вЂњWe didnвЂ™t see many Asian stars in America from Asian countries,вЂќ he says. Despite the influx of foreign language and bilingual artists in the late 1990s and early 2000s-think Rammstein and Marc Antony-HydeвЂ™s band never made the jump across the ocean. Though heavy on the guitar, LвЂ™Arc-en-CielвЂ™s music was too bright for the grunge era. We didnвЂ™t really pick the name because of the meaning, at first, but now the name has grown on us so much, and we believe that it really represents who we are in terms of music because our music is very diverse.вЂќ вЂњWhen we were going over the choices of band names, all the English names were pretty much taken by all the other bands so we decided to go with French, that way itвЂ™d be very unique,вЂќ he explained. HydeвЂ™s band needed to do something different from the outset.

The band started in Osaka two decades ago, right around the time NirvanaвЂ™s Nevermind was ushering in dual renaissances of rock and flannel. Perhaps the styling is the product of ennui, and indeed Hyde admitted heвЂ™s gotten a bit bored performing with the same group for such a long time. For concerts, he transforms into a blond version of Johnny DeppвЂ™s Captain Jack Sparrow.

Moments before our cameras started rolling (see next page), a stylist appeared next to him and spritzed something into his wavy black hair. He walked into his Forbes interview sporting a pair of oversized Prada sunglasses and an entourage to match, replete with multiple managers, photographers and publicists. If LвЂ™Arc-en-Ciel is JapanвЂ™s quintessential rock band, itвЂ™s only fitting that Hyde is the quintessential rock star.

An eight-figure payout certainly didnвЂ™t dissuade them. вЂњWe wanted to do something special to commemorate our 20 th anniversary, thatвЂ™s why we decided to go on a world tour,вЂќ said the lead singer, who goes by Hyde, through an interpreter days before the MSG show. When you add in merch and album sales, the band should earn close to $20 million for a few months of work. For their five shows in Japan, theyвЂ™ll get over $100 per ticket on average-same as Lady Gaga-and about half that in other parts of the world. By the time LвЂ™Arc-en-Ciel winds down its tour in Tokyo later this year, they will have played 17 shows for a total audience of half a million people around the world.

Larcenciel