Pop princess Hatsune Miku is storming the music scene. 
 
 With her long cerulean pigtails and her part-schoolgirl, part-spy outfit, she’s easy on the eyes. Yes, her voice sounds like it might have gone through a little –- OK, a lot –- of studio magic. Legions of screaming fans and the requisite fan sites? She’s got 'em. 
 
 And, like many of her hot young singer peers, Miku is extremely, proudly fake. Like, 3-D hologram fake. 
 
 Miku is a singing, digital avatar created by Crypton Future Media that customers can purchase and then program to perform any song on a computer. 
 
 Crypton uses voices recorded by actors and runs them through Yamaha Corp.’s Vocaloid software -– marketed as “a singer in a box.” The result: A synthesized songstress that sounds far better than you ever have in your shower. 
 
 Crypton has even set up a record label called KarenT, with its own YouTube channel. The Vocaloidism blog has more details about the software. 
 
 A few months ago, a 3-D projection of Miku pranced around several stadium stages as part of a concert tour, where capacity crowds waved their glow sticks and sang along. Here's the starlet performing a jingle titled, appropriately, "World Is Mine." 
 
 The Blu-ray and DVD recordings of those events were recently released, according to SingularityHub, which also has more videos. 
 
 The virtual diva’s albums have also topped the Japanese charts. She’s on Facebook. We’ve seen living, breathing musicians at the Hollywood Bowl get less love. 
 
 It all reminds us a bit of S1m0ne. Remember her? She’s the sultry actress who captivated adoring audiences in the eponymous 2002 film. She was also completely computer-generated by Al Pacino’s character. 
 
 Somewhere, we bet she’s a little bit jealous. 
 
 --Tiffany Hsu 
 
 Photo (top): Project Diva 
 
 Photo (bottom): Al Pacino in S1m0ne. Darren Michaels/New Line Productions ||||| Sound: So, what Babymetal does essentially is takes the Japanese J-Pop aesthetic of kawaii, which basically means "cuteness," and adds it to extreme metal, which of course only makes sense. What you get from that great leap of innovation is basically three Japanese girls dancing and singing in high pitched voices in front of an extremely heavy metal band while throwing horns. And because this is what metal has needed all along, they even perform choreographed dances in concert and wear elaborate costumes designed around the Japanese kawaii aesthetic. The girls fronting the band are Su-Metal, Moametal, and Yuimetal - or so they have now been dubbed by their record label. Their "instruments" are listed at numerous sources online as screams, singing, and dance. They range in age from 14 to 16 years old and seem to have been brought together with the idea by the talent agency they are managed by, and their producer who now goes by Kobametal. 
 
 
 
 There are 13 tracks, most of which have previously been released as singles. The album has an approximate runtime of 55 minutes. You get tracks such as "Gimme Choko" which is essentially a 4 minute metal song asking for chocolate... because how metal is that. One of the most popular tracks on YouTube from the album seems to be "Megitsune," which translates roughly to "female fox" and has a video with the girls wearing cute "fox" masks. Then from the track "Ii Ne!" you actually have the girls rapping and saying "It's good," but also for a moment there are some real vocals and you forget what you are listening to for a split second. Then you have songs like "Catch Me If You Can" which literally seems to be about playing tag and hide and seek. "Headbanger!" is a song about a 15 year old girl going to a metal concert and rushing close to the stage to headbang, because she only lives once, basically. // 3 
 
 Lyrics: Well, the lyrics are in Japanese, which by itself will surely attract a certain group of listeners so they can interpret the lyrics and feel special about it and say kannichiwa to each other. Some lyrics have already been translated online, which really displays how brutal these three girls are. As a sample, here are some lyrics translated from the track "Gimme Choko": "Check it out chocolate/ Can I have a bit of chocolate/ But my weight worries me a bit these days/ However, chocolate/ Can I have a bit of chocolate/ But wait a while/ Wait a while/ Wait! Wait! Wait!" and then later in the track, "I did it so hard/ I did my best/ So a bit, heart/ I ask you just a little bit/ Quickly chocolate/ Please give me chocolate quickly/ Pass me chocolate/ Chocolate please/ Check it out chocolate/ I can have a bit of chocolate, can't I? / I think so, don't you? / It's so good/ I'll be so happy and can work hard/ So, chocolate/ I can have a bit of chocolate, can't I? / I think so, don't you? / Just a little bit. / I'll eat just a little bit of chocolate." Yeah, metal. // 3 
 
 Overall Impression: I can't fault the energy of the band, or of their live shows from what I'm seeing on YouTube, but is this really something that needed to happen? This may very well mark the completion in the process to commercialize metal music. The really sad and confusing thing is the musicians involved and the composition are really impressive... so it leaves me with some truly mixed feelings. I would like to see the band perform without the three girls fronting it. I would have to say that the band deserves a few points in the overall rating for their actual musical prowess and composition. // 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - Brandon East (c) 2014
– We have met the future and it is a tinny-voiced giant green hologram performing at sold-out concerts in Japan. Crypton Future Media has launched a pop tour of holographic singing sensation Hatsune Miku, backed by a band of real human beings, notes the Los Angeles Times. The pig-tailed child-vamp is an anime creation using Yamaha's Vocaloid software, which presents songs in synthesized voices. Even better than other concert stars, this avatar can be purchased and will march to any tune you choose. For more on "Vocaloidism," click here.