Yoshiki Discusses Music, Life, Legacy, and His New Collaboration ‘Forever Love (Live)’ With Josh Groban

YOSHIKI and Josh Groban released their collaborative recording of “Forever Love (Live)” for worldwide streaming on Aug. 28. The ballad originally debuted in 1996 as X JAPAN’s 14th single, and this new version stems from a live performance the two artists shared at the YOSHIKI CLASSICAL 2026 IN LOS ANGELES AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL “VIOLET NIGHT” on July 17, 2026.

Billboard JAPAN spoke with YOSHIKI about the collaboration, the emotions behind the original track, his philanthropic work, and his upcoming plans.

Could you explain what led to Josh Groban singing “Forever Love” with you, and then to releasing the song?

I first met Josh at a Sundance Film Festival event in Park City in 2016 during the premiere of the documentary “WE ARE X.” I have lived in Los Angeles for over half my life, so when organizing YOSHIKI CLASSICAL 2026 IN LOS ANGELES, I wanted to include personal friends. This year marks the 30th anniversary of “Forever Love,” and I felt intuitively that having Josh sing it would yield amazing results. I added English lyrics to the verse to create a bilingual version that balances well for listeners everywhere.

When Josh came to Japan and performed at Bunkamura Orchard Hall earlier this year, on February 21, you appeared as a special guest, right?

Right. I happened to be in Japan at the time, and my appearance was arranged last minute the day before the show. We performed “ENDLESS RAIN,” and Josh sang parts of it in Japanese. That showed me how well he sings in Japanese.

In the new release, the listener can feel the power of his singing voice and your delicate piano playing like they’re right there at the show. Was there anything you paid special attention to in the concert to create that kind of dynamic sound for the listener?

I regularly change the key of my music to suit different vocalists. “Forever Love” was written for X JAPAN in a very high key, so I lowered it by a seventh for Josh. After listening to dozens of his tracks to find a fitting range, I suggested it to him, and he sang in that range.

What kind of emotions were you feeling when you first wrote the song, three decades ago back in 1996?

I was living a chaotic life and did not expect a long future. I held a pessimistic view of life, partly because my father died by suicide, and I assumed I would eventually vanish. However, I believed my music might live on. That inspired the title “Forever Love,” as I thought people would disappear while love remained eternal. I never expected to be alive thirty years later.

It seems clear that you poured a lot of emotion into the song, because it’s still touching people’s hearts even now, three decades later.

I find it profoundly moving. I sometimes wonder how I have stayed alive for so long, but I recognize that support from others has kept me going. I feel immense gratitude, which is why this performance with Josh crossed language barriers and national borders.

In addition to your music, you’ve been heavily involved in philanthropic activities. You’ve donated generously and you’ve taken part in support activities to help people around the world. What are your feelings on the world today? Is there anything you’d like people to do?

This connects to my thoughts on survival. When I ask myself why I am alive, I occasionally question whether I should be. Thinking that a song might help someone motivates me to create. A similar concept applies to my charity work. Believing that my existence and charitable efforts help others gives my life meaning and ultimately saves me.

In a video interview before the concert, you said that “life was a series of challenges.” So, are you constantly taking on challenges in order to live, and in order to keep making your music?

Fans and friends have given me a second or third lease on life, leaving me no choice but to truly live. I want to experience life fully and embrace everything it offers. Receiving life implies having a mission to fulfill. While I am not sure if life consists solely of finding that mission, I want people to know that applies to everyone. Living life to the fullest is a philosophy embedded in “Forever Love.”

We’re all looking forward to what you do next.

I continue to write music rapidly. Over the past few years, I have collaborated across genres like pop and rock. Attempting to release a single culmination of all that work would prevent me from ever putting it out. Instead, my approach is releasing individual pieces of music suddenly, like this latest track, and eventually bringing those releases together. Although I value the concept of an album, I have felt trapped by it, which has delayed my output and caused frustration. I now want to free myself from album fixations and simply release individual songs, pairing new material with a track written 30 years ago. For me, “Forever Love (Live)” represents a breakthrough in breaking away from those preconceptions.

—This interview by Takayuki Okamoto first appeared on Billboard Japan