IN: Hideto Matsumoto (Song Ben Xiu Ren , Matsumoto Hideto, December 13, 1964 - May 2, 1998), better known by his stage name hide, was a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. He is primarily known for his work as lead guitarist of the heavy metal band X Japan.

hide joined X Japan (then called X) in February 1987, becoming the band's lead guitarist and occasional songwriter, going on to compose songs like "Celebration", "Joker" and the single "Scars". X released their first album Vanishing Vision, through drummer Yoshiki's own Extasy Records, on April 14, 1988 and toured extensively in support of the record. They would become one of the first Japanese acts to achieve mainstream success while on an independent label, and later widely credited as one of the pioneers of visual kei. X 's major label debut album, Blue Blood, was released on April 21, 1989 and debuted at number six on the Oricon chart. Its success earned the band the "Grand Prix New Artist of the Year" award at the 4th annual Japan Gold Disc Awards in 1990. Their third album Jealousy was released on July 1, 1991 and debuted at number one, selling over 600,000 copies. It was later certified million by the RIAJ. Shortly after the release of Art of Life, which also topped the Oricon, the members of X Japan took a break, to start solo projects. Around that time, the group also dropped most of its original visual kei aesthetics, except hide who would still perform in wildly colorful outfits and with his trademark red, later pink, hair. Dahlia, which would become the band's last album, was released on November 4, 1996 and once again, it reached the number one spot. In September 1997 it was announced that X Japan would disband, they performed their farewell show, aptly titled The Last Live, at the Tokyo Dome on December 31, 1997.
QUESTION: What happened in 1988?
IN: Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character and Jim Henson's most well-known creation. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the straight man protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, as well as in other television series, films, specials, and public service announcements through the years. Henson originally performed Kermit until his death in 1990; Steve Whitmire performed Kermit from that time up until his dismissal from the role in 2016.

Jim Henson originated the character in 1955 on his local television series, Sam and Friends. Brian Henson described his father's performance as Kermit as "coming out of his own personality--was a wry intelligence, a little bit of a naughtiness, but Kermit always loved everyone around and also loved a good prank." He continued to perform the character until his death in 1990. Henson's last known performance as Kermit was for an appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show to promote The Muppets at Walt Disney World. Henson died twelve days after that appearance. Following Henson's death, veteran Muppet performer Steve Whitmire was named Kermit's new performer. In 2017, Whitmire seemed to imply in a blog post that Jim Henson had asked him to assume the role before he died, though Jim's daughter Cheryl Henson claimed Brian had selected him after Jim's death. Whitmire's first public performance as Kermit was at the end of the television special The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson in 1990. He remained Kermit's principal performer until 2016. Disney announced that Matt Vogel would be taking over as the performer and voice for Kermit on July 10, 2017. Whitmire later revealed that he had not chosen to voluntarily leave the role, but rather, had been recast by Muppet Studios in October 2016. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter later in July 2017, Whitmire elaborated he was fired for two reasons: long-term creative disagreements over Kermit's characterization and prolonged labor union negotiations that delayed his involvement in Muppet-related productions. For a brief demonstration at MuppetFest (a 2001 Muppet fan convention), Muppet performer John Kennedy performed Kermit opposite Whitmire's performance of young Kermit (from Kermit's Swamp Years). Kennedy also performed Kermit for Muppets Ahoy!, a 2006 Disney Cruise Line stage show (though Whitmire performed Kermit for the first few shows). Muppet performer Artie Esposito briefly performed Kermit in 2009 for a few personal appearances (an appearance on America's Got Talent, an appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards, and at the 2009 D23 Expo with Rowlf the Dog as part of a tribute to Jim Henson). Voice actor Frank Welker provided the voice of Baby Kermit on the animated Saturday morning cartoon, Muppet Babies. He also provided the voice of an adult Kermit for a short-lived spin-off, Little Muppet Monsters.
QUESTION:
What was significant during his time as Kermit?