IA (イア) is a vocal synth character developed and distributed by 1st PLACE Co., Ltd., and was released in January 2012 for the VOCALOID3 engine. Her voice is provided by the Japanese female singer-songwriter, Lia, known for "Tori no Uta".
She received an additional VOCALOID3 voicebank known as IA ROCKS in June 2014. In March 2017, she received a CeVIO talk voicebank.
In July 2016, an English voicebank was confirmed to be in the works,[3][4][5] and was later released for CeVIO in June 2018. In July 2020, another voicebank was confirmed to be in the works for CeVIO's new engine, CeVIO AI.[6] Her Talk Voice library was released in March 2021 and her Japanese and English Song Voice libraries were released in late October 2021;[7] both Song Voices were ported to VoiSona in January 2024 for use on both Windows and Mac.
Concept
IA is the first vocal in the "- ARIA ON THE PLANETES -" project.[8]
The design philosophy 1st Place worked toward was to make the voice simple and straightforward but easy to adjust and customize, letting creators create their own version of IA.[9]
IA has little background, however she and ONE were given some background information for the ARIA - IA Musical & Live Show – performances. In a series of YouTube videos dubbed ARIA STATION, IA and ONE introduced their home-world known as Planet ARIA. Planet ARIA is described as a world similar to Earth with various life forms that resonate and co-exist together, several of whom raised IA & ONE. Four inhabitants of the planet were introduced and their relations to IA and ONE were revealed:
- A gray, multicolored cat named “チコー” (also known as “Neko-san” or simply as “cat”) is one of the spirits that exists on ARIA. She acts as a mother and has been with IA & ONE all of their lives and came to Earth with ONE. She is described as being a very sweet cat that watches over IA & ONE. [10].
- The second member revealed is a large elder tree named “Chourou” (“長老”, meaning elder) or "Choro no ki”, (長老抜き,meaning the eldest tree.). Chourou is described to be one of the oldest spirits on Planet ARIA and acts as a “grandfather” figure to IA and ONE. He is very knowledgeable about ARIA and is connected to everything on the planet. He was described to have taught IA and ONE all that they know. [11]
- The third member revealed was a purple, bipedal cheetah named "チート" (also known as "Cheet").[12] Cheet acts as IA and ONE’s dance teacher. She is described as being stern and is able to move very quick. [13]
- The last member introduced in the series is a large white phoenix named "フェニックス" (also known as "Phoenix" or simply known as "Nix").[12] He acts as a singing teacher and voice trainer for IA and ONE. It was revealed that he learned how to transform into a human form from Chōrō.[14]
During the IA 9th & ONE 6th Anniversary ‒Super LIVESHOW- on January 27th, 2021, three additional characters were unveiled, one of whom bares the name "H" on their nametag and the other two being an anthropomorphic lion and a reindeer-like creature. Their relationship to IA (and ONE) is unknown, however they were announced to be “ARIA” members.[15]
Etymology
"IA" is taken from her voice provider's name, "Lia".
There are at least two ways to read her projects name of "- ARIA ON THE PLANETES -":
- The words "Aria" and "Planetes" are Latin and Greek for "open space" and "planet" respectively, giving the translation of "Open Space on the Planet".
- "Aria", is also the Italian word for "air" and is used as a term in opera for expressive pieces, usually sung by a single singer. This also fits in with her more opera-esque vocal results compared to other released Japanese VOCALOIDs.
When she was first released, overseas fans often mistook "Aria" as the name of the VOCALOID.
Appearance
Her design was illustrated by Akasaka Aka (D. Z.), while the design direction was by Maxilla Inc.[16] It was decided that they would go for soft colors instead of vivid ones. At the time, there was skepticism towards avoiding vivid colors as there was a fear of her not selling because of the softer tones. Lia herself wanted her to be cute and pretty and was satisfied the first time she was shown the artwork.[17]
Despite the myth of IA's age being 15, she has had no age assigned to her. This myth seems to originate from a section underneath the paragraph on IA about her provider Lia, wherein one of the first things mentioned was that Lia debuted in America at 15 years old.
In IA's 6th and ONE's 3rd anniversary special talk live it was revealed that IA is 155cm tall.
Relations
- OИE - Younger sister, fellow member of the - ARIA ON THE PLANETES - project.
- HIPPI - Fellow member of the - ARIA ON THE PLANETES - project.
History
Marketing
Information on IA was released much slower than the average VOCALOID. Her promotions have taken the approach to make her seem otherworldly and mysterious.
The licensing for IA is slightly different than past VOCALOIDs, and it is worth taking the time to read this page for more details. Unlike some past VOCALOIDs, users can use her image on CDs, flyers and posters without requesting permission, although some consent from the company is needed for greater use of her image. This is a departure from past VOCALOIDs such as Crypton Future Media, Inc., who require you to ask permission for use of their VOCALOIDs' images on things such as CDs, flyers and posters.
