 What is Vocaloid? Vocaloid is software created by Yamaha for synthesized humanlike singing. It debuted with the virtual singers Leon and Lola in 2004, and since then has grown to include no less than 14 virtual voices for both Japanese and European languages, with the planned release of at least 4 within the next few months. |
The real popularity of Vocaloid began when Crypton Future Media, a software company based in Hokkaido, Japan, released its first Vocaloid voice in it's so-called Character Vocal series: Hatsune Miku. Though KAITO and MEIKO (two previous Japanese Vocaloids) sported appealing character designs, Miku took the idea of a virtual singer to a new level. With an advertising campaign that promoted her as a "virtual diva" both her voice AND image turned into an internet phenomenon with dozens of Vocaloid music producers creating original songs for her to sing and even perform through animated musical videos. Since her release, Crypton has produced 3 other now-famous Vocaloid characters: Kagamine Rin and Len (the mirror images; male and female voicebanks put into one package) and Megurine Luka (bilingual in Japanese and English), with a 4th Vocaloid that has only been recently announced.
Samples of other Vocaloids
