Sweet ANN, codenamed originally "JODIE", is an English VOCALOID developed and distributed by PowerFX Systems AB., and was released in June 2007 for the VOCALOID2 engine. Her voicebank was originally developed for the the first VOCALOID engine before being ported. She is voiced by an Australian singer whose artist name is "Jody". Other than a name, her voice provider's identity has not been revealed.
Concept[]
Etymology[]
Her name is a pun based on her origins, meaning that Sweet-Ann = Swe-den.
Appearance[]
Sweet ANN has been described as a "white Lena Horne" by PowerFX. According to PowerFX, their VOCALOIDs are more like Cyborgs than Androids.
Her boxart image itself appears to be based on the poster art for a movie "Stormy Weather" starring Lena Horne.[1] The version used for Sweet ANN's own boxart has simply been colored in to give her blond hair and blue eyes. There are a number of variants of the poster in color as well as black and white.
She is the first English VOCALOID to have a depiction as such on her boxart, although at this point, the general idea of a true "avatar" would not be considered until Hatsune Miku's release a few months later. She is loosely based on "The Bride of Frankenstein". Her staples (or stitches) are often mistaken for a choker.[2]
Sweet ANN's Taiwan design is based on a bride and features some steampunk details, possibly from the fact she was based on Bride of Frankenstein.
The microphone in her original release is based on the iconic Shure Brothers microphone, the model 55s, Multi-Impedance "Small Unidyne" Dynamic which was first released in 1951.
Relations[]
- BIG AL - A complementary voice bank with masculine vocals.
History[]
Marketing[]
She was sold under as a 'space lounge robo-vocalist sensation'.[3]
Like VOCALOIDs before her, she was aimed at professional musicians, as there was no established VOCALOID fandom.
Voicebanks[]
- Sweet ANN
- Sweet ANN has a sweet adult female vocal designed for classic music. She is able to sound sweet and innocent but due to her accent giving her a sassy undertone can also sound wild and sexy making her a fairly balanced vocal all round in terms of tonal abilities. Her counter-partner is BIG AL.
Reputation[]
Reaction[]
At the time of release, ANN received positive reviews; many praising her "sweet" voice. Reviewers noted that on occasion she sounded realistic enough to not notice she was a virtual singer which was also pleasing to reviewers. Another positive sign was that reviewers had praised the improvements between VOCALOID and VOCALOID2. This resulted in ANN receiving a good reception upon her release.[4]
In late 2009, prior to the release of BIG AL, she was regarded as the second most popular English VOCALOID. The first most popular was Prima.
Impact[]
Sweet ANN's data was used as a guide for the later Hatsune Miku V3 English release.[5]
Misc[]
Sweet ANN was for a time, the most used English Vocaloid on niconico.[6]
In the niconico International Vocaloid ranking 2010, ANN was the 4th most common VOCALOID in the top 30 rankings. She appeared in 3 songs.
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An independent search on niconico revealed that most VOCALOIDs had less than 1,000 videos uploaded on niconico in 2011 between July 1st and December 15th. Sweet ANN fell into that category.[7]
In 2013 a poll on E-CAPSULE's website showed that Sweet ANN got the most votes of interest.
Trivia[]
- Sweet ANN has become so popular with the Japanese audience that she became the first English VOCALOID to receive an MMD model, edited by Shuki. After Sweet ANN's MMD model was created, people began to make other English VOCALOIDs into models, such as BIG AL, whose model was created by Nukude.
- Her Japanese nicknames ēé³ć¢ć³ (Amane Ann) means "Sweet Sound Ann", and ēćć¢ć³ (Amai Ann) is a play on words. "Amai Ann/An" is the word-to-word translation from English and can be read as "sweet bean paste," a common cuisine in Japan.
- In Project Diva Arcade, Sweet ANN can be heard singing in the background of Magical Sound Shower, even though she is not a Crypton Future Media, Inc. VOCALOID.
- Sweet ANN can be heard singing the words "Helvetica Standard" in the anime, "Nichijou", as well as background music.
- Sweet ANN's voice was used in the demo for the Vocaloid's Ap for Miselu Neiro, a portable Android-powered synthesizer.
- Sweet ANN is the first Vocaloid to feature the model 55s microphone on her boxart. This has become one of the most notable boxart microphones and is seen also on Lily's, MEIKO V3 and CYBER DIVA's boxarts.
Achievements[]
- First VOCALOID2 ever released
- First female voicebank for VOCALOID2
- First English VOCALOID released for VOCALOID2
- First PowerFX VOCALOID ever released
- First female PowerFX VOCALOID
- First English VOCALOID to have an "Avatar"
References[]
External links[]
Articles[]
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