Entries tagged with @ utaite spotlight

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Utaite Spotlight: Meian

Meian / メイアン

mylist | community | blog

Meian has been uploading her covers to Nico Nico Douga for more than three years now (she just celebrated her third anniversary last August 2011). She might be a bit less popular to some but she actually has a good playback record, with some of her songs reaching more than 100k views and most of her uploads not less that 10k views.

With a thin, high voice, Meian has a beautiful range and can sing both ballads and upbeat pop songs well. Her rockish songs are a bit lacking in terms of power, but makes up for it with her range. She covers songs "by-the-book" and rarely does adlibs. She does entertain autotune quite well and she still sounds good when using it. Her voice also has a characteristic quirk that makes it unconsciously cute and nice to listen to. It's just that sometimes, she overdoes the "little moe voice" effect and ends up pinning her voice high too much.

A self-proclaimed gamer, Meian has also contracted the participation of her "riajuu" younger sister to sing duets in her early years. Later on, she almost exclusively collaborates with utaite Namfon in duets.

sample covers
A. Solos
• Melancholic (Junky original)
• Double Lariat (Ago Aniki original)
• Nisoku Hokou (DECO*27 original)
• Alice (FullkawaP original)
• Koko ni Aru Koto (FuwariP original)

B. Collabs
• Hajimete no Koi ga Owaru Toki (w/ younger sister; ryo original)
• Aa, Subarashiki Nyansei (w/ Namfon; Nem original)

nikki says
I've been hearing about Meian's name for a while (especially in the ranking) but I never really got to listen to her much. However when I listened to her Melancholic I think it was really cute and had been on the lookout ever since for her uploads. I find her collabs with Namfon super adorable (esp. their Nyansei!). As someone who prefers fuller, deeper voice for female singers, I don't really list Meian as my favorite but she sounds wonderful so I recommend her for people who like listening to high, thin voices like Ritsuka's, Nayugorou's, and a bit of Keisen's.

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Utaite Spotlight: Teksy

teksy

mylist | community

Teksy is a fairly new utaite, having started just last year, but he has been a namahousou person for a longer time. He is considered to be a promising new face to the utattemita community.

He is known to sing with his own guitar accompaniment in his singing namahousous, but he only does this kind of nama until 22:00 in consideration of his neighbors. From 22:00, his namas are often about gaming and chatting. He is known to have been playing the guitar for eight years now. He also likes gaming and his most favorite food is chahan.

Teksy's voice is deep and rough with a certain solidity that makes him good at singing hard rock songs. He also has an admirable range even at fast-paced or strong songs. In terms of intensity and range of his voice, he can be likened to utaite Kanzentaicell and Soraru. He's able to carry strong notes without obvious effort in fast, rock songs. On the other hand, he has a rather emotional rendition of ballads that he almost seems like crying every time. He is presently being dubbed by fans as someone having an ike-voice.

At the moment, he only sings Vocarock songs, but he sings more ballads in his namahousou. In his nama he also sings songs by BUMP of CHICKEN, Mr. Children, 19, B'z, Kobukuro, Sukima Switch, Spitz, UVERWorld, RADWIMPS, etc.

sample covers
• Bye-bi Baby Sayonara (saiB original)
• Hysteria (KuwagataP original)
• Invisible (kemu original)
• Kagerou Days (Jin original)
• Seigi Funsai (Maki original)

nikki says:
Teksy is one of those new people who I think will become pretty popular soon because of the quality of covers they put out. I first heard him from his Hysteria cover and was quite impressed, although his big break came later on with his cover of Seigi Funsai which remains his best cover yet. If you don't have time to listen to all of his covers, I highly recommend listening to that song. I'm also hoping that soon he'll be able to upload his ballads because they sound really good (from his namahousou)! Anyway, not much can be said aside from hoping he'll have more listeners since he deserves them...and his neighbors are really lucky.

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Utaite Spotlight: Score

Score / すこあ

mylist | community | mixi

Score is an utaite slowly getting known to the community, having started uploading his covers in NND early 2010 (he's about to reach his second anniversary soon!). He's mostly known as a singer for "EXIT TUNES Presents 10-dai Utattemita Live Best!" as well as for his collaborations with fellow utaite like Rimokon and Amatsuki.

Score has a thin, boyish voice, not different from ShounenT's or Amatsuki's voices when they were still new. His style of singing is very simple and straightforward, with a gentleness that makes him good at singing ballads and slower songs. He has a flexible range and can sing quite well whether it's a low or high song, which means that he has quite the potential to be a wonderful singer sometime soon. There are also some times wherein he curiously sounds like Yurin with a echoey, sharp voice instead of his usualy softness.

