Vocaloids – the sound of the future

Vocaloids are singing synthesizers not living singers – but their beautiful J-Rock and Enka songs might suit your fancy. And a FREE YOUTUBE TO MP3 CONVERTER means you can scrape MP3s, vocaloid or otherwise, off YouTube…

The first vocaloid software was created by Yamaha in 2003 and released by Vocaloid Singer Libraries in 2004. Vocaloid software creates songs by entering lyrics and choosing a melody. The first vocaloid products were called Leon and Lola, as well as one called Miriam, modelled after Miriam Stockley’s voice. Next in the series were Meiko (female) and Kaito (male), two Japanese speaking vocaloids, released in 2004 and 2006, respectively.

The second vocaloid software, Vocaloid2, released in 2007, is the best sounding and most natural of the two vocaloid software. The first Vocaloid2 singer was Hatsune Miku. As well as being the first in the Character Vocal Series she’s probably the most popular vocaloid, most notable for her long teal pigtails. The vocaloids in the Character Vocal Series are mostly used to produce J-Pop songs. Unsurprisingly, Miku’s anime character is sixteen, and sings pop/dance style songs.

Kagamine Rin and Kagamine Len are next gen, and their story is somewhat argued upon between fans. They are not brother and sister, as someone might assume judging by their similar appearances, but are in fact reflections of a mirror, which makes their relationship not incestuous, but odd. Rin’s style of music differs from her boytoy slightly. Her style of music is electro-pop, rock, and enka, while his is enka, rock and dance. They are both 14.

Megurine Luka, the latest in the series, has quite a different voice to her three predecessors. She is supposed to be 20 years old, so her voice is much more mature than her teenage counterparts. Luka is bilingual, speaking Japanese like the first three vocaloids, but she also speaks English,in the hopes of reaching out to multicultural fans. Her style of music is House / dance / electronica.

I’d recommend the following songs for each vocaloid if you’re a virgin vocaloid listener:

FREE vocaloid MP3s

• Hatsune Miku: Romeo and Cinderella
• Kagamine Rin: Miyako Wasure and Emo Love
• Kagamine Rin/Len Duet: Adolescence (Cendrillon Kagamine Ver.)
• Megurine Luka: RIP=RELEASE

Hatsune Miku

Age: 16
Style: J-pop, J-dance
Download Hatsune Miku

Kagamine Rin

Age: 14
Style: Electropop, J-rock, Enka
Download Kagamine Rin

Kagamine Len

Age: 14
Style: J-rock, J-dance, Enka
Download Kagamine Len

Megurine Luka

Age: 20
Style: House / dance / electronica
Download Megurine Luka