<p>Here is an excerpt from: <a href="http://kotaku.com/5936200/why-hatsune-miku-is-the-worlds-most-popular-virtual-idol" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://kotaku.com/5936200/why-hatsune-miku-is-the-worlds-most-popular-virtual-idol</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Hatsune Miku is more than a little big in Japan. She appears on billboards, in TV commercials, and gives sold-out concerts to legions of fans the world over. Of course, being a popular singer in and of itself isn't something that out of the ordinary. However, what makes her unique is the rather large obstacle she had to overcome in her path to fame—namely that Hatsune Miku isn't even a real person; she's a computer program.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The main fact that she is a program that anyone can use to make their own music despite perhaps not having an optimal singing voice opened up new paths for many music artists. This led to many popular Vocaloid songs done by Miku such as MELT or World is Mine.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-28T00:39:48.317Z
2017-08-31T03:03:25.997Z
2017-08-31T03:03:25.997Z
knowledge_is_power
<p>On one hand, she was literally <strong><em>made</em></strong> to appeal to her audience raised on anime and sugar-coated J-pop. Her look, manners and expressions where scientifically designed to be loved. That's more than just being "cute". It is possible to custom or cosplay her and as she is virtual, it is even possible to basically have a little Hatsune Miku in your house. That means a lot for fans. </p>

<p>On the other hand, Vocaloid opens up a whole new dimension of music lovers. Generally, music are hidden behind big cooperate names with lots of people behind every song. Vocaloid, on the other hand, is generally created by 1-5 persons and is uploaded straight to the internet or is sold at local markets in Japan, which means it's way easier for the fans to "connect" with the producers and other fans. </p>

<p>To go further :</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/observations/2017/03/crowd-sourced-pop-singer-hatsune-miku-reveals-true-nature-stardom" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/observations/2017/03/crowd-sourced-pop-singer-hatsune-miku-reveals-true-nature-stardom</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagerou_Project" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagerou_Project</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-30T08:11:22.803Z
2017-08-30T08:11:22.803Z
Nevios
<p>Miku is a Vocaloid, and Vocaloid is a voice synthesis software program developed by Yamaha. From what I've read, Vocaloid is not an anime nor manga; it's not a game like Kancolle; it's not a visual novel like Fate/SN; and Miku is not a mascot for a gaming company like Super Sonico or a Windows mascot like OS-tan or an IE mascot like Inori Aizawa. There is a video game series, but originally, she is a singing voice synthesizer software.</p>

<p>Miku herself is a cute humanoid persona for Vocaloid (picture from <a href="https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid" rel="noreferrer">Vocaloid website</a>)</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/vRk0z.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/vRk0z.jpg" alt="Hatsune Miku"></a></p>

<p>But the Vocaloid interface itself looks like this (picture from Wikipedia)</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ygoKG.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ygoKG.png" alt="Vocaloid4"></a></p>

<p>It doesn't look like a software that just anyone would use. </p>

<p>Aside from her really nice character design, what made Miku become so popular? She is all over the internet and has a lot of fanarts, figures, and cosplayer pictures everywhere.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T13:01:07.337Z
it is interesting considering that Microsoft showed off a mascot for Silverlight and i think she's only gotten to the same level as the OS-tans, not Miku level
Memor-X
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T13:03:10.417Z
oh yea I almost forgot those OS-tans
Darjeeling
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T13:26:07.233Z
An additional question is: why KAITO and MEIKO didn't get so popular considering they're 1st gen. Vocaloids. Also, some insight on [Vocaloid 2 on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocaloid_2). Finally, one doesn't need to be able to use the Vocaloid software to draw Miku :)
Aki Tanaka
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T13:33:55.403Z
@Aki Surely we don't need to use Vocaloid to know about Miku, but if there are only a few who would use it, how can she become so popular
Darjeeling
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T14:06:52.487Z
I believe it's the power of social media. [NicoNicoDouga](http://www.nicovideo.jp/tag/%E5%88%9D%E9%9F%B3%E3%83%9F%E3%82%AF?sort=f&order=a) has her videos since her birthdate (29 August 2007), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/search?vertical=default&q=%E5%88%9D%E9%9F%B3%E3%83%9F%E3%82%AF%20since%3A2007-08-01%20until%3A2007-10-01&src=typd) was busy talking about her since then, and [pixiv](https://www.pixiv.net/search.php?s_mode=s_tag&order=date&word=%E5%88%9D%E9%9F%B3%E3%83%9F%E3%82%AF) having [the oldest Miku on 13 Sep 2007](https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=258)
Aki Tanaka
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T19:37:13.347Z
"what made Miku become so popular?" If you can answer that question, you would be busy making yourself filthy, filthy rich. Not answering on StackExchange. Simply said, some random event created enough critical mass, that her popularity became self-sustaining and even growing.
Euphoric
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-04T23:45:16.417Z
@Euphoric just knowing how to do things doesn't necessarily mean you can do the same thing they did
Darjeeling
<vocaloid><hatsune-miku>
How did Miku become so popular?
# How did Miku become so popular?
Posted by: username_0 on 2017-07-04
Miku is a Vocaloid, and Vocaloid is a voice synthesis software program developed by Yamaha. From what I've read, Vocaloid is not an anime nor manga; it's not a game like Kancolle; it's not a visual novel like Fate/SN; and Miku is not a mascot for a gaming company like Super Sonico or a Windows mascot like OS-tan or an IE mascot like Inori Aizawa. There is a video game series, but originally, she is a singing voice synthesizer software.