Despite having a straightforward style of singing, his covers are often interesting because he doesn't cover "by-the-book". Rather, he has an interesting way of phrasing and pronouncing lyrics which makes his covers all the more adorable and worthy of a listen.

sample songs
• Hon no Sukoshi Sayonara (koyori original)
• Ai Kotoba (DECO*27 original)
• Torinoko City (40mP original)
• Sayoko (MikitoP original)
• Karakuri Pierrot -acoustic arrange- (40mP original)

nikki says
I actually just knew of Score through Twitter and decided to check out his works. I was honestly very charmed by his "Hon no Sukoshi Sayonara" cover because it's just so...pure-sounding. He reminds me so much of the time I first listened to ShounenT when he was new, but this time, the voice is much softer and gentler (and cuter LOL). Eventually, I try to keep up with is uploads. His "Sayoko" cover is probably my favorite out of all his covers.

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Utaite Spotlight: Himawari

Himawari / 向日葵

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Himawari became well known to the international fanbase just recently, although she's been uploading covers since 2008. Despite the fact that she has mostly sung only Vocaloid songs until now, she is most well-known for her cover of a Pokemon Matroyshka parody. She also has rare collabs for Nico Nico Indies, the most recent with Vocaloid producer NioP and artist Meisa.

Himawari's voice is said to be quite similar to Ritsuka's and a little bit to Riseha's at low volumes, which is a bit true, but her voice has a certain youthfulness to it, whether she's singing an upbeat song or a heavy ballad. Her singing is very light and airy, which is surprisingly distinct and persistent even though she sometimes sings songs that require a deeper or stronger delivery. She can also hold very high and very low notes well, although her low reaches tend to sound a bit shaky (but not in a bad way). Because of her voice quality and range, all her covers are nice to the ears and generally sound gentle and sweet even if they're suggestively sexy or angry songs.

sample songs
• Usotsuki (Tsunamaru original)
• Cinderella Syndrome (Karasuyasabou original)
• Tómur (NioP original)
• Discommunication (FatmanP original)
• Risky Game (KurousaP original)

Nikki says
Himawari isn't really one of the singers I name as my favorites, but every time I listen to her songs I just feel like I love her voice more. I first noticed her when she sang "Discommunication", which is my favorite fatmanP song then. Hers is the only one I liked a lot. Sometimes, she has a tendency to "eat" her words, especially at the fast phrases, but in ballads she sounds sooo amazing. I also like the little sighs and whispery lines she does at the intros and interludes. I don't like her autotuned voice but somehow she still sounds okay even with it.

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Utaite Spotlight: Baru

Baru / バル

mylist | community | blog

Baru has been singing since 2009, but she got her break in 2010. She is also known for her pretty cover of Scop's "Top Secret", which had more than 200k views.

She had a rough start when she was starting in the utattemita community (and is often called out for it even now). After all, her name is almost the same as that of prominent utaite-turned major artist Valshe, and Valshe often used the name "Baru" in her namahousou. She was accused of taking the name to ride on Valshe's fame, which she quickly denied since her name came from "ganbaru", which is one of her tag lines. Because of this issue, Baru contacted Valshe about the problem with their names. Valshe told her to keep the name and strive to be known not for her name but for her talent. In order to not confuse them, Baru sometimes use the name "Baruko" (バル子).

Baru's voice is of medium range, somehow among the lines of Riseha and surprisingly, Valshe XD. She can sing moderately high songs but she lacks a bit in low notes. Despite that, her voice's power and clarity makes up for it and her covers are always said to be "clearly ringing". She's often described as someone having an "adult voice" because of her range, but she can also sing cute songs without awkwardness. Her first few covers were well-received but did not gain much attention because they weren't mixed/encoded well, and as soon as she got them right, she has gained popularity pretty fast.

She has made friends with a lot of utaite including Wotamin, Ryou-kun, etc. although her collabs aren't a lot. She has also collaborated with composer Utamaru for a Nico Nico Indies song.

sample songs
A. Solos
• Kimi no Te, Boku no Te (40mP original)
• Monochrome Blue Sky (NoboruP original)
• crack (keeno original)
• Usotsuki no Sekai (scop original)
• Aquarium (Kihee original)

B. Collabs
• Aa, Subarashiki Nyansei (w/ TaMu; Nem original)
• Nakimushi Kareshi (w/ Ryo-kun; FernandoP original)

nikki says
Baru didn't really get my attention until she uploaded "Top Secret". She was one of the first who did covers of the song and it was really well done. When I checked her mylist, she actually has a lot of good songs already, like her first upload "Namae no Nai Uta", but she didn't get enough attention back then. I guess the mixing really helped. It's sad that she had to undergo a lot of criticisms when she was just starting out, but looking at it now, I think she has more than made up for that with her wonderful covers. I don't like her extremely low or high voice, but her regular range is really impressive. I think my favorite cover by her would be "crack" and "Usotsuki no Sekai".

