MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN’s Best Vocaloid Culture Song Entries Highlight Different Domestic & International Trends

The inaugural MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN ceremony, the largest music awards in the country, is set to take place in May in Kyoto. Embodying the theme of “Connecting the world, illuminating the future of music,” the new international music awards is hosted by the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA), an association jointly established by five major organizations in the Japanese music industry.

This year’s MAJ will recognize works and artists in more than 60 categories, including the six major awards for Song of the Year, Artist of the Year and more, which have gained significant attention and recognition from Feb. 5, 2024 to Jan. 26, 2025. The entries for each category were announced in March and the nominees for each category last week.

The fourth installment of Billboard Japan’s series exploring the trends and characteristics of MAJ will focus on the Best Vocaloid Culture Song entries that recognizes the Vocaloid song with the most outstanding musical creativity and artistry. Music created using Vocaloid software has developed in a unique way in Japan and we’ll assess how it’s currently being listened to around the world by breaking down various data of the category’s entries. In this article, songs using voice synthesizer software other than Yamaha’s Vocaloid products, such as CeVIO and Synthesizer V, will also be collectively referred to as “Vocaloid.”

Trends Differ in Japan and Other Countries

We first calculated the share of each virtual singer software (voicebank) used for each song entered in the Best Vocaloid Culture Song category, based on the number of global streams excluding Japan. The graph shows Hatsune Miku is featured in more than half the Vocaloid songs being listened to overseas. The share of songs using Miku’s voice in Japan is 34%, so she’s more popular outside the country.

During the tallying period, the top 3 Vocaloid tracks being listened to outside of Japan all featured Hatsune Miku. Furthermore, six of the top 10 songs use her virtual voice. On the other hand, only three tracks featuring Miku made it into the top 10 in Japan, falling short of the five featuring Kasane Teto.

The above shows the percentage of the kinds of voicebank being used for each song entered in the category (when multiple kinds were used, such as in a duet, both were counted). The voicebank used the most was Hatsune Miku, accounting for 37% of all songs. Additionally, since the release of Kasane Teto for Synthesizer V AI in April 2023, the number of songs using her virtual voice has increased, making it the second most used after Miku’s. The top 5 were followed by Kagamine Len, Megurine Luka, IA, Kaai Yuki, and KAFU all tied at No. 6, and Zundamon and Adachi Rei tied at No. 11.

Vocaloid Music is Being Listened to Globally

59% of the streaming shares of the entries in the Best Vocaloid Culture Song category came from outside Japan. 25% of the streams of the entries in the Song of the Year (SOTY) category, which honors outstanding songs from both Japan and abroad, came from overseas, so this indicates Vocaloid is a genre that is particularly popular in other countries among Japanese songs.

The graph above shows the streaming shares for all entries in the Best Vocaloid Culture Song category during the tallying period, broken down by country/region excluding Japan. The top four countries—the United States, South Korea, Indonesia, and Taiwan— are the same as the Top Global Hits from Japan category that recognizes domestic songs that have become global hits. Compared to that award, the ratio of Southeast Asian countries is slightly lower, and that of South American countries is slightly higher. Also, while the share of entries ranked No. 11 and below in Top Global Hits from Japan was 32%, the same share for Best Vocaloid Culture Song was 42%, suggesting that Vocaloid music is being listened to in more countries/regions than the predominant Japanese songs being listened to outside of the country.

South America Leads Miku’s Popularity while East Asia Shows Diversity

From here, we’ll explore trends by country/region. The chart above shows the shares of voicebanks by country for the entries in the category. Because DECO*27’s “Rabbit Hole” (Hatsune Miku) and Satsuki’s “Mesmerizer” (Hatsune Miku & Kasane Teto) dominate the top 2 spots in many countries/regions, Miku accounts for over half the total streams in almost all countries/regions, and in particular, the shares in Latin American countries such as Mexico, Chile, and Brazil exceed 60%. Songs emphasizing rhythm and feel of the lyrics are more likely to gain popularity in these countries, such as MARETU’s “Binomi” (Hatsune Miku) and Nunununununununu’s “Mimukauwa Nice Try” (Hatsune Miku).

Meanwhile, Asian countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, and Indonesia have relatively lower percentage of Miku tracks. Songs using other voicebanks, such as Kanaria’s “KING” (GUMI), Sasuke Haraguchi’s “Hito Mania” (Kasane Teto), and Iyowa’s “Kyukurarin” (KAFU) are popular in these countries as well. In particular, South Korea has over 20% of songs using voicebanks other than Miku, GUMI, and Teto. Due to its cultural proximity to Japan, other East Asian countries have relatively mature markets for Vocaloid music, which is probably why the preferences for songs using different virtual voices diversified faster than in other regions.

But countries in North and Central/South America aren’t simply following in the footsteps of Asia’s Vocaloid music scene. The popularity of Hatsune Miku’s character and differences in national characteristics, such as “melody-oriented” or “rhythm-oriented” preferences, are contributing to the differences in how Vocaloid music is being received.

Vocaloid music is steadily spreading across countries and languages. Because the genre isn’t bound by a specific musical style, MAJ’s Best Vocaloid Culture Song category serves as a significant metric. The nominees for this award this year are Sasuke Haraguchi’s “Igaku,” Yoshida Yasei’s “Override,” Kurousa P’s “Senbonzakura,” Hiiragi Magnetite’s “Tetoris,” and Satsuki’s “Mesmerizer.” The winner will be announced at the award ceremony in May, and we look forward to seeing how the award develops in the coming years.