Who is Hatsune Miku, the virtual popstar in concert at Zenith in Paris?

"Unfortunately Miku does not do" direct "interviews, to avoid the character from taking a stand or having a personality, but we have the possibility of organizing interviews with its creators. »Here is the response of the press officer following our request for an interview with Hatsune Miku, the Japanese holographic popstar, who after the first part of Lady Gaga and before the Coachella festival, performs Thursday evening at the Zenith in Paris as part of a European tour. It was predictable, but it had to be attempted. With his turquoise blue duvets and his animated character look, Hatsune Miku has become in ten years an icon of pop culture, which, if we pay a little attention, can be found everywhere, on the front of mini-markets , in video games and on the biggest stages in the world.

Arrived to Le Zénith !! Are you ready Paris ?? # MIKUEXPO2020 pic.twitter.com/HFGJULdQZ3

He was a voice

But originally it was a voice, software. "A voice software released in 2007, based on a technology created by Yamaha and called Vocaloid, said Guillaume Devigne, marketing and international communications manager at Crypton Future Media. Besides, all virtual artists based on this technology, and even sometimes similar technologies, are called Vocaloid. To make it short, the software allows you to use the human voice (the voice of actress Saki Fujita for Hatsune Miku) like any instrument, like a digital piano or guitar, and thus create melodic lines, lyrics, songs. Vocaloid is thus initially marketed for professionals, for demos or back singers, and without necessarily focusing on the visual identity.

“From the first Japanese version of Voicaloid, Crypton Future Media puts a schematic character on the box [his name is Meiko], comments on the marketing and communication manager, and sees his sales surpass that of the English [and their character Leon] who showed only one mouth. It was clearly a path to follow, and for Vocaloid 2, it was decided to think much more of the visual, to adopt elements of pop culture, and to target young people. And Hatsune Miku was. But Crypton Future Media had not expected that users, and soon fans, would reappropriate it so quickly at this time of the first audio and video exchange sites. Hi YouTube.

A viral phenomenon, a creation of fans

“Hatsune Miku sold ten times more software, and people started to create songs, some very elaborate, others closer to the meme, says Guillaume Devigne, and there was a viral phenomenon with thousands and thousands of songs, the best known of which are still played today in concert. "Crypton does not compose these songs directly, nor hold the rights to them:" They are created by the fans, some of whom have become pros, have created their labels, write for other artists. A big part of our work is therefore the management of contracts and royalties, because, for example, on a concert, there is not only one composer, but several. "And the same goes for the entire exploitation of the Hatsune Miku license:" We try to bring in different artists each time, even for, I don't know, the illustration of a line of beauty products . This allows a creative proliferation, and does not impose an official version. Hatsune Miku is not Hello Kitty. "

IM JUST SHOOK AT HOW NICELY THE MIKU EXPO LONDON FINALE TURNED OUT #MikuExpo #MikuExpoLondon #LuckyOrb pic.twitter.com/oMu24O63H4

Hastune Miku is everywhere

Popstar is no less everywhere, especially in Japan: custom car, dedicated campaign for konbini, drinks, all kinds of merchandise… Guillaume Devigne has trouble seeing a category that would not be affected by Hastune Miku. There is no limit. A 35-year-old Japanese man even married her. "We are aware, but we are not involved," he said. We have not banned it, but it is not a real marriage, and because unlike in France or abroad where we have talked about it a lot, there has been no echo of this affair in Japan. "

In fact, everyone can project what they want in the character of Hatsune Miku, a beautiful voice but also a beautiful shell. "She has no official biography or history," comments the marketing and communications manager. It only exists through fan arts , alternative creations. There is no canon, apart from a few characteristics [age, size, weight, look] but which leave great freedom to the creators. "

Thank you band members for the amazing performance !! # MIKUEXPO2020 pic.twitter.com/ngqfC2vNix

The first sound of the future

For Thursday's concert at the Zenith, Hatsune Miku is thus accompanied by musicians on stage, by a heavy sound and image device and by other characters, other Vocaloid. "They also have their fans, but we are in the order of one to ten compared to Miku. Because the success of the popstar is long-term, with fans around the world, made up of 60% men in Japan and a more balanced, transgenerational or even family audience in Europe and France. Ah, and in Japanese, Hatsune Miku means "first sound of the future".

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• Culture
• Japan
• Song
• Concert
• Pop
• Zenith