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Utaite Spotlight: Chachako

Chachako / 茶茶子

| mylist | community | blog | mixi community

Chachako is one of the earlier utaite, having started uploading covers of Vocaloid and anime songs since late 2008. She is fondly called "Oneesan" or "Chacha-nee" by other utaite/producers as well as fans.

Chachako has a powerful, medium-register voice which shows off an "adult" air, as some fans call it. While she mostly sings songs in a low to medium pitch, she can still easily sing high notes at the end of songs/lines without pinching her voice. Her vocal quality is similar to Kakichoco's or Mitani Nana's, as she is also known for singing with amazing clarity. Her choice of genre is also flexible, ranging from pop to rock to ballads to eurobeat (samfree XD), although she mostly sings pop to pop rock songs where she can easily show off her vocal prowess. Fans also commend her wonderful diction even when singing English lines.

Like most utaite who started early, Chachako was known for covering Black Rock Shooter and soon became a regularly popular female singer. When she sang Symmetry, she was acquainted with its composer Re:nG. Soon, they became a unit, with Re:nG mixing for her and sometimes collaborating with her in original songs. They became known as "Ch:A&Re:nG" (Challenge). Chachako further collaborated with Re:nG, this time with guitarist prkr to form the unit Athanasia.

sample covers:
• Megumegu ☆ Fire Endless Night (samfree original)
• Symmetry (Re:nG original)
• Es~dirty aspiration~ (Araken original)
• HAKUMEI (Onigashima original)
• Saiaku no Carnival (LiveP original)

original songs (w/ Re:nG)
• Brave
• REIGNITION (Athanasia)

nikki says
To be honest, I've heard of Chachako's name since I was a newbie in Utattemita and I found her Symmetry cover to be really beautiful (it's probably one of the best covers of the song out there). However, I only started listening to her songs regularly when she released the cover for Es~dirty aspiration~, which was a simple, straightforward yet impressive cover. As you might have gathered from my previous spotlights, I especially like singers with wonderful lyric pronunciation, like Kakichoco and Seriyu, so it wasn't hard to like Chachako's covers, too. She rarely uses improvisations and covers by the book, but that makes her covers easy to listen to, especially when you like the original Vocaloid versions, too. One example of her cover which I really really like because of her by-the-book rendition because I'm attached to the original is Saiaku no Carnival.

Her unit with prkr and Re:nG, Athanasia, released a single recently and it's quite good for a first single. It reminds me of some TWO-MIX songs in terms of beat and 90's rock/pop groups which is quite nostalgic XD. You can buy the single in Amazon.

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Utaite Spotlight: Kanzentaicell

Kanzentaicell / 完全体セル

mylist | community

Kanzentaicell's name is a reference to Dragonball, as he is also known for making vague DBZ references in some of his cover adlibs. He is a reaaaally new utaite, having only started July of this year. He is one of those utaite whose improvement is so obvious, it's a pleasure going through his mylist and discovering how much he had grown in the few months that he's been singing in Nico Nico Douga.

Kanzentaicell is placed under "ikemen voices" according to his fans, having a deep, suave voice that is used to singing low, even notes. However, he also sounds well singing high notes and lengthened notes, without apparent difficulty in singing them. He is mostly known for singing long notes solidly, without faltering, and making his voice a bit whispery at super low parts. If compared to other utaite, he will mostly sound similar to Inakamono and Iinchou.

His early works have often been criticized for being flat and unskillful, but it's a good thing his spirits weren't dampened and he continued singing, for in the few months he's been singing he has grown impressively -- both in voice quality and popularity. Comparing his very first cover to his most recent cover can reveal so much improvement in all aspects and he is undeniably one of the rising successful utaite for this year.

sample songs (from earliest to latest)
• Ie ni Kaeru to Tsuma ga Kanarazu Shindafuri wo Shiteimasu (HobonichiP original)
• Nisoku Hokou (DECO*27 original)
• Net Game Haiji Sprechchor -GigaP mix ver- (Satsuki ga Tenkomori original)
• Senbonzakura (KurousaP original)
• Shiryokukensa (40mP original)

nikki says
I've watched Kanzentaicell's videos in Utaran, where he has become quite a regular, but I never really took the time to look at his mylist until recently. I had recognized that he is an amazing singer from when I was doing the rankings but upon hearing the full versions of his covers, I was so impressed. He manages to keep this cool composure in his voice while singing (like in Senbonzakura) without faltering. His older songs are really lacking, but if you listen to his mylist chronologically, his sudden improvement is like magic. Undeniably, my favorite cover by him is Shiryokukensa, although his Senbonzakura is also worth noting. I immensely look forward to more of his works.

