After reading James Verini's "How Virtual Pop Star Hatsune Miku Blew Up in Japan", I definitely know and understand more about the famous Japanese star Miku Hatsune. What is the most surprising thing about this subject is that Miku is not human; she is a singing synthesizer software or application that is portrayed as a 5'2", 16 year-old girl, who weights 92 pounds, is skinny, has blue eyes and hair that is tied to two long ponytails that almost touch the ground. Her voice is created by Yahama's Vocaloid, a software technology that allows singing melodies and voices to be created by using small fragments of voices from true singers. Then the voice can be altered, changed and modified to create singing voices like that of Miku's. She is a singing sensation in many regions of Asia, even though she is inhuman.
The interesting thing about Miku's story is that she started as a promotional and advertising strategy. At the time (and still today), almost any company and organization created in Japan contains an animated mascot or symbol and Miku Hatsune was initially formed to be Crypton Future Media's representative. This organization constructs virtual instrument applications, like the ones used to make the sound heard in video games and commercials. In 2007, Hiroyuki Itoh, Crypton Future Media's CEO, was searching for an effective way to promote his new virtual vocal software, one he had enhanced and constructed with the help of the Vocaloid 2. He believed that, in order for his program to be successful, he had to create a persona or symbol and he recruited a professional illustrator named Kei to create one that would attract young people's attention and make them interested in buying the Vocaloid 2. That is when Miku Hatsune was born: "Miku" meant "future", while "Hatsune"meant "first sound". He was officially "born" in August 31st in 2007, when her programing was finally distributed.
Miku became a sensation, and the fact that she is not human or real contributed in that. Since she had no past, the fans could create it on their own. In addition, she could last for many years, while human singers could not last as long as a virtual singer. There is also an immense interaction by the followers, since they create art, manga, videos, among many more, their own version of Miku. This is actually referred as "secondary creativity". It is this interaction that truly makes Miku come alive and become more human. Miku's popularity grew so fast that, when Otaku created a site that allowed the fans to upload their videos and art, fans' creations were already posted that same day. In addition to more posts being uploaded to Otaku's site, many fan pages were also created, where they wrote songs for her to sing, and dance programs, like MikuMikuDance. It is estimated that 3,000 songs made from followers can be found on Japanese iTunes and Amazon and numerous homemade videos have been uploaded to Youtube. Also, many Miku merchandise is being sold in all parts of Japan, from T-shirts, toys, outfits and more. It is surprising that there is even Miku porn, which is disturbing. What is shocking is that people actually pay to go to a Miku concert, in which the virtual image of Miku is projected on a flat screen, while real musicians play their instruments. Her first one, in Tokyo in 2010, had everything sold out. She has hosted six more concerts, in which about 3,000 fans attended.
Many share the same opinion about the magic people find in Miku Hatsune: "She's rather more like a goddess: she has human parts, but she transcends human limitations. She is the great post-human popstar." Like in almost everything, many others completely disagree with the previous statement. However, Miku continues to be an overwhelming singing sensation in Japan.
The interesting thing about Miku's story is that she started as a promotional and advertising strategy. At the time (and still today), almost any company and organization created in Japan contains an animated mascot or symbol and Miku Hatsune was initially formed to be Crypton Future Media's representative. This organization constructs virtual instrument applications, like the ones used to make the sound heard in video games and commercials. In 2007, Hiroyuki Itoh, Crypton Future Media's CEO, was searching for an effective way to promote his new virtual vocal software, one he had enhanced and constructed with the help of the Vocaloid 2. He believed that, in order for his program to be successful, he had to create a persona or symbol and he recruited a professional illustrator named Kei to create one that would attract young people's attention and make them interested in buying the Vocaloid 2. That is when Miku Hatsune was born: "Miku" meant "future", while "Hatsune"meant "first sound". He was officially "born" in August 31st in 2007, when her programing was finally distributed.
Miku became a sensation, and the fact that she is not human or real contributed in that. Since she had no past, the fans could create it on their own. In addition, she could last for many years, while human singers could not last as long as a virtual singer. There is also an immense interaction by the followers, since they create art, manga, videos, among many more, their own version of Miku. This is actually referred as "secondary creativity". It is this interaction that truly makes Miku come alive and become more human. Miku's popularity grew so fast that, when Otaku created a site that allowed the fans to upload their videos and art, fans' creations were already posted that same day. In addition to more posts being uploaded to Otaku's site, many fan pages were also created, where they wrote songs for her to sing, and dance programs, like MikuMikuDance. It is estimated that 3,000 songs made from followers can be found on Japanese iTunes and Amazon and numerous homemade videos have been uploaded to Youtube. Also, many Miku merchandise is being sold in all parts of Japan, from T-shirts, toys, outfits and more. It is surprising that there is even Miku porn, which is disturbing. What is shocking is that people actually pay to go to a Miku concert, in which the virtual image of Miku is projected on a flat screen, while real musicians play their instruments. Her first one, in Tokyo in 2010, had everything sold out. She has hosted six more concerts, in which about 3,000 fans attended.
Many share the same opinion about the magic people find in Miku Hatsune: "She's rather more like a goddess: she has human parts, but she transcends human limitations. She is the great post-human popstar." Like in almost everything, many others completely disagree with the previous statement. However, Miku continues to be an overwhelming singing sensation in Japan.
A Miku Hatsune concert
A Miku Hatsune music video
Have a good night!
Sincerely,
Michelle
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