Yuezheng Longya (Simplified Chinese: 乐正龙牙; Traditional Chinese: 樂正龍牙) is a Mandarin Chinese VOCALOID developed and distributed by Shanghai HENIAN Information Technology Co. Ltd.. He was released for the VOCALOID4 engine in June 2017.
Longya was a runner up entry to the first "VOCALOID™ CHINA" contest in 2012 which was held for choosing the design of the first Mandarin Chinese VOCALOID, and he was a Vsinger supporting character for three years before being confirmed for a VOCALOID release.[1]
He was voiced by the Chinese singer and voice actor, Jie Zhang (张杰; Zhāng Jié), who was selected based on suggestions from Chinese VOCALOID fans.[2]
In May 2023, Longya was confirmed to be receiving an AI voicebank for ACE Virtual Singer.[3]
Concept[]
According to the short animation series promoting VOCALOID CHINA, Longya is Yuezheng Ling's older brother and the heir to the Yuezheng corporation. He has an agile mind and many people look up to him. Like his sister, he is straightforward, but he also possesses the ability to make important decisions correctly and has the strong aura of a leader. His weakness includes troublesome issues, and the only time he's not bothered is when they are related to his younger sister. He is very protective of Ling and can become slightly hysterical when dealing with situations related to her.[4]
In June 2016, additional information about Longya was presented. He is a postgraduate financial student and studies at Ling's school as they share the same campus. He is usually busy since he will take on the family business after he graduates, but still sets aside time for band practice in which he is the leader and drummer. He often disappears whenever trouble occurs, but always returns to clean up the mess. He becomes very intense while playing the drums and people call him "Drum Destroyer" for some reason.[5]
According to Shanghai HENIAN's official website, his birthday is October 2. He is listed as a Libra.[6]
Etymology[]
His original name was Yayin (牙音).
The surname, Yuèzhèng (乐正), comes from the governor of music during the Zhou Dynasty. The existence of this surname was proven when two historical books (《元和姓纂》&《尚友录》) state that: the "Zhou Dynasty's 'Yuèzhèng' Position was used as a surname", therefore hinting that the name existed as early in Zhou Dynasty which was more than 2,600 years ago.
After the Zhou took over the Chinese empire, the positions of the governing system were used as surnames. During this time, there was a head position called "Yuèzhèng", which was responsible for music and melodies at the palace. Any descendants of this governor would bear the same surname.
During the Zhou Dynasty, people took great measures with politeness and rituals. The Yuezhengs were heavily looked upon by the emperor and the standard of music can directly affect a country's impression to the outside world.[7]
"Lóng" (龙) means "dragon" in Chinese, while "Yá" (牙) means "teeth", "tooth", or "fang". Combined, his first name means “Dragon's teeth”.
Appearance[]
The design was originally drawn by aya, but was refined and redrawn by Chinese illustrator, ideolo.
In his debut design, located on Longya’s gold belt, there is a charm with the Devanagari letter "ट" (ṭa). This represented the "Wood" element, the "East" position, the color "Green", and the "Spring" season. Its Chinese equivalent is "角" (jué), which is one of the 5 Traditional Chinese melody characters. It corresponds with E (mi).[8]
Longya received a new design for his VOCALOID4 release.[5] His arm-warmers were replaced by a long-sleeved white shirt with stylized designs at the cuffs, and black fingerless gloves. His gold and green belts were removed. The Devanagari character is located on the buckle of his black belt and on the back of his right glove. On his chest is a long gold ribbon. His boots are in a different style, and his right boot has two green straps while his left boot has one green strap followed by two white straps. He no longer has the pouch from his old design and the collar at his neck is more open. His headphone design was changed slightly.