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Utaite Spotlight: Task

Task

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Task is a very new utaite, having started covering Vocaloid songs just this year. He is different from the PV/CG-maker Task, by the way XD;. You might have known him if you follow Nano, since they've been in a collab before.

Task has a low, boyish voice and clear diction, a quality similar to ShounenT and Aisu but with a bit of huskiness. He is also known for his vibrato, mostly apparent in his low, stretchy notes. Because of these, he suits singing ballads and slow pop songs wherein he utilizes the smooth charm of his voice perfectly. Still, he also sings rockish songs, which always sound interesting because he often sounds almost short of breath, but he surprises people by pushing through wonderfully. He also seems to have a short range, so he's most fit to sing low-key ballads. He rarely uses effects and adlibs in his covers, although he has an interesting way of phrasing his lyrics differently from the original versions.

While his sincere, straightfoward covers gain only praises for his singing voice, Task doesn't seem to get enough limelight due to the fact that he always sings popular songs usually at the time when people cover the song a lot. Still, for a new singer, he has gained quite an impressive following, not to mention a long list of covers.

sample sovers
• Calc. -piano ver- (JimmythumbP original)
• Mozaik Role (DECO*27 original)
• Namae no Nai Uta (DATEKEN original)
• Hello/How Are You? -acoustic original- (Nanou original)
• fix (keeno original)
• Shinpakusuu #0822 (w/ Nano; ChouchoP original)

nikki says
I followed Task immediately after hearing his cover of Calc. -piano ver-, which impressed me so much. I always like his type of voices (as you might notice from the trend of my spotlights ^^; ) and it's not difficult to get used and love his singing. I just wish he'd be a bit more adventurous and try singing lesser known Vocaloid songs. Either way, it would be nice to see him improve and continue his career as an utaite from here on.

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Utaite Spotlight: NAL

NAL

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NAL is a very prolific, yet underappreciated singer. He started uploading songs in 2008 and is still growing strong today. He's often teased for having an "ossan" voice, but I personally think it's not the case. In fact, he's one of those utaite who can sing just about anything with his voice quality. You might remember NAL as the one who did the rap parts for this certain Mr. Music cover with Ashinaga Ojiisan, Srip, etc.

NAL has a slightly scratchy but powerful voice which is perfect for singing loud rock ballads and any passionate song. He also has a pretty good range, and can sing super low and powerfully high without sounding hoarse. If he can be compared to other utaite, his voice is almost like Yuge's in terms of power and range. But aside from singing loud rock songs, he can also do acoustic ballads which sound like country music (in a good way!). He can even sing rap arranges of songs. He is definitely an all-around guy who can sing anything if he puts his mind in it.

Aside from singing solo, Nal does a lot of covers, his duets mostly with utaite MILIA.

sample songs
A. Solos
• Freely Tomorrow (Mitchie M original)
• Fake Lover (Jimmythumb original)
• sign (neko original)
• World's End Dancehall -acoustic ver- (wowaka original; acoustic arrange by Osamuraisan)
• Tómur (NioP original)

B. Collabs
• KEEP OUT! (collab w/ a lot of people)
• Aa, Subarashiki Nyansei (w/ Milia; Nem original)
• Arrest Rose (w/ Chaco and Genzen Chaba; natsuP original)

nikki says
I'm a bit late in knowing about NAL, since I just heard him from Mr. Music. However, since I checked every one of their mylists, I found that I really liked NAL's singing voice, especially in rock/ballads. I am not much of a rap fan, and I prefer him singing slow songs, but he pulls off everything so nicely, it's hard not to like his works. He also has quite high quality uploads (and a wonderful voice) since the start of his upload, and it's pretty admirable. He's also especially nice to his fans.

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Utaite Spotlight: Iincho

Iincho / いいんちょ

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Iincho has yet to pass his first year since he uploaded his first cover in NND last November, 2010, which is why he only has a few uploads, some of them repeats of his older covers. Despite that, he has quite a satisfactory view rate, most probably because of the high quality of his uploads plus his signature voice quality. Note that he is different from the Taiwanese utaite, Iinchou, and their names' spellings are different, too ^^.

Iincho's voice is deep and solid, with a slight velvety aura in ballads or jazz songs. He has a very low range, but he can do falsettos if he wants to with little effort, making him really flexible. He has, however, just a bit of force in his voice, so he sounds a bit weak at rockish songs. Despite that, he can pull off singing rock and upbeat songs by making his cover sounds suave instead of loud. His voice can be likened a bit to Panyo and Yuuto. He's often described as someone with an ike-ero voice.

