Here is a confession: at first I never expected to like Vocaloid. Voices and clothing designs would never really leave an impact on me. My first Vocaloid songs were “Servant of Evil” and “Matryoshka”, but I am pretty sure I would have forgotten these songs after a week. Until people showed me “World Is Mine” in Concert. It was not the song, it was just so weird how an animation singing in front of thousands of people could just bring a new branch in music. The more I learned about Vocaloid, the more I wanted. Vocaloid producers may have competition but only few people can make a Vocaloid stand out from the others, not just by music but by its technology of creating an idol.
Here is the milestones of what Vocaloid can truly become.
- Leon and Lola
The first milestone was the release of the first two Vocaloids. “Leon and Lola”, with their unknown providers, with the only information on them being: “well established musicians in Great Britain”.
- Miriam
The third released Vocaloid was named Miriam, her voice provider revealed her identity as “Miriam Stockley”. Also, the actual first Vocaloid that made a live performance in Novosibirsk, Russia, on December 26, 2004. Sorry Miku, but Miriam takes first place. The thing about Miriam is that she is really GOOD. Her English is more understandable than most Vocaloids, even compared to English Vocaloids of today!
- Meiko and Kaito
Meiko and Kaito were also a HUGE push for Vocaloid. Besides being the last in the software “Vocaloid”. Meiko software sold 3k copies in her first year. Sadly, Kaito didn’t do so much well in sales, only selling 500 copies. The success of Meiko brought a new look in what would be Vocaloid2, and made Crypton Future Media and other companies focus on selling more Female Vocaloids than Males. Also, another boost in Meiko’s sales was the box art which really was not meant of the character being her voice, it was just a simple decoration to get more attention for her software. This is why Kaito and Miku had their designs that we all love and remember. We all owe Meiko a huge thanks.
- Sweet Ann
Being the first in Vocaloid2, she actually was the first one who had her avatar. Her design was actually inspired by the Frankenstein’s girlfriend.
And her kinda scary box art: (remember she was “supposed” to sell well in the West)
Well that was that for the roots of Vocaloid. Thank you so much for reading!