Vocaloid: A New Trend in Music Software

Say hello to an entirely different kind of musical idol.

Vocaloid, a singing synthesizer software originally designed by the Yamada Corporation, has gathered a cult following among fans of J-pop (Japanese pop music) and anime. The software works by using a voicebank compiled from an actual singer to create a virtual singer called a Vocaloid. Each voicebank is unique, possessing its own name, and is considered to be its own celebrity, even releasing its own songs, albums, and videos.

The first voicebanks – Leon, Lola, and Miriam – were English and released in January and July of 2004 by Zero-G, and the Japanese voicebanks were released by Crypton Future Media. Meiko, the first female Japanese voicebank, came out October of 2004. Kaito, the first male Japanese voicebank, followed in February of 2006. Several years later, Vocaloid 2 came out, bringing with it improved technology and even more voicebanks from a handful of different software companies. These new characters have proven to be the most popular thus far – especially the Japanese ones – and most have their own “appearance.”

Miku Hatsune, for example, is one of the most popular Vocaloids to date and is pictured as a young girl with long blue pigtails. Prior to her release, the software was generally unknown. "Miku" is responsible for sparking the sudden popularity of Vocaloid software and songs. An introductory song (see below) and many other story-telling songs were released using the Miku Vocaloid.

After Miku, many other popular characters were released. Rin and Len Kagamine are one example. Sometimes portrayed as twins, and other times presented as unrelated girlfriend and boyfriend, the two characters are actually two parts of the same whole. The two originate from the same voice provider. Their released songs vary from light and humorous to dark and serious, and the harmony created by their shared voice provider has gained many fans for the two.

In 2009, Luka Megurine, the first bilingual Vocaloid, was released. She could sing fairly well in both English and Japanese, although her English is still somewhat limited.

Other Vocaloid characters have been released along the way, and more will continue to be released. Most, especially those that have really caught on, have their own single releases. In addition to individual songs, there have also been a few group songs sung by multiple characters, and a few series (songs that are connected to each other by a single storyline). And, because the Vocaloids are available as a software program, fan made and fan released songs and videos are readily available as well.

Vocaloids have their limits, of course, and they certainly won’t be replacing traditional music idols anytime soon. They are, however, an interesting new musical phenomenon with an undeniable following.

Resources

Vocaloid Official Site, http://www.vocaloid.com/en/index.html

Crypton Japanese Vocaloid Site, http://www.crypton.co.jp/mp/pages/prod/vocaloid/

Vocaloid Wiki, http://vocaloid.wikia.com/wiki/Vocaloid