While he only has a few solo covers, Iincho likes collaborating with other people, mostly in duets. He also appeared in Smiling ~Show Time!.

sample songs
A. Solos
• Panda Hero (hachi original)
• 1925 -jazz arrange (T-pocket original; OreginalP arrange)
• Yubikiri (scop original)
• Yogoreta Prism (NioP)

B. Collabs
• Sweets & Bitters (w/ FISH; Yuuto original)
• Kimi no Te, Boku no Te (w/ Tsukiyo; 40mP original)
• ggrks (w/ Utsusemi; AatamiP original)

nikki says
I first knew of Iinchou in Smiling ~Showtime!, but since there were so many singers in that collab, it was a bit hard to keep track of everyone. Eventually I found him again in his cover of Sweets and Bitters with FISH and I instantly loved the cover (even more than the original). Since then, I've been following his works, which are sadly very few, but still good listens.

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Utaite Spotlight: Bibi

Bibi/ビビ

mylist | community

Bibi is very new to the utattemita scene, having only started uploading his covers February of this year. Despite being a rookie, though, he has gained enough attention and respect from fans and other utaite alike because of his unique covers and high-quality uploads.

Bibi's style can be likened to the types of Touyu, Kouhei, Furuike Yuusuke, etc. albeit at a less loud degree. He's a passionately strong singer and always sings in high-strung, full-forced voice. What is impressive about his style, however, is his tenacity and solidity in terms of holding the rhythm as well as pitch very well. Singing in this style plus carrying out the perfect rhythm (and second voicing) is quite a task even for seasoned utaite, and I think it's in this part that Bibi earns people's admiration. Despite singing in this style, though, he can sing basically anything from rockish songs to gentle 40mP songs without effort.

sample songs
• Babylon (Tohma original)
• Gaikotsu Gakudan to Lilia (Tohma original)
• Shiryokukensa (40mP original)
• Yoku Aru Rinne to Neko no Uta (KotsubanP original)
• Sleep, Sky, Walk (YuuyuP original)
• Tokyo Teddy Bear (with Panyo; Neru original)

nikki says
Bibi is one of those few utaite who have impressed me at my first listen. Usually, it takes a while before we get used to someone's voice, especially if they only have a few covers, but Bibi really actually made me loop his covers of Lilia and the Skeleton Band and Babylon. Even though I likened him to a few utaite above, I find his style entirely different, probably because aside from the passionate singing, he can also change his pitch from out of the blue without difficulty, reach high notes effectively, sometimes even without screaming, and create a whole new approach to covering a particular song. I honestly think that he is amazing and that has a lot of potential as an utaite. I'm looking forward to seeing/hearing how he can manage to cover certain songs in different genre.

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Utaite Spotlight: Inakamono

Inakamono / イナカモノ

mylist | community | mixi community

Inakamono started his utattemita career way back from 2009. Last August 10, he reached his second anniversary as an utaite. He is fairly active in updating, uploading songs at least every two months. He is also fairly popular in the community, with all his uploads exceeding more than 10,000 views. He holds irregular namahousou, sometimes of him singing not only Vocaloid songs, but also popular J-pop/rock songs.

Inakamono is known for his deep, solid, "ikemen" voice that can shift from being "refreshingly gentle" to "impressively erotic", as his listeners say. He also has a very stable hold of his pitches and tones and while he only sings covers by the book (meaning almost always without his own adlibs or additions to the original style), he always brings out a wonderful cover of each song. Most of his songs are ballads/rock ballads in nature and he rarely does screaming, harsh rises in his voice or even falsetto/high pitches. Compared to other utaite, he is mostly categorized with Tourai or Nero.

Aside from singing solo, Inakamono also sings in duets with utaite like maro., Soraru, Wataame and Seriyu.

sample songs
A. solos
• Eh? Aa, Sou (papiyon original)
• Kimi no Te, Boku no Te (40mP original)
• Hysteria (KuwagataP original)
• Ama no Jaku (164 original)

B. duets
• Yuki no Nagori (with Seriyu; PattsunP original)
• Nakimushi Kareshi (with Wataame; FernandoP original)
• Starduster (with Soraru; JimmythumbP original)

nikki says
I rarely talk about Inakamono, but he is one of my favorite utaite. I don't know much about him nor do I follow him as much as I follow Clear or other utaite but I always make it a point to listen to his songs. Actually, I don't remember disliking any of his covers at all! He just seems to be out of the limelight sometimes because he's singing the songs everyone is singing, though I think he should have more listeners as he's just...a wonderful singer. He reminds me so much of Tourai, with their similar voice qualities as well as with their tendency to sing songs as exactly as they were in the original (no adlibs, crack whatsoever). While that might seem boring to some, I appreciate it because I can see how well he manages to sing each song.

