Hatsune Miku: The world's fakest pop star

Crypton Future Media's digital darling Hatsune Miku / Crypton Future Media

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.

The stark unreality of Hatsune Miku doesn't seem to bother her fans at all.

"It doesn't take a human to sing a good song," one fan told Wired contributor James Verini. Verini also notes that Miku is portrayed on her fan site as being better than human.

"She's rather more like a goddess: She has human parts, but she transcends human limitations. She's the great post-human pop star," Verini reports one site reads. 

Part of the adoration comes in part from the crowd-sourced nature of Miku's stardom. Vocaloid allows any aspiring songwriter to use Miku's voice on their song. As a result, the songs Miku "performs" in concert are all fan-written.

In fact, Miku's entire persona has been created by fans. The character originally started as little more than a corporate mascot in 2007. Crypton Future Media, like many corporations, wanted a face to go with their product -- in this case, their newly designed virtual voice program. Japanese graphic designer Kei drew a 16-year-old girl with flowing blue hair named Hatsune Miku -- Japanese for "first sound" and "future," respectively.

With little else to go on, fans of the Vocaloid software made Miku their own, and the digital avatar quickly took off. Crypton Future Media chief executive officer Hiroyuki Itoh estimates that there are 3,000 Hatsune Miku songs on Japanese iTunes and Amazon. This is in addition to the thousands upon thousands of YouTube videos featuring the azure-haired hologram.

In a world where hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur can appear on stage via hologram over 15 years after his death, the idea of a digital pop star is perhaps not as far-fetched as it seems. For fans, creating and sharing content is as much a part of the experience as the singer herself. When the concert lights go down and the pop star appears on stage, the emotions of thousands of screaming fans are as real as it gets.

[HatsuneMiku01]

I am supprised at how you all reacted to this. As you can see, Miku, Rin, Len, and all the other Vocaloids are very popular in Japan. My friend and I love them and enjoy their music, but at the same time we are also stunned at how man kind was able to develop this software to take voices and make them say things using a computer. This is an amazing and huge step for man kind! Yeah, at first I thought that this was crazy, but I have taken a huge liking to it and have downloaded the software to animate her (MMD). You would be amazed at how people can do this sort of thing. If anything you should be appreciating this because this is probably what the world will turn to one day in the future. I'm not saying that it could happen tomorrow or it may never happen. But, technology is very advanced and all it will do is advance. Just take the old NES games for example: think of the graphics. you think of those huge pixels and bad graphics. But look at the games we have today: all of the New Super Mario Bros. characters look like they have jumped out of some 3rd world dimension because of their graphics. In 10-20 years we have advanced from pixels that are huge to realistic looking characters in a video game. I'm just saying that this is amazing and you should be appreciating it. Just think... Next, Miku won't be a hologram she will be some realistic looking robot. Just sayin'!

[Planet-dance9]

This article kinda sucks. Seeing as though the tupac hologram came up like how long after miku started doing live concerts is full of crap. Despite how fan based her persona is, she is seen my millions of people as a pop star. she may be man made, but she has become much more than what man expected of her to be. As a dedicated fan of her since her creation, I find this article insulting to the work and to the millions of other fans that support Hatsune Miku.

[scarlettdiretioner26]

you are STUPID yes she is an avatar and a vocaloid and so what that is not a problem you are fake and she is not you are because i have a fan club of her and they want to know about that so you are not so smart you are an idiot idiot idiot that is what you are

[Funnyface17]

She is japans best invention yet! And, so true, she has never been caught tipsy outside bars or stealing or having the latest gossip on how she slept (in this case) with kagamine len. In fact, CBS should be praising this fact on how they created the perfect human life form. She appeals to all audiences, singing both r&b and rock, so she is pretty much perfect.

[Funnyface17]

She is japans best invention yet! And, so true, she has never been caught tipsy outside bars or stealing or having the latest gossip on how she slept (in this case) with kagamine len. In fact, CBS should be praising this fact on how they created the perfect human life form. She appeals to all audiences, singing both r&b and rock, so she is pretty much perfect.

[trewerwzs]

Suck artical . *** man, Fakest star?

[Tatsuki34]

I listen to her songs every day! She's one of the best things that Japan has designed! She can beat all of the real singers! People who say that she's not real and post stupid things like this for the news, it's completely out of jealousy because they aren't smart enough like Japan to make something so amazing unlike America who can create some slightly good things but clearly not as amazing things like Japan. This News post is made out of jealousy so they make Miku look bad to make Miku banned or some stuff like that. Miku and the Vocaloid crew is proof that Japanese minds and technology can design something spectacular and American minds and technology cannot.

[jnfranco22]

Its true -Thank you for understanding

[Funnyface17]

thankyou! Its what they all needed to hear. By saying she is dumb or fake, their pretty much calling america stupid in their inventions

[MrWalrus]

She is more real then Katy Perry,Lady gaga and all those other auto tuned "Don't hate me because i'm 'Diffrent'"pop stars who cry for there attention from the world COMBINE.

[Rin_13]

thank god someone has there head on here thank u :3

[Funnyface17]

RIGHT?! it is a real singer behind the character who isnt autotuned, but the people you mentioned are, yet they drool over those people and will do anything in their power to get rid of hatsune miku. Like, my friends for example. They call anime and vocaloid a p0rn lovers dream, yet they listen to crap like one direction.

[MrWalrus]

Yes,While hatsune miku is a avatar,Notice:Its a real voice.It is a real voice,A real talent and a REAL PERSON.Her voice is a real person's voice!Saying she is "Fake"Is like calling the gorrilaz fake.There a real band,But they prefer cartoons.That is how they are shown in concert.In a way,Its like a form of nickname for someone.I enjoy her music,And I disagree with your opinion.

[MrWalrus]

Yes,While hatsune miku is a avatar,Notice:Its a real voice.It is a real voice,A real talent and a REAL PERSON.Her voice is a real person's voice!Saying she is "Fake"Is like calling the gorrilaz fake.There a real band,But they prefer cartoons.That is how they are shown in concert.In a way,Its like a form of nickname for someone.I enjoy her music,And I disagree with your opinion.