Yohio, the Japanese Doll-Like Rock Star Who Is Actually a Swedish Boy

Ok, so we’ve had plenty of doll-like Internet celebrities featured on Oddity Central, but Yohio, a Japanese visual kei singer is pushing the envelope even further, as he’s actually a 16-year-old Swedish bot who looks like an anime girl.

The androgynous look isn’t exactly something new in music. Singers like David Bowie, Boy George and even Marylin Manson have used their feminine features to their advantage for years, but they never took it as far as Yohio, a Swedish teen who has taken Japan by storm with his anime girl looks, guitar skills and knowledge of the Japanese language. The 16-year-old became an online sensation outside the Land of the Rising Sun when a video of a a pale blonde-hair girl with big black eyes and pigtails singing in Japanese made the rounds of popular Internet media outlets. People were left stunned when they realized the beautiful performer was actually a 16-year-old dude, from Sweden.

Born in a family of musicians, Yohio was a part of a visual kei band called Seremedy, at the age of 14. They were so successful that after making appearances at a few conventions, they were signed by Nintone Records/Universal Music Japan. Yohio’s look became so popular in Nippon that this year he launched his own solo album, “Reach the Sky”. The young musician, who describes himself as a “bishounen” (beautiful young boy), became interested in Japan when he was just a 10-year-old by watching anime. He started learning the language, following Japanese blogs and even keeping up with celebrities on sites like Twitter. Now, he’s performing in front of thousands of Japanese fans who love both his looks and his music.

Visual Kei is a Japanese musical genre characterized by heavy use of makeup, flamboyant costumes and elaborate costumes. The androgynous look is also often associated with visual kei.

A while ago, we posted about Andrej Pejic, a male model who looks so much like a woman that he became the star of a women’s lingerie ad campaign. His androgynous appearance allows him to model both men’s and women’s clothing.

 

Source: CNN

Posted in News        Tags: , , , , , ,