Miku herself is a cute humanoid persona for Vocaloid (picture from [Vocaloid website](https://ec.crypton.co.jp/pages/prod/vocaloid))

[![Hatsune Miku](https://i.sstatic.net/vRk0z.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/vRk0z.jpg)

But the Vocaloid interface itself looks like this (picture from Wikipedia)

[![Vocaloid4](https://i.sstatic.net/ygoKG.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/ygoKG.png)

It doesn't look like a software that just anyone would use.

Aside from her really nice character design, what made Miku become so popular? She is all over the internet and has a lot of fanarts, figures, and cosplayer pictures everywhere.
**Tags:** vocaloid hatsune-miku
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: it is interesting considering that Microsoft showed off a mascot for Silverlight and i think she's only gotten to the same level as the OS-tans, not Miku level  
> **username_0**: oh yea I almost forgot those OS-tans  
> **username_2**: An additional question is: why KAITO and MEIKO didn't get so popular considering they're 1st gen. Vocaloids. Also, some insight on [Vocaloid 2 on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocaloid_2). Finally, one doesn't need to be able to use the Vocaloid software to draw Miku :)  
> **username_0**: @Aki Surely we don't need to use Vocaloid to know about Miku, but if there are only a few who would use it, how can she become so popular  
> **username_2**: I believe it's the power of social media. [NicoNicoDouga](http://www.nicovideo.jp/tag/%E5%88%9D%E9%9F%B3%E3%83%9F%E3%82%AF?sort=f&order=a) has her videos since her birthdate (29 August 2007), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/search?vertical=default&q=%E5%88%9D%E9%9F%B3%E3%83%9F%E3%82%AF%20since%3A2007-08-01%20until%3A2007-10-01&src=typd) was busy talking about her since then, and [pixiv](https://www.pixiv.net/search.php?s_mode=s_tag&order=date&word=%E5%88%9D%E9%9F%B3%E3%83%9F%E3%82%AF) having [the oldest Miku on 13 Sep 2007](https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=258)  
> **username_3**: "what made Miku become so popular?" If you can answer that question, you would be busy making yourself filthy, filthy rich. Not answering on StackExchange. Simply said, some random event created enough critical mass, that her popularity became self-sustaining and even growing.  
> **username_0**: @Euphoric just knowing how to do things doesn't necessarily mean you can do the same thing they did  
---
## 2 answers
### Answer by username_4 on 2017-07-28. Score: 4
Here is an excerpt from: <http://kotaku.com/5936200/why-hatsune-miku-is-the-worlds-most-popular-virtual-idol>

> Hatsune Miku is more than a little big in Japan. She appears on billboards, in TV commercials, and gives sold-out concerts to legions of fans the world over. Of course, being a popular singer in and of itself isn't something that out of the ordinary. However, what makes her unique is the rather large obstacle she had to overcome in her path to fame—namely that Hatsune Miku isn't even a real person; she's a computer program.

The main fact that she is a program that anyone can use to make their own music despite perhaps not having an optimal singing voice opened up new paths for many music artists. This led to many popular Vocaloid songs done by Miku such as MELT or World is Mine.
---
### Answer by username_5 on 2017-08-30. Score: 2
On one hand, she was literally ***made*** to appeal to her audience raised on anime and sugar-coated J-pop. Her look, manners and expressions where scientifically designed to be loved. That's more than just being "cute". It is possible to custom or cosplay her and as she is virtual, it is even possible to basically have a little Hatsune Miku in your house. That means a lot for fans.

On the other hand, Vocaloid opens up a whole new dimension of music lovers. Generally, music are hidden behind big cooperate names with lots of people behind every song. Vocaloid, on the other hand, is generally created by 1-5 persons and is uploaded straight to the internet or is sold at local markets in Japan, which means it's way easier for the fans to "connect" with the producers and other fans.

To go further :

* <http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/observations/2017/03/crowd-sourced-pop-singer-hatsune-miku-reveals-true-nature-stardom>
* <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kagerou_Project>
---
