X Japan’s Yoshiki to compose official theme song for Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary

Musician Yoshiki Hayashi attends the Hello Kitty Con 2014 Opening Night Party on October 29, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac/WireImage)

Yoshiki, the leader of X Japan, has been selected to compose an official theme song for Hello Kitty’s 50th anniversary.

The fictional character was created back in 1974 meaning that the famous Sanrio cat will be celebrating its golden jubilee this year. This is not the first time that Sanrio has worked with Yoshiki: the two have previously collaborated on “yoshikitty,” the first Sanrio character modelled after a real person.

A press release about the celebration and theme song shared that Yoshiki will be teaming up with high-profile music artists on the track. No specific names have been announced as of yet.

“Hello Kitty, congratulations on your 50th anniversary. It is a great honor for me to receive an offer to create an official global theme song for such a wonderful event. Hello Kitty is always cute and makes everyone smile,” said Yoshiki in a statement (per The Hollywood Reporter).

The musician continued: “But that is not all. You also have inner strength. And as you make friends with others, I feel as if I understand the many reasons why people around the world love you. I’m creating a song that perfectly matches the wonderful qualities of Hello Kitty.”

The golden jubilee celebration for Hello Kitty will be taking place through numerous events throughout the year which are set to be announced.

In other Yoshiki news, the drummer and pianist played his first shows with his new The Last Rockstars last year.

He also made history as the first Japanese artist to be honored with a hand and footprint ceremony at Hollywood’s Chinese Theatre.

His documentary, Yoshiki: Under the Sky was released back in September. He also released ‘Angel’, their first track in eight years last summer.

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