro's own official website posted a message by BeatNix Corporation of America late Sunday evening, confirming his intent to retire. The formal announcement will be made at the July 19 and 20 concerts, followed by his final concert slated for next year. The website will provide more details about Himuro's musical career outside of live performances later. According to the Nikkan Sports newspaper, he will continue to release CDs.
Himuro made his debut as the vocalist of the rock band Boøwy in 1982. He then made his solo debut in 1988 with the single "Angel." He wrote and performed the ending theme song "Calling" for the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie. He then co-created the "Safe and Sound" ending theme with My Chemical Romance band co-founder Gerard Way for the Complete version of the movie. He also contributed the music for an anime commercial by Blood: The Last Vampire character designer Katsuya Terada for a vocational school. Himuro has been living in Los Angeles since the mid-1990s.
Sources: Daily Sports, Nikkan Sports via Hachima Kikō
