Media has been practically buzzing lately, and everyone is talking about the 17 year old YOHIO - musician, visual kei artist and very pretty boy. Note the order of those. It seems to me that people first look at YOHIO from the aestethical point of view: he's very pretty. Yes, he is. And next, they see him as a visual kei artist (for those unfamilar with the word, it is a sort of visual style adopted by mainly Japanese rock bands within a certain genre). Fanservice, crossdressing and all that jazz. And last, they look at him as a musician. As a talented young boy making great music.
Is it only me that is saddened by this? Nowhere in that list is a person. A human being. When I first heard of YOHIO, I thought 'he must have been so lonely growing up...'. The bitterness behind the attitude feels like a stab through the heart for such a young person. He talks to birds and squirrels, and doesn't care about what people say about him. No. That's not true. I know from personal experience that children can be extremely unforgiving when it comes to someone being different, and there's not a single person alive who can go completely unfazed from spiteful words.
There is one difference though. The independent one can rationalize it and push it aside as childish, although it's not entirely without pain. You don't get that kind of independance if everyone is kind to you. YOHIO is blessed with a wonderful family and amazing friends, and I'm glad. Most of the bitterness is in the past, and that's good.
So. YOHIO, if you ever come across this blog post, and read this: I think you are a great and strong PERSON, who is very TALENTED and have great TASTE in clothing. I like your STYLE. I think you are a very good MUSICIAN, and the music you write and play is great. I love visual kei, and have done so for a very long time (back in the days when Malice Mizer was still active), and it got stuck here, too. ^.~ So I think it's great that you like visual kei as well. And finally, I think you have a beautiful soul. Yes, the outer shell is pretty as well, but I think it is the soul within that glows so brightly it makes all the difference in the world.
So keep on going and don't stop - I'm eager to see what awaits you in the bright future ahead.
1 comment:
Ok first of all im pretty sure u will never read this comment but i was really moved by your text and seeing YOHIO nowadays im crying about the progress he's been through, his new band DISREIGN is such an improvement of him as an artist and even tho i love listening to his older work, his solo project as YOHIO, i'm so impressed by the new songs. If you ever see this comment, it would be a pleasure to know what you think about YOHIO 4 years after you wrote this post.
Sincerely JACK
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