Hatsune Miku and the other VOCALOIDs are swarming social media. Their illustrations and capabilities enchant their audiences no matter what medium is used. Whether it is video games, live concerts, karaoke or simply making a new song, VOCALOID has its many uses and benefits and will continue to impact culture and technology.
What is a Voice Synthesizing Program? A voice synthesizing program is essentially a computer singing as human-like as it can. The technology is becoming more realistic as each day passes, and its uses are far beyond that of any human capability. In the program, the user defines a set of rules and creates a score, or music composition, for the music they wish to …show more content…
There is MikuMikuDance, an animation program where the user can make their own music videos (figure one), Playstation games where players press buttons with the rhythm of the music (figure two), and also karaoke. Additionally, fans can support their artists by purchasing the CDs with their favorite songs or comment on the videos posted on the Japanese video site NicoNicoDouga (2012).
Who is Miku Hatsune? Hatsune Miku, the most popular of the many VOCALOIDs, features a cute twin-tailed character (see figure three) at the reported age of sixteen years old. Thanks to never aging, Miku has been able to release over 100,000 songs with 170,000 YouTube videos and counting. Besides that, Miku has sold-out concerts all over the world and over 900,000 Facebook fans. Her popularity began by be used to market her corresponding VOCALOID software, and is additionally found in her appearance in collaborations with Toyota USA (figure four) and Nascar (figure five) (Who is Hatsune Miku? n.d.) As of today, Hatsune Miku has an uncountable number of fans and an even larger amount of original works made by creators who call themselves “producers” (Annett 2015 pg174). By collaborating and re-posting variations of the original work, the VOCALOID is continuing to …show more content…
Musical compositions are no longer restricted to living subjects that are unable to perform at the standards needed. Hatsune Miku can dance, sing and pose as much and as long as she is needed. Despite being used commercially to advertise her voice synthesizing software, this virtual diva is impacting the world through her songs and through the emotions the produsers program her with. Her interactive concerts stun the audience and VOCALOID’s capabilities capture their hearts. It is certain that Hatsune Miku and her friends will soon dominate the market and the music community as soon as her abilities are learned. As Kenmochi describes, “[VOCALOID] is not limited to a simple musical creation” and should not be treated as such (Kenmochi 2012 pg