Media, Technology, and the brilliance of Hatsune Miku
I remember being eight years old and my mom telling me there was a computer-generated Japanese singer. I couldn’t believe that was true so I looked up Hatsune Miku on the internet and thus my love of Japanese culture and music was born. I’m thrilled to be working on my own study that involves discussing Hatsune Miku in terms of her creation, her impact on Japanese pop culture, and the integration of technology into our current music and entertainment system. She has ascended to an incredible level of fame and has had an immense impact on fans of all ages; she has even been dubbed the queen of the “radically collaborative future in pop music”
On August 31st, 2007, this was the day that the very first Hatsune Miku software was available to be sold. Hatsune Miku was created by Crypton Future Media which was based on Yamaha’s Vocaloid 2 singing-synthesis technology; this allowed for amateur musicians to create music on their personal computers and upload it to the Internet. Up until that moment, the only way a potential pop star could release a song was by finding a singer and recording them or simply recording themselves. Vocaloid was looking for a way to target musicians and have its technology be used in some way that allowed for large-scale popularity and recognition throughout Japan. Hatsune Miku’s creation revolutionized Vocaloid technology and gave it the boost it needed to be recognized by the mainstream media as a success. What was so hypnotic about Hatsune Miku was that her singing voice sounded much more natural than any other synthesized singing before. Hatsune Miku wasn’t just a sound however, she was a character that was designed to have the youthfulness and charm of a 16 year old while being able to capture the interest of all different audiences. Vocaloid and synthesizing music technology existed, but Hatsune Miku humanized the idea of technology and music fusing together.
Youtube was created in 2005 with the intention of allowing individuals with a passion for video making and content creation to make their mark on the internet. The rise of Hatsune Miku gave way to thousands of individuals on the platform making their own personalized videos of Hatsune Miku with the audio software and could customize her to whatever liking they chose. This was a boom for small creators who knew how to create unique, personal videos as much as it was a part of Hatsune Miku becoming a global phenomenon. With the proliferation of the Internet, society has just gotten a taste of the power and connection that comes from the forces of globalization and technology. The rise of social media and the rapid emergence of multiple technologies focused on enhancing digital and music experiences gave way to a movement that was focused on personal pleasure and entertainment.
The brilliance of apps such as Youtube allow for a personalized experience based on the content one interacts with as well as the content made. When first viewing videos of Hatsune Miku on Youtube, I was a bit confused as to why so many of them had different animation styles. Then I realized that Miku represents something different for each individual creator; the different artistic differences and choices within each video offer insight into how personal Miku is to individuals.My first introduction to Hatsune Miku was a rendition of Levan Polkka which is a Finnish song that gained popularity once it was used in an Otomania cover with Miku’s voice. Otomania, a popular Youtuber, published the cover to Youtube in 2010 and his adorable animation of Miku waving a leek was cemented in Vocaloid history.
The internet was a perfect environment for creators and illustrators who would see others’ ideas could base their work off of them and provide their own art. This way ideas and opportunities could link themselves to each other; such a level of connectivity wouldn’t have existed without the internet and its ability to allow individuals to find and bond with each other over shared interests. Doujin culture provided the infrastructure for the creative environment of Vocaloid and laid the foundation for the interaction between that creative environment and third party businesses. This allowed for businesses and the doujin community to collaborate and exchange ideas between one another. For the doujin community, third-party businesses act as “a gatekeeper that controls the exchanges between doujin culture and mainstream culture” (Le 6). In essence, third-party companies cannot claim ownership over the products that they commercialize so individual work always will remain individual work. At the end of the day, even though businesses work to commercialize and monetize Miku’s image, the original art and creations can all be traced back to individuals.
As technology becomes more integrated with the human experience, it is fascinating to see how impactful it has become. Another personal favorite of mine is the band Gorillaz, which is an English virtual band that was formed in 1998. The four virtual members of the group have gone on tour and have had concerts similar to Hatsune Miku where they look alive and fully engaged with the music. Virtual bands have existed since before Miku, but only recently has the idea of a virtual concert seemed appealing. Another example of virtual entertainment blurring the boundaries between reality and technology is the 2018 Coachella performance with Snoop Dogg and Tupac. Tupac was murdered in 1996 but when a life-sized hologram of the rapper in his prime joined Snoop on the stage, it was indeed incredible. The Tupac hologram was even interacting with Snoop as the song began which was just another stunning example of how lifelike technology has become.
I have never played Fortnite in my life but I was browsing Youtube and came across a Fornite concert that was using Ariana Grande’s vocals from various songs she’s done which was accompanied by a Fortnite-style Ariana Grande singing and dancing along. The concert is about engaging with the Fortnite characters along with having an interactive concert with Grande’s smooth vocals. As much as watching the video gave me vicious second-hand embarrassment, it was another interesting display of how real pop stars fit into a medium where they are no longer human but keep human-like qualities. Virtual concerts are only becoming more popular as technology continues to improve in quality. Technology continues to increase its presence in our lives and it continues to have more of an impact on our relationship with music and with the rest of the world.