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Utaite Spotlight: Kakichoco

Kakichoco / 柿チョコ

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Most of you might have already listened to or encountered Kakichoco, especially if you like listening to covers by Wotamin, Valshe, etc. Kakichoco is a relatively popular utaite, with a ton of uploads ever since her debut in 2008. Her name Kakichoco was decided by herself, when she was uploading her first song in NND and she ended up seeing a persimmon seed chocolate in her house (persimmon seed = kaki), and she used it ever since. Her nickname is "Kakki". Some of her tags like "Kakichoco wa kawaii" and "Kakichoco Oneesan" were coined by Clear during their large group radio shows.

Kakichoco is said to be one of the most versatile female utaite in NND. Her list of covers had spanned almost every genre from pop, ballad, rock, hard rock, jazz, etc. It's said that she can sing basically anything. Her voice is solid and alto-ish, although she can reach very high notes if she needed to. Her diction as well as her sense of phrasing is also nice, which is why listening to her covers makes it easier to understand the lyrics or mood of the song. Her voice can be likened to Choucho, Wataame and other singers who prefer singing in mid-range but can do very high or very low octaves.

Being one of the "older" singers in NND, she is close to the other singers of the same generation, namely Seriyu, Wotamin, Vivienne, Kazukin, Valshe, Ten, Clear, Dasoku, PUPI, etc. While she has not released a solo album, she's part of utattemita collab CDs like VUCA's "New Wave". She also debuted live for the first time during a Dokinama concert this year.

sample songs
A. Solos
• If (MuryokuP original)
• KiLLER LADY (HachioujiP original)
• Yokkyuufuman March (21seikiP original)
• The Servant of the Moon (don original)
• Monochroact (doriko original)

B. Collabs
• Yume Sakura (with Valshe; Hitoshizuku original)
• Knife (with Vivienne and Ten; Rerulili original)
• Never (with Wotamin; DATEKEN original)

nikki says
Kakichoco is not one of my favorite singers, but I find it such a pleasure to listen to her EVERY TIME. She has a wonderful diction and every song she sings, whether it's hard rock like that don-san song above or a ballad, she always sings with a clarity that lets me enjoy the song AND the lyrics. How she can sing fast/loud songs so clearly I don't know.

One thing about Kakichoco's covers is that they are varied. Not all of them are popular songs and she shines whenever she sings something that is not the bandwagon song. Take for example "Yokkyuufuman March", which is a really good song and one of my favorite among her covers. I also like her Killer Lady and Yume Sakura with Valshe.

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Utaite Spotlight: Shuuta

Shuuta / 秀太

| mylist |

If you regularly watch the the Anime Theme Collaboration in NND, like this one for summer 2011, you sure have met Shuuta, also known as the guy with the weird masks who sings awesomely ;). In the link above, he sang Blood-C's theme around 20:08 and Hyadain no Jojou(ry @ 24:40.

Shuuta is a a prolific NND singer, having uploaded more than ten covers despite being in utattemita category for a little more than a year. He is not that well-known (yet), but people who listen to him wonder why someone who's blessed with an awesome voice like him is not yet popular.

Shuuta is known for his loud, solid and slightly rough voice with a quality similar to UVERWorld's vocalist. Because of his voice, he can sing rock songs well without sounding garbled or slurry. He also has a wide range and he can sing in falsetto for one whole song without showing any bit of difficulty. Aside from that, he can also do screamo and the ever popular death voice. This superb vocal quality is one reason why Shuuta's covers are always entertaining.

One reason why Shuuta's covers aren't that popular is because he caters only to certain people. He has a habit of singing a song loosely. It means he sometimes sings with random changes in pitches (drastic even) and sometimes he creates his own rhythm of the song ^^;. Those, however, are only a part of his "performance" and can be entertaining when used to a certain degree.

Aside from singing in the anime medley, he also does collabs, usually with Kanamu.

sample songs
A. Vocaloid covers
• Ama no Jaku (164 original)
• Carnival (otetsu original)
• Bye-bi Baby Sayonara (saiB original)
• Mukuro Attack!! (UtsuP original)
• Sakurazensen Ijou Nashi (WataruP original)
bonus: Sweet Devil (HachioujiP original)

B. Collabs
• Nakimushi Kareshi (with Kanamu; FernandoP original)
• Cantarella (with Kanamu; KurousaP original)
• Usotsuki no Sekai (with Kanamu; scop original)

C. Anime covers (from the medley)
• Spring Anime 2011 - Gintama's "Samurai Heart" (3:00) and Tiger and Bunny's "Orion wo Nazoru" (21:58).

nikki says
I first encountered Shuuta in the anime theme medleys and I really loved his rendition of the songs, especially "Samurai Heart". I couldn't read his name the first time (you notice the names in the videos are really small :( ). I wondered why he isn't that popular compared to some of the other singers in the group like Keisen, non and kalon.. And eventually, I went through his mylist and liked most of what I heard.