Relations[]
- Yuezheng Ling - Younger sister and fellow member of Vsinger
- Luo Tianyi - Fellow member of Vsinger
- Mo Qingxian - Fellow member of Vsinger
- Zhiyu Moke - Fellow member of Vsinger
- YANHE - Fellow member of Vsinger
- Bei Chen - Pet
History[]
ACE Virtual Singer Development[]
On May 6, 2023, it was announced that Yuezheng Longya, Mo Qingxian, and Zhiyu Moke would be receiving AI voice libraries and would be produced one after another.[9]
On June 9, Vsinger announced that AI Yuezheng Longya beta tests for ACE Virtual Singer were opening soon. The registration would be open from then until June 24. The rules were detailed as followed:[10]
- AI Yuezheng Longya's beta test would only open for producers, tuners, and musicians interested in voice synthesizers. Applicants needed to fill in the relevant information, including personal information and portfolio works. For users who already participated in the ACE Virtual Singer beta applications for the previous Vsinger characters did not need to repeat the process for Longya. Approved users would be sent an invitation through the official email account. Other users were asked to pay attention to the official follow-up release.
- The ACE Studio editor was required to use the library.
- Due to the limited number of trials, it was possible that not all applications would be accepted.
- Commercial use of the library was prohibited.
- The final decisions of the event were to be made only by Shanghai HENIAN.
- Feedback about any issues during the beta test period was encouraged.
On the same day, a design contest was announced and launched. The contest was confirmed to end on September 10, 2023 at 23:59 GMT+8. Vsinger accompanied the announcement with a question: "In my endless and empty life, it was each and every one of the universes all of you created, that made up my reason for existence. The years slip by without notice, but every tender moment of waiting born from the meeting between you and me is an unforgettable emotion. The new universe is waking up, what portrayal would you be willing to use your brush with me?". Designs were encouraged to be tagged with "#乐正龙牙AI形象征集活动#" and were to be submitted in the link provided by the company. The final design would be selected via fans' voting. The first round of voting was scheduled from September 13 to September 15 and the final round was scheduled from September 18 to September 20. It was noted in the rules that the design must be original and must not have been used for other commercial purposes or authorized by third parties.[11]
On August 11, Longya's bilibili account reminded fans that the submissions for the designs would be ending on September 10. In the meantime, fans were able to register an account for the future poll site.[12] On September 13, the voting period began and voters could choose only one design out of 62 submissions. The top ten works in the first round would enter the final round. The work with the highest number would become the ACE Virtual Singer design for Longya.[13] On September 18, the ten final designers were announced to be Lü Lanse Er Jia Pu Xi Tong (绿蓝色二价普希铜), Lengdong Tangyuan xxx (冷冻汤圆xxx), Yezhiyunyunyun (叶知云云云), Er Liang (二两), Jijiu (急救), pora, Ju Ju Ju Ju Juhua Cha (菊菊菊菊菊花猹), Li Sha Yakou (利刹牙口), Shenmu (神木), and cytosineee. Final voting was expected to close on September 20.[14] On September 21, Li Sha Yakou was announced as the winning designer with a total of 1,351 votes. The finalized version of the design may be adjusted accordingly.[15]
On October 16, Vsinger thanked everyone for their support and suggestions during the past closed and public betas of the available voicebanks at the time (Tianyi, YANHE, Ling, and Longya). The official version of ACE Studio was expected to launch globally soon, and it was announced that the all six Vsinger vocalists would be free for ACE Studio users. ACE Studio users would be able to apply for free Vsinger redemption codes through the official Vsinger website. [16]
Marketing[]
Yuezheng Longya was a fan-designed VOCALOID that was entered in the first "VOCALOID CHINA" contest like Luo Tianyi. He was created with VOCALOID fans in mind.
VOCALOID CHINA PROJECT released a five-part promotional animation series for the VOCALOID CHINA characters. On May 15, 2012, the full first PV was made available at CF03 and mainly featured Tianyi with Yuezheng Ling making a brief cameo at the end. Longya’s official introduction takes place in the second episode.
When Longya was officially introduced as an upcoming VOCALOID on July 30, 2015, Vsinger decided to conduct research as to how many fans of Longya existed and support him in becoming a VOCALOID. The Weibo post containing his announcement needed to have a total of 100,000 shares by August 30. This was to raise more awareness of his existence and announcement in addition to gaining more fans. The goal was reached on August 8.
On August 14, 2015, Vsinger asked fans to give them suggestions for his voice provider. The suggestions were run through a filter to decide who his provider would be. On October 2, Jie Zhang appeared onstage at CXC Nanjing International ACG Festival and revealed that he was the voice provider for Longya.
On June 3, 2016, Vsinger asked fans to give them suggestions for Longya's VOCALOID4 design.
Before his release, Longya was featured at the Vsinger Live concert on June 17, 2017 along with the rest of the Vsinger cast. He performed "In Your Breath".
Voicebanks[]
- Yuezheng Longya - CHUN
- "CHUN" is a calm sounding male Mandarin Chinese vocal.
- Yuezheng Longya (VOCALOID4), June 24, 2017
- Yuezheng Longya - YA
- "YA" is a whisper-like vocal.
- Yuezheng Longya (VOCALOID4), June 24, 2017
Reputation[]
Reaction[]
As supporting characters in the Chinese fandom, Longya and Moke’s popularity levels were undefined as they were about equal to each other. However, Longya was considerably less popular than his younger sister and the male characters of the project were greatly overshadowed by the young females. In comparison to Qingxian and Moke, however, Longya appeared in more PVs and fanart. In the Western fandom, fans voiced a like for him but he was still far behind Tianyi and Ling. In July 2015, Vsinger noted that the lack of fanart and fans in the Chinese fandom could negatively impact his sales. They conducted research to find out how many fans of Longya existed and supported his VOCALOID production which became a success within nine days.[17][18]
After a few months since his announcement, Longya's popularity started to rise and he was gaining more fans who supported him and his development.
In May 2018, "The Death End" became the first song featuring Longya's vocals to hit 1 million views, however, he was used for harmonies while it mainly featured Luo Tianyi V4. This was followed by "Zài Yībēi!" in August 2019 where he was presented in a group song rather than a back vocal.
Trivia[]
- Longya and Ling are the first brother and sister combination of the VOCALOID franchise and are the first Chinese siblings. However, they are third set of siblings in the franchise as whole as the previous two pairs were Japanese VOCALOIDs.
- His official birthday, October 2, was chosen in reference to the day he made his first event debut at the CXC Nanjing International ACG Festival. This is also the day that his voice provider was revealed to be Jie Zhang.
Achievements[]
- First male VOCALOID to be based on a runner up design
- First male supporting character to become a VOCALOID
- First male Vsinger supporting character to become a VOCALOID
- First male Mandarin Chinese VOCALOID
- First male VOCALOID from Shanghai HENIAN
- First male Mandarin Chinese VOCALOID4
- First Mandarin Chinese VOCALOID to be released with multiple voicebanks
References[]
- ↑ http://acg.178.com/201305/162516409571.html
- ↑ Jie Zhang to be the voice provider!
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/792490018318843938
- ↑ http://www.vocaloidism.com/chinese-vocaloid-luo-tianyi-friends-revealed/
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://weibo.com/5582156776/Dyy3xqYyT
- ↑ http://www.thstars.com/vsingers/#yuezhenglongya
- ↑ Etymology (乐正姓溯源)
- ↑ Devanagari and logo
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/792490018318843938
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/805166961976672279
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/805174091622383687
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/828558998834774088
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/840694300065923096
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/842553823353372709
- ↑ https://www.bilibili.com/opus/843758802208555061
- ↑ https://t.bilibili.com/853007279846326294
- ↑ http://www.weibo.com/5582156776/Ctud5oBbE
- ↑ http://weibo.com/5582156776/CuVDWqnPJ
External links[]
Articles[]
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