Hatsune Miku: The world's fakest pop star

[Jazzy]

Hatsune Miku is the rarest kind of pop star. She is enduringly popular in her native country of Japan. She has never been photographed stumbling out of night clubs in the early hours of the morning, and never had issues with drugs or alcohol. She has, in fact, never been seen outside of her concerts at all. This is because Miku is also the fakest kind of pop star. She is a hologram.



More accurately, Hatsune Miku is a digital avatar. Wikipedia describes her as a singing synthesizer application with a female persona, created by Crypton Future Media. Using Yamaha's Vocaloid software, anyone with enough technical know-how can program Miku to perform any song on a computer.



In Japan, where synthetic characters -- such as Hello Kitty -- are often far more enduring than real celebrities, Miku has been a huge hit. The holographic star has performed multiple sold-out concerts in her home country and abroad. Projected larger than life on a screen, Miku sings and dances according to the direction of programmers who choreographed the concert weeks or months in advance.

Full article with a picture of Miku



Have you ever heard of Miku?

 

[Fatal Dawn]

I heard about this on Rhett and Link. She's a sensation over there. Holographic technology is just amazing and I can see it shaping the future.

 

[DrLeftover]

Isn't that essentially what the producers did with these guys?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSqV3rWM4iQ

 

[Sinon]

I've actually tried using Vocaloid Yamaha 2 a few times. It's an interesting program, but I'm useless with it.

 

[Jazzy]

I found these videos and thought I would share them:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBZOlipfjkQ



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQbrRnqWSNk&feature=watch_response



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exAmqVtYbis&feature=related

 

[Sinon]

Something to note: Miku isn't the only Vocaloid.



[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFf958rdfgY[/media]



[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPrM8caa1Cs[/media]



[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrt4TCwQUuQ[/media]



[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfddgT_wGyw[/media]



[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7LAco5aYSQ[/media]

 

[DrLeftover]

I seem to remember another cartoon group or two....



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKnOUeZbmXQ



(the song starts at 45 seconds, after the dance lesson)