I'm into Vocaloid

I have been interested in Vocaloid since last year. I know that Vocaloid has a long history, and I have actually known about Vocaloid since 2013 or so. However, I only started listening to it last year. Before I share my story about discovering Vocaloid, allow me to explain what Vocaloid is.

"VOCALOID and its succeeding versions are voice synthesizing applications that have been sold commercially since 2004." (source)

Hatsune Miku

Probably, the first Vocaloid I listened to is Ievan Polkka covered by Otomania using Hatsune Miku. At first, I didn't even know what Vocaloid is. But because the voice sounds weirdly cute, I started to search who the singer was. It turned out to be a synthesized voice named Hatsune Miku.

Yes, I said "covered by" because at first I thought some dude had made up this song for his Vocaloid project, but then I searched into the song and realized that it's actually a Finnish song called "Ieva's Polka" (also known as Eve's Polka) from 1928.

The Vocaloid

Hatsune Miku wasn't the only Vocaloid out there. There are a lot of other Vocaloids besides her, such as IA, Kagamine Rin, Kagamine Len, MEIKO, KAITO, GUMI, Megurine Luka, flower, and the latest Vocaloid I discovered while writing this is probably Kaai Yuki.

Kagamine Rin and Len

MEIKO

KAITO

"VOCALOIDs of VOCALOID "vocalist", "character", or "mascot refers heavily to an illustrated character of a VOCALOID™-powered voice bank, although a product name or miscellaneous representation (like an avatar) can be included." (source)

After that, I didn't know much about Vocaloid because a friend of mine introduced me to the ~~cursed~~ world of Anime, and from that point on, I've been stuck in it.

But let's continue talking about how I started listening to Vocaloid in 2022. Probably the biggest reason is the "pandemic" that forced everyone to do everything from home. I had more time for myself, and because I ~~was feeling depressed~~ have more free time, I spent my time watching movies, TV shows, and all kinds of streaming from various streaming service providers, including YouTube.

From Vtubers to Utaite to Vocaloids

At first, I discovered Vtubers (I'll talk about it later). I like anime, so thanks to the YouTube algorithm, I stumbled upon some Vtubers. The first Vtuber I watched was probably Kizuna Ai, but then I learned about Kanae Channel from Nijisanji, and I still simp for him and a lot of other great Vtubers. From that, I learned that sometimes they do cover songs, and some of the covers are Bangers!

They often cover Vocaloid songs or sing songs from well-known singers and Utaite (I will probably talk about Utaite later). The first song that got me into Vocaloid and Utaite was "KING" covered by Kuzuha (MV).

Despite him having a great voice, the lyrics, visuals, and the song itself caught my interest. The original song is from a Vocaloid producer named Kanaria. He has created many great songs using Vocaloid. At the time of writing this blog, the original video of "KING" by Kanaria had 76 million views, while the cover by Kuzuha had 44 million views. The number of views alone demonstrates how well this song was received by people, particularly within the Vocaloid and Vtuber communities.

Okay, so I know about Kanaria. Then, as an internet person, of course, I watched almost all Kanaria videos until the YouTube algorithm started to think that "Vocaloid" is my new personality. From there, I found PinocchioP, DECO*27, inabakumori, Kikuo, etc.

Still, even though I listen to a lot of Vocaloid, I'm still a newbie in the Vocaloid community. Because... you know, they already exist and have their own community since 2004, and I'm just starting to listen to it since 2022. But because I love learning new things, I'll continue to listen to them.

Here, I left my favorite Vocaloid's song from each Producer I like. I give 2 song each, first is my recommendation and the second is their latest song that has been uploaded on their YouTube channel. Hope you guys like it...

【Kanaria】KING feat. GUMI // 大脳的なランデブー (OST Chainsaw Man)