L'Arc-en-Ciel

A Japanese rock band with a French name, L'Arc-en-Ciel formed in Osaka in February 1991. Launched by bassist Tetsuya and vocalist Hyde, the group debuted with 1993's Dune, which rose to the top of Japan's Independent Albums chart, and later found success with 1994's Tierra. 1996's True became L'Arc-en-Ciel's first album to peak at Number 1 on the Oricon charts, but the group truly hit its stride during the decade's final stretch, when 1998's Heart, 1999's Ark, and 1999's Ray sent a combined seven songs to Number 1 in Japan. Released in 2000, Real produced another pair of chart-topping hits — "Love Flies" and "Neo Universe/Finale" — with 2004's Smile and 2005's Awake adding another seven songs to L'Arc-en-Ciel's list of Number 1 singles. Now celebrated as one of the best-selling rock acts in Japanese history, L'Arc-en-Ciel released Kiss in 2007 and Butterfly in 2012. Both records were chart-topping, platinum-certified successes. The group released three compilations in celebration of its twentieth anniversary and issued a trickle of standalone singles during the remainder of the 2010s, cracking the Top 5 with "Everlasting" in 2014, "Wings Flap" in 2015, and "Don't Be Afraid" in 2016. After a five-year break, the band returned in 2021 to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary with another non-album single, "Mirai."

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