Out of all the artists I have written about, this is probably one of the most unique because this artist is not even real. In the words of Hatsune Miku, “Don’t judge me by what you have seen in me. What you have seen in me is only what I’ve chosen to show you.” In 2007, Crypton Future Media developed Miku as its mascot in Japan. She is a 16-year-old girl with long, bright blue ponytails. And is called a Vocaloid, her name comes from the Japanese words (初, hatsu), sound (音, ne), and future (ミク, Miku), which translates to “the first sound of the future,”. She was the first character created in the Vocaloid franchise, and she is beloved by millions of people around the world. Each character has a unique voice, and out of the 106 Vocaloids, Miku has been the most famous. Each character has a unique personality and story. They are mostly used by artists in Japan, such as Kikou, Ado, and professional musicians, as well as casual computer music users.
Many people call this AI music, saying it is not unique and should be banned. But the Vocaloid franchise is far from AI. The artists write songs and use their melodies. They add the Vocaloid character by using software that synthesizes vocals. Making the music requires a lot of hard work and processing for the artists who make these songs.
For example, a very popular writer who uses Vocaloid is Kikou, who helped embrace the music and technology of Vocaloid. Since he was young, he was bullied and tried to make music, but struggled. But in 2010, he released his first Vocaloid song, followed by his 2011 debut studio album, Kikuo Miku. His unique dark and pop style helped push Vocaloid. Popular songs like “Love Me, Love Me, Love Me” (愛して愛して愛して, Aishite Aishite Aishite) have over 200 million listens on Spotify.
The fandom for Miku and Vocaloid has expanded into games like Project Sekai, movies, and much more. Miku and the others also have concerts, as she is played as a hologram, and sometimes, she is featured in other people’s concerts, like Ado. She may not be that well-known in places like the US, but she has been featured since her debut, even in a recent collaboration with Fortnite. She is a worldwide sensation and truly lives up to her name of being the future of music.
