An average social media user has likely seen a video or images of the Japanese virtual idol Hatsune Miku.
For those unaware, Hatsune Miku is one of the many vocal synthesizers from Vocaloid, a voice synthesizer software developed jointly by Yamaha, Music Technology Group, and later Crypton Future Media. Vocaloid software is created by recording real human sounds for a voice bank. These voicebanks are then licensed under a mascot character for interested buyers to purchase them.
Unlike AI, Vocaloid users manually type in lyrics and create the melody for these virtual voices to sing within the program. Experienced Vocaloid users can even manipulate these voices to sound nearly identical to a human singer with specific vocal adjustments fans call tuning.
Following its release in 2004, interest in Vocaloid seemed to stagnate until Hatsune Miku made her debut in 2007. Thanks to video-sharing sites like YouTube and its Japanese equivalent NicoNicoDouga (now Niconico), early Vocaloid songs that used Miku’s voice took the internet by storm. While completely inhuman, the music that uses her voice has managed to capture the hearts of a global audience that’s increasing daily. Over 100,000 songs have been globally released under Miku alone. All songs came from independent artists that eventually grew to develop their professional music careers.
These concerts are often a once-in-a-lifetime event for Vocaloid fans, who mainly congregate online. So, it was a letdown for her fans when her 2024 Coachella appearance didn’t deliver a complete Miku experience.
The first ever live Vocaloid concert aired in August 2009. A few years later, 2014 saw the first-ever Hatsune Miku Expo. Unlike typical Western music concerts, Vocaloid concerts take much of their inspiration from the Japanese Idol industry.
Fan crowds are much more organized and are taught specific chants to yell on beat with the songs. It can certainly be a bit bizarre to those who aren’t used to the subgenre, but even so, the visuals are enough to keep even the most occasional fan jumping up and down.
The bright and colorful visuals, sounds, and the live band accompanying the holograms of the virtual singers make for a fantastic experience. Regardless, digital singers aren’t someone’s exact forte, experiencing a Hatsune Miku Expo in person should definitely be a must for the spectacle alone.