We're all new to his songs but right now I think I'm starting to make a favorite out of him :). Almost all of his songs are popular ones which are covered by a lot of wonderfully popular people so I thought it'd be nice if he gets more views!

Current Mood: awake
Current Music: a friend giving me a private concert

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@ utaite spotlight

Utaite Spotlight: Montea

Montea/もんちー

mylist | community | blog | twitter | mixi

Montea has been active in Nico Nico Douga since 2008 but she is not as popular as her collab partners, Vivienne and Hanatan. Montea's voice is not distinct at first as she may be mistaken as other utaite. However, the more you listen to Montea, you can get used to her voice and tell her apart. Her voice can go low like in Just A Game and high like in Last Night, Good Night. Though at times, Montea sounds strained as she puts a lot of effort to hit some of the notes. However, in majority of her covers, she has managed to pull off songs that are out of her range.

She holds lives every month where she usually sings any songs she's in the mood in. Aside from Nico Nico Douga, Montea is also a member of the doujin circle, Crest.

Montea has appeared in the live event, Every Smile, with neko, Ten and Vivienne, just to name a few. She performed Risky Game and Connect with Vivienne.

sample songs

Just A Game (takamatt original)
Kasou Kyoku (No.D original)
one more kiss (OSTER project original)
honey & clover club (baker original)
Perfect Crime -with Syota- (samfree original)
South North Story -with neko and Hanatan- (mothy original)

len says

I like Montea's voice especially if she sings the right songs. Her voice is not too powerful that it's overwhelming. But it's also because that her voice is not powerful that her voice is being overpowered by Hanatan and Vivienne in their covers.

My favorite cover of Montea is her Just A Game because I think this is the best range for Montea to sing without sounding strained.

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Utaite Spotlight: Miy

miy

mylist | community

Miy is a slightly popular utaite who started uploading songs in NND sometime in 2008. She is mostly known for her collabs with amu, forming the unit, AMIY.

Amiy is often depicted as a cheerful. bubbly girl, particularly because of her voice quality and choice of covers. She often sings upbeat songs in mid-range, without straining her voice too high or too low. Because of that, her covers often sound really simple compared to others, but that also means she's good at choosing songs which sound good in her preferred range. She also has a way of singing songs with a happy-skippy voice, which sounds adorably amazing, especially in pop songs.

Even if she has started uploading songs early, she only has quite a few on her list compared to people who started the same time as her. She also has a thing for covering very popular songs, which is why she's often underlistened, even if her covers are probably one of the best straightforward renditions of the Vocaloid songs.

Miy's earliest collab partner is Amu, and they're often depicted as "adorable siblings", primarily because they like covering Rin/Len songs. Eventually, she also started covering songs with Kyuubi and Xiao. She is also fond of joining choruses.

sample songs
A. Solo Covers
• VOiCE (LovelyP original)
• Migikata no Chou (Noripy original)
• clock lock works (hachi original)
• Hello / How Are You? (Nanou original)
• Just Be Friends (DixieFlatline original)

B. Collabs
• Dog Day Afternoon (w/ amu; LamuneP original)
• magnet (w/ amu; minato original)
• IMITATION BLACK (w/ Kyuubi and Xiao; natsuP original)
• Shinitagari (w/ Kyuubi; Nashimotowe original)

nikki says
I first heard Miy, of course, with Amu in one of their collabs. I was a big fan of amiy until they parted ways and started making collabs w/ other people. While I didn't listen much to miy before, I like how straightforward her covers are. She also reminds me of Riseha, just on on a higher key, because of their disposition and connection to amu.

Note that there won't be any producer spotlight this week. But we have an announcement later on :).

Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: Cu6ic nama

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Utaite Spotlight: amu

amu

mylist | blog | community | twitter | mixi

I believe most people already know amu, for his love of cola, for being part of Pointfive(.5), for being part of Hiwaily*2, or for being part of the Cu6ic gang.

amu has been uploading since mid-2008, and is one of the most well-known utaites in Nico Nico Douga. amu has a wide range, with the ability to hit high notes without sounding too strained, and the ability to sound like a female at times too. He can also sound like a cheeky young boy in some of his collabs. His voice can be compared to Tourai & Kogeinu; the smoother, higher-Tourai & the rougher, lower-Kogeinu.

amu can sing about every genres, branching from rock to ballads to pop. His most popular works like Boss Death & Scissorhands are although not the top cover, they are usually the top 5 in cover ranking. He also mixes most of his songs, and collabs with multiple singers like Kettaro & Beeeeige in Vana N' ice covers, So~ma, Riseha, Jigiru, etc. His main collab partner is miy though, who is also spotlighted this week.