1st Place likes collaborations between their company and others. Their marketing style was designed to introduce IA to people unfamiliar with VOCALOID, expanding their audience.[18]
Voicebanks
- IA
- The IA vocal was originally intended to give a vocal based on the clear and crisp vocal of Lia. It is operatic in nature and noted for its large voice range and tempo range, both being the largest at its time of release. This allowed the voicebank to cover a wide range of roles and music genres.
- IA (VOCALOID3), January 27, 2012
- IA NEO (VOCALOID NEO), December 7, 2013
- IA (Mobile VOCALOID Editor)
- IA (VOCALOID Keyboard)
- IA ROCKS
- A voicebank for IA that as its name suggests is more suited for rock genre of music. Its design is based on user feed back from the original Ia and is intended to cover issues which the original voicebank had. Like the original vocal it had a large vocal range and tempo range allowing it to cover a number of genres and roles within music. In contrast to the original vocal this is an example of voice acting and does not sound like Lia's normal singing style.
- "IA-ARIA ON THE PLANETES - α Type C" (VOCALOID3), limited trial
- IA ROCKS (VOCALOID3, VOCALOID NEO), June 27, 2014
- IA ROCKS (Mobile VOCALOID Editor)
- IA AI SONG (CeVIO AI), October 27, 2021
- IA AI SONG (VoiSona), January 2024
- IA TALK (CeVIO AI), March 12, 2021
- IA English
- The English_C version of the vocal was released for CeVIO as its first English vocal.
- IA English (VOCALOID4), cancelled
- IA ENGLISH C (CeVIO), June 29, 2018
- IA AI SONG ENGLISH (CeVIO AI), October 27, 2021
- IA AI SONG ENGLISH (VoiSona), January 2024
Reputation
IA developed a good reputation as a reliable voicebank library among many producers, this owed to much of her success. IA was well received and had many hits in the niconico weekly rankings after her release.
Within 6 months of her release, several songs hit 1,000,000+ views on niconico, whereas none of the other VOCALOID3 vocals achieved success of this caliber until December 2014 when Yuzuki Yukari managed to achieve her first 1,000,000 song. This put her on par with some of the more successful VOCALOID2 era voicebanks. Lia herself was reported as surprised when she became popular as she did not expect her to do so well. She also commented on how there were many fans of IA who did not even know who she (Lia) was.[17]
On 1st July 2015, it was announced that her playback of related videos had reached 100 million, views were coming in from both Japan and abroad. She had also experienced several live performances in Taiwan, France and North America. This lead to the release of her official app.[19][20]
Impact
IA's popularity has lead to further vocal development being considered for her and in 2014, IA-ARIA ON THE PLANETES - α Type C was released as a trial version via a one-month long feedback campaign. Several months later, it was announced that the finalized version of the new vocal library would be made available for sale in June of the same year. Her popularity also allowed her to expand into other languages. In mid-2016, an English vocal was announced.
Misc
A survey released in 2015 in relation to the popularity of the VOCALOIDs on website niconico revealed IA was the 4th most popular VOCALOID for 2014.[21]
Achievements
- First 1st Place VOCALOID released.
- First female VOCALOID released by 1st Place.
- First VOCALOID3 to hit over 1 million views on NND.
- Having the highest tempo among all VOCALOIDs.
- First new VOCALOID3 to receive an additional voicebank upgrade.
- First product originally built for another engine to become part of CeVIO.
References
- ↑ https://x.com/IA_Official_/status/1499954920560414722
- ↑ IA & ONE OFFICIAL ARIA STATION July 2020
- ↑ comment stack
- ↑ response
- ↑ Credits for the IA English song "Conqueror"
- ↑ IA, ONE, flower, and Yukari CeVIO AI announcement
- ↑ https://x.com/coolkiwiii/status/1431213636022902787
- ↑ http://1stplace.co.jp/software/cevio/
- ↑ http://www.vocaloidism.com/interview-with-1st-place-at-anime-expo-2015/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2VjZAA4Rhk
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVObnMvCB1k
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 https://x.com/IA_ONE_Official/status/1255384047578120192
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu-nyNPEYG8
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a74nOiWFPQU
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6f07ZQuaDY?t=385
- ↑ maxilla
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 http://www.vocaloidnews.net/11867-2/
- ↑ http://www.vocaloidism.com/interview-with-1st-place-at-anime-expo-2015/
- ↑ http://tumblr.1stplace.co.jp/post/122927988757/ia-ios-android
- ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ia-aria-on-the-planetes/id999708386?l=ja&ls=1&mt=8
- ↑ http://ch.nicovideo.jp/kadotanimitsuru/blomaga/ar699704
External links
Official
Articles
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