Build My Own FeedWinger For The Weekend #71
We are not even sure where to start with this WInger For The Weekend #71—it's that dumbfoundingly bizarre. What's so Winger-worthy about a pop concert in Japan, you ask? Not much. The crowd is stoked, swinging glow sticks, singing along... basically having an awesome time—then you notice that the singer is actually a holographic anime! But wait, it gets more strange—the "singer" is Miku Hatsune and she is a MASSIVELY popular Japanese "vocaloid". (Massively popular as in 4 MILLION copies of her song "Melt" were downloaded in ONE WEEK.)
Miku's "voice" comes from, well... we're no experts on this sort of stuff, but here's what her Wikipedia page says:
Miku Hatsune's voice was created by taking vocal samples from the voice actress Saki Fujita at a controlled pitch and tone. These different samples all contained a single Japanese phonic which when strung together would create full words and eventually phrases. Crypton released the first of their "Character Vocal Series", Hatsune Miku, on August 31, 2007. Crypton had the idea to release Miku as "An android diva in the near-future world where songs are lost."
What... the... An "android diva"?
A deeper dig on the Wikipedia page reveals Miku's weight, height, vocal range, and this little tidbit:
In late November 2009, a petition was launched in order to get a custom made Hatsune Miku aluminum plate (8 cm x 12 cm, 3.1" x 4.7") made that would be used as a balancing weight for the Japanese Venus spacecraft explorer Akatsuki. Started by Hatsune Miku fan Sumio Morioka that goes by chodenzi-P, this project has received the backing of Dr. Seiichi Sakamoto of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. On December 22, 2009, the petition exceeded the needed 10,000 signatures necessary to have the plates made. An original deadline of December 20, 2009 had been set to send in the petition, but due to a couple of delays in the Akatsuki project, a new deadline of January 6, 2010 was set; by this deadline, over 14,000 signatures had been received. On May 21, 2010 at 06:58:22 (JST), Akatsuki was launched, having three plates depicting Hatsune Miku.
Dominate Japan's pop culture—check. Obtain eternal orbit in space—check. So, what's next for the unstoppable force that is Hatsune Miku? A global tour with Miley Cyrus? A (virtual) reality tv show? Having an affair with David Beckham? Who knows, but you better get ready because this is one android diva that is here to stay.
Try not to let the fear of the Miku-mania machine ruin your weekend...
United States / English 
