"Redemption" is a single released by Japanese musician
Gackt
, better known by his mononymous stage name Gackt (stylized as GACKT), is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor.
Born in Okinawa, Japan, to a Ryukyuan family, Gackt learned the piano at a young age and was raise ...
on January 25, 2006. Its songs "Redemption" and "Longing" were theme songs of the video game ''
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII''.
It peaked at third place on the
Oricon singles chart
The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...
and charted for twelve weeks. In 2006, it was the 83rd best selling single with sales of 124,955 copies, making it to be Gackt's eighth best selling single. It was certified gold by
RIAJ
The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969.
The RIAJ's activities include p ...
.
Summary
In late 2005, Gackt was involved with the ''
Final Fantasy VII
is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertai ...
'' franchise, for
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
's
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
video game ''
Dirge of Cerberus'', released on January 26, 2006.
Gackt composed and performed two theme songs for the game, "Longing" and "Redemption", and were released as a single, separately from the game's
original soundtrack, but were included in its release a month later. For the game's ending theme, "Redemption", the staff originally planned for it to be a
ballad, but Gackt decided to make it a
rock song instead. Upon hearing Gackt's ideas, the staff were pleased with the direction in which he had gone.
In addition to contributing music, the character
Genesis Rhapsodos
''Final Fantasy VII'', a role-playing video game developed by Square (now Square Enix) and originally released in 1997, features many fictional characters in both major and minor roles. ''VII'' has been followed by multiple sequels and prequel ...
was modeled on, voiced and co-created by Gackt,
and Gackt also acted as the character in a
brief appearance during an optional ending of the game. Initially a character with very limited appearance, Genesis had an integral role in the 2007 video game ''
Crisis Core''.
A limited edition of the single was published as well, containing a
DVD with alternating
music videos of the title track, one featuring the artist and the other being composed of footage from the video game ''Dirge of Cerberus''. Gackt performed "Redemption" on the ''Diabolos: Aien no Shi'' tour in 2005, and played it extensively throughout his solo career.
Gackt considered its music video one of his hardest to film, saying "we had to push back 18 hours from the time we were originally scheduled to film. We stayed up all night filming in a cold and ruined warehouse".
Track listing
See also
*
Music of the ''Final Fantasy VII'' series
References
{{Gackt
2006 singles
Gackt songs
Final Fantasy music