Toshi (musician)

Toshimitsu Deyama , known exclusively by his stage name Toshi, is a Japanese singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist and a co-founder of the rock band X Japan, who rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s and is credited as founders of the visual kei movement. Toshi began an extensive solo career in 1992 before leaving X Japan at the end of 1997. Toshi said he was "brainwashed" by a group called Home of Heart, whose leader would control his musical output for the next 12 years. In 2007, X Japan reunited and began a world tour. Toshi severed ties with Home of Heart in January 2010 and renewed his solo career. In January 2018, he began to use the stage name Ryugen Toshi . In 2018, readers and professional musicians voted Toshi the best vocalist in the history of hard rock and heavy metal in We Rock magazine's "Metal General Election". His distinctive, impassioned tenor vocals have been compared to those of Steve Perry.