Hatsune Miku and the Pros and Cons of Democratizing Your Pop Idols

Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

Polygon's Chris Plante posted a video today comparing the meteoric rise (and ongoing fall) of pop idol Justin Beiber to the world of virtual pop princess Hatsune Miku. Miku, along with her fellow Vocaloids, are both highly-accessible vocal emulators and anime-inspired characters -- basically pre-built virtual pop idols delivered into the hands of pros and amateurs alike. This open-source approach has lead to a tremendous amount of music and material being produced under Miku's name, making her one of the most ubiquitous pop princesses of all time. Except for that whole not-being-a-human thing.

Plante posits that for better or for worse a virtual pop star in the hands of their fans for better or for worse is a good alternative to a flesh-and-blood idol like Bieber, prone to implode under the phenomenal pressure they're placed under from a young age.

And he may have a point...

There's less of an impact on a human being's life and that's huge, but there's also a much wider variety of material put out by and for fans. One of my favorite things about Vocaloids is how broad the content that's produced with them can be. You wouldn't hear Katy Perry singing nihilistic goth rock, but Miku has almost as many dark and depressing metal tunes as she does bubblegum dance tracks. It's the democratization of pop idols, and though I doubt holographic stage shows will replace live (living) concerts any time soon, there's definitely something to be said for open-sourcing your celebrities.

Watch Chris Plante's full video over on Polygon.

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Iris Ophelia (@bleatingheart, Janine Hawkins IRL) has been featured in the New York Times, and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and with pop culture/fashion maven Johanna Blakley.

Comments

[Arcadia Codesmith]

When I was young, I listened to The Archies, a group of anonymous studio musicians playing as cartoon characters. Ironically, the Archies came about due to producers wanting MORE control, as live prefab groups (like the Monkees) showed an alarming tendency to eventually develop minds of their own.

Gorillaz is another Western cartoon group, simultaneously an example and a deconstruction. But again, it's the sole property of the owners.

I like the concept of an open-source virtual act. Not enough to actually sit down and create one, mind you, but... hmmmm.... on the other hand.... hmmm...

[Hitomi Tiponi]

I will be seeing Hatsune Miku in a week's time in Paris, though she is not performing there. It is hard for many Westerners to understand why this character can perform to sell-out concerts in front of massive crowds - but it is all to do with the niche attraction of kawaii, which explains the meteoric rise of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu who is as big overseas as she is in Japan.

[Pussycat Catnap]

While in pop music today most artists are defined by their look and onstage gyrations, and their sex appeal...

Other artists show that this format is just not ideal for music - even if its ideal for pop.

Artists like Dylan, Bono, Lennon, Marley, Marley's sons, Oakland's Mystic, Speach...

And many like them... show that music is a platform and not a video. The value of these artists is in their humanity - and in how their words speak for them.

If you opensourced Dylan you might get the sound of the man, but often not the message.

The danger of pop is that it removes the vital heart of what makes music speak to the soul of humanity... by only speaking to the body.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

i see the basic principle, disregarding the genre of this specific instance, as a natural extension of what Second Life musicians do... rather than creating an individual persona (and having to build that "brand" up from scratch), you're leveraging a shared persona with its own brand.

So... Sturgeon's Law applies (90% of everything is crap). And there's the danger that the metaphorical mask that empowers you morphs into the metaphorical crutch that you can't perform without.

But on the whole, I think it's a positive concept for people who ache to make music and share it with others, but are held back by the myriad barriers that real life puts in our way.

[irihapeti]

the thing I like most about MikuMiku is when move her hips down in the animator her knees bend and her feet don't go thru the floor

[irihapeti]

if ever wonder how the phenom of virtual jpop translate to SL then cant do better than PJT48

their FB is here: https://www.facebook.com/Project48KWD.co.jp?fref=ts

They just played SLB11 EnchantCake. Was amazing show