JAPAN: Completely computer-generated pop star performs to 10,000 fans in performances over two days in Tokyo

Record ID: 466128

  • Title: JAPAN: Completely computer-generated pop star performs to 10,000 fans in performances over two days in Tokyo
  • Date: 11th March 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 8, 2012) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING OUT OF CONCERT (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 21-YEAR-OLD HATSUNE MIKU FAN, YUYA OFUJI SAYING: "It was absolutely amazing, it's like my heart is still racing. I don't think I'll be able to sleep." COSTUMED HATSUNE MIKU FAN HAZUKI KOIDE AND FRIEND POSING FOR CAMERAS TEMPORARY TATTOO READING: "01 HATSUNE MIKU" (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 19-YEAR-OLD HATSUNE MIKU FAN, HAZUKI KOIDE, SAYING: "I've liked her for a long time and wasn't able to come to the concert last year and I watched it in a movie theatre. But this year I thought, I absolutely had to make it." PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOS OF HATSUNE MIKU MANNEQUIN HATSUNE MIKU MANNEQUIN (SOUNDBITE) (English) 34-YEAR-OLD AUSTRALIAN HATSUNE MIKU FAN, DANIEL NOLL SAYING: "Yeah, because the concert was called "final", we felt we had to make a real effort to come because we wouldn't get a chance to see her anymore in the future. As for what I like about Miku, I think when she came out she gave a lot of people that didn't have a voice, a voice to express their feelings and thoughts." PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOS OF HATSUNE MIKU MANNEQUIN HATSUNE MIKU MANNEQUIN PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOS OF HATSUNE MIKU MANNEQUIN AND HATSUNE MIKU DOLLS MADE BY FANS HATSUNE MIKU DOLLS MADE BY FANS
  • Embargoed: 26th March 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA66XYRX95BQWS1XOIXRTUU33NO
  • Story Text: Hatsune Miku has a following that would make other Japanese pop stars green with envy, with thousands of fans and an international following.
    She sings each and every song without ever missing a beat, and every dance dance step is always perfect.
    However, she's not human.
    Hatsune Miku is completely computer-generated and her singing is based on a voice-synthesizing programme.
    She performed four concerts over a period of two days in Tokyo, and sold 10,000 tickets, which were all snatched up by fans on the same day, despite the 6,300 yen (76 US dollars) price tag.
    After the concert, fans said they were thrilled by Miku's performance.
    "It was absolutely amazing, it's like my heart is still dancing. I don't think I'll be able to sleep," said 21-year-old Yuya Ofuji after watching the concert.
    Other fans, such as 19-year-old Hazuki Koide showed their dedication by dressing up in the style of Hatsune Miku.
    "I've liked her for a long time and wasn't able to come to the concert last year and I watched it in a movie theatre. But this year I thought that I absolutely had to make it," Koide said.
    The music made by "Vocaloid," Hatsune Miku's voice-synthesizing programme, has made it into the top 10 on Japan's weekly top hits list While Hatsune Miku is most well known in Japan, the concert was also broadcast to movie theatres in Shangai, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
    Event organizers advertised the two days of concerts as her "last" and some, such as Australian Daniel Noll, said he came to the concert on Thursday (March 8) to make sure he doesn't miss out.
    "Yeah, because the concert was called "final", we felt we had to make a real effort to come because we wouldn't get a chance to see her anymore in the future. As for what I like about Miku, I think when she came out she gave a lot of people that didn't have a voice, a voice to express their feelings and thoughts," Noll said.
    Organizers did not give details as to why this would be Hatsune Miku's "last" concert, but said it would be her final one "for now".
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