YOSHIKI Reflects on Music, Life, Legacy & His New Collaboration ‘Forever Love (Live)’ With Josh Groban: Interview

YOSHIKI and Josh Groban ‘s collaborative recording of “Forever Love (Live)” was released for streaming worldwide on Aug.

28.

The ballad, originally released in 1996 as X JAPAN’s 14th single, gets a new rendition, one born from a live performance which the two artists gave together at YOSHIKI CLASSICAL 2026 IN LOS ANGELES AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL “VIOLET NIGHT” on July 17, 2026.

Billboard JAPAN sat down with YOSHIKI to talk about how the collaboration came together, the raw emotions behind the original song, his ongoing commitment to philanthropy and what’s next.

Could you explain what led to Josh Groban singing “Forever Love” with you, and then to releasing the song? I first met Josh at an event during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City in 2016, when the documentary “WE ARE X” premiered there.

I’ve spent over half my life living in LA, so when I put on YOSHIKI CLASSICAL 2026 IN LOS ANGELES , I thought it would be good for the show to include friends that I had a personal connection with.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the release of “Forever Love,” and I had this intuitive feeling that if Josh sang it, it would turn out amazingly.

I added English lyrics to the verse, making kind of a “bilingual version.” I wanted to create a perfect balance for listeners everywhere, easy to understand for both English listeners and Japanese listeners.

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 just happened to be in Japan myself at the time, and the decision for me to perform was last minute, the day before the show.

We played “ENDLESS RAIN,” and Josh sang some of the lyrics in Japanese.

That’s when I realized that he was good at singing in Japanese, too.

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? First off, I freely change up the key of my music to match different vocalists.