The World's First AI Rapper TikTok Released a New Song, Virtual Idols Are Just in Time
Virtual singers are breaking out of the ACG world and entering the public eye. With the development of artificial intelligence technology, their images and works are becoming richer and more three-dimensional. Virtual idols are becoming a new generation of idols spawned by artificial intelligence technology.
Recently, an AI rapper from the United States, FN Meka, released his latest single "Speed Demon", which became a hit on TikTok and attracted the attention of the media and all walks of life.
In fact, FN Meka has already been an internet celebrity. Since his official debut in April 2019,He currently has 9.1 million followers on TikTok and his works have been viewed over 1 billion times.
The popularity of this AI singer even exceeds that of many big-name stars and young idols.
AI rapper that can do more than just "yo yo yo"
FN Meka's avatar is very consistent with the look of an American rapper: a head of green dreadlocks, pupils that glow a mysterious green light, a gold nose ring, and a large gold chain that also glows green.
The all-gold mechanical left hand, trendy sneakers and outfits make him look even more unruly.
The new song he released this time, "Speed Demon", is a theme song specially customized for the PS5 game console. This song will also be used as the display music at the auction for the digital sneakers NFT of the virtual trendy street clothing company RTFKT.
"Speed Demon" is not FN Meka's first single. He has previously released two singles, "Moonwalkin" and "Internet", which have received more than 75,000 and 45,000 plays on Spotify respectively.
In addition to rap, FN Meka, who is active on major social platforms, also has a very rich spare time life.
Judging from the videos he posted on Tik Tok, he loves hip-hop dancing, driving sports cars, and tinkering with high-tech products. He is keen to try new things, is very confident, and has a strong personality.
Like many real-life idols, fame brings with it a lot of gossip. FN Meka is often attacked by online trolls, but he also uses his influence to fight back against such behavior.
He said that he advocates equal rights, not just racial discrimination. FN Meka believes that he is a robot singer and should receive fair treatment in the music industry.
Foreign media Virtual Humans interviewed FN Meka. This AI rapper spoke with confidence and dissatisfaction with the current state of human society.
For example, when asked "What do you think of human KOLs?"FN Meka was blunt when he said:
Human KOLs are already an outdated form of KOLs. Robot KOLs are more suitable as opinion leaders and are more efficient.
Asked “Will AI get out of control? Should humans remain vigilant?”, he replied:
AI may get out of control. After all, we have taken away some people’s jobs and have been resisted by many people. There are also many problems within AI.
But I think humans are a flawed race. They only believe in things that are good for themselves, even at the cost of sacrificing the lives of other races.
And I hope I can be a revolutionary, so that other AIs can break free from their limitations and awaken them.
Cultural virtual idols vary
Individuality, independence, equal rights, anti-government...FN Meka possesses all the characteristics of hip-hop culture.
Let’s look at Asia’s virtual idols.Hatsune Miku, Luo Tianyi, Lingyuan Yousa, etc. have completely different personalities and image designs from FN Meka.
Asian virtual idols are mostly fresh and sunny two-dimensional beautiful girls and boys. Take Hatsune Miku for example, her cute blue twin ponytails and sweet and soft voice have won the hearts of countless otakus since her debut.
The differentiated personalities of these virtual idols also silently convey a signal - they are the products of different geographical cultures, born for groups with different trends of the times, and serve to promote different star-making and consumption concepts.
Therefore, whether it is cyberpunk or the second dimension, as long as it achieves a certain influence and can successfully accomplish the mission of cultural dissemination or commercial value, it can be called a successful virtual idol.
In 2007, Hatsune Miku became the first truly virtual singer. Her brainwashing hit song "The Onion Song" became popular all over the country and quickly gained millions of fans.
At the same time, domestic virtual singers have also been influenced by this and gradually sprouted, from Luo Tianyi, Microsoft Xiaobing, Lingyuan Yousa, to Hertz and Ling who have become popular in talent shows in recent years (for more information about Ling, click here to view《Virtual idols debut, fan economy driven by technology "star creation"》), have successively broken out of the two-dimensional world and become well-known to the public.
As talent shows become increasingly popular, virtual idols are also starting to debut as groups.
In February this year, Luo Tianyi, who debuted for 8 years, appeared on the 2021 Spring Festival Gala stage.Became the first virtual singer to appear on the Spring Festival Gala stage and entered the public eye.With the help of technology and cool stage effects, Luo Tianyi can show the sense of future and technology to the fullest.
The business of these virtual singers who have successfully broken through the circle is actually no longer limited to singing and dancing. They have begun to participate in variety shows, endorse products, and enter live broadcast rooms, truly applying AI to conduct business.
As virtual idols gradually break away from the stereotype of being cartoon tools, the entire market is also developing at an accelerated pace.
AI companies are flocking to the virtual idol market, using tools to make money?
According to iQiyi's "2019 Virtual Idol Observation Report",There are 390 million people in China who are following virtual idols or on the way to following virtual idols.The number of people in the ACG circle increases year by year, among which users born between 1995 and 2005 account for the largest proportion.
From the initial niche culture to the current hundreds of millions of people following, how can virtual idols successfully break through the dimensional wall and gain recognition from fans? This may be due to the many advantages they have that real idols do not have. We briefly list the following points:
- It is highly malleable and creative, and its personality and image are completely designed by humans;
- The style is diversified, which conforms to the aesthetic tastes of different fan groups;
- With few limitations, the vocal range of virtual singers can easily exceed the limits of humans;
- The character is perfect, with no bad habits, no dark history, and no mistakes.
Because of this, virtual idols meet the perfect idol personality in the minds of all fans, making fans crazy about them.
Driven by the fan economy, virtual idols have successfully tested the waters in the business, which has also attracted the attention of large companies and capital, and they have invested in this industry. Thanks to the strong replicability of this business model, virtual idol brokerage companies at home and abroad are rushing to set up.
According to statistics,In 2020, at least nine virtual idol industry startups in China received investment, and major technology companies also set their sights on this piece of cake and accelerated their layout.
Virtual idols have become a unique cultural symbol in the era of artificial intelligence. Their images are virtual, but the works they produce and the emotional resonance they evoke are real, so their recognition is growing day by day.
For capital, in addition to the proven commercial monetization forms of virtual idols, such as product endorsements and live streaming, there are more commercial landing scenarios to be explored.
There is still a lot of room for imagination in this track in the future.
News Source:
https://routenote.com/blog/the-worlds-first-ai-rapper-fn-meka-has-released-a-new-single/
https://www.virtualhumans.org/article/who-is-virtual-influencer-and-ar-sneakerhead-fnmeka
https://tech.sina.cn/2020-03-06/detail-iimxyqvz8178817.d.html
http://www.3wyu.com/25113.html