He usually hosts his lives late at night, and sings or play PS3 games in them. In his singing namas, he usually sings his covers, occasionally with his acoustic guitar accompany, but he also sings L'Arc~en~Ciel and anisongs from time to time. In his game namas, he likes to play horrific/bloody games & RPGs. It's always fun to watch him play these games, as he makes some extra sound effects and comments to lighten up some of the more terrified viewers.

amu has been regularly taking part in doujin releases like Cu6ic with So~ma, Riseha, Shirokuro, jonyh & Reji, Hiwaily*2 with So~ma, Riseha, Mi-chan, Ren & Jigiru, and PolyphonicBranch. He has also been releasing originals and covers under Pointfive(.5) with Asamaru, Mi-chan, clear & Dasoku. During last year's Fukukomi, he has released his 1st mini album Mu, which is available for order at Three! and Animate.

sample songs:
solos:
Yurameku (HeavenzP original)
Kimi no Taion (KuwagataP original)
Tokyo-to Rock City (Ekomaru original)
Bird of Paradise (YuuyuP original)
Yoku Aru Rinne to Neko no Hanashi (KotsubanP original)
Albino (buzzG original)

collabs:
Imitation Black w/ Kettaro & Beeeeige (natsuP original)
Juvenile w/ miy (DixieFlatline original)
Cendrillon w/ miy (Dios/SignalP original)
trick and treat w/ Riseha (OSTER Project original)
Blackjack w/ Shirokuro (YuchaP original)

debbie says:
Joining this fandom only late December last year, I actually first heard of amu & his voice from Pointfive(.5)'s Select Me. He was the one that caught my attention, aside from clear, and has been my favourite utaite since then. I always love how his covers can sound so smooth, how he can high & low he can sing, and how he curls his lyrics when he sings. I really like how he sings rock songs with using his high range, as it doesn't fail to give off a powerful impact, and how he sings upbeat songs and give off the jumpy feeling. (I'm not making much sense, aren't I ;;) His namas are never boring, in my opinion, and never fails to make my day with his gdgd spirit. xD Sometimes I just wish he'll host them earlier, and not when I'm asleep though. ;;

Also, it's coincidentally (actually, not really) his birthday tomorrow (or today). If you have twitter, please drop by and wish him well! ~ Comment here too! Since I might link him up. 8D

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Utaite Spotlight: Re:

Re:

mylist | blog | community

Re: (pronounced "re") is already an institution in the utattemita community. I doubt there are many fans who do not know of him. He started uploading in Nico Nico Douga sometime in 2007 and is still active at present. He is mostly known before for his Airman ga Taosenai and Uninstall cover. He also divides his works in three: one where he does everything (from singing to voipa to second voices), where he does half (he sings and sometimes plays instruments), and where he does only a part (where he only does the mixing or second-voicing). He composes songs, plays instruments like the piano, and sings well, making him a truly gifted individual.

Re: is mostly known for his awesome falsetto which never wavers even at very high notes. He also has a characteristic vocal strength even at the high parts. He also earned the tag "kimai" which is a portmanteau of "kimoi" and "umai", meaning he sings even the funnily disturbing things so well that people have taken a liking to him. While he first became popular for covering anime songs, he has moved on a bit to the Vocaloid side and eventually, in original works. He can sing virtually anything, from ballads to pop to traditional/folk-based music, although he does very little rock covers. Aside from his falsetto, his voice can also change according to the scenario/singers in the song, which is why his covers are interesting. He has proved to be a versatile singer, in both CDs/uploads to live events.

He has formed a collaboration with a lot of people, starting with GaRiRe:O with Gazelle (Yanagi Nagi at present) and Sariya-jin. He also formed JR with J, which is also connected to the Metal of Series, where they sing metal arranges of anime songs. His most recent collaboration partner is Lilie.

sample songs:
A. Solos
• Noroi no Megane ~Stray Girl in her Lenses~ (BucchigiriP original)
• Ura Omote Lovers ~Kansai ver~ (wowaka original)
• Kami no Namae ni Ochiru Mono (kaoling original)
• 1925 (T-Pocket original)

B. Collabs
• Roshin Yuukai (w/ PUPI, iroha original)
• Mienai Kuro ni Ochiteyuke (w/ Lilie, kaoling original)

nikki says
I first knew Re: as a singer who covers anime songs, and even now I still love his anime theme/jpop covers (I love his covers of Saa and Konayuki ;; ). I'm very picky when it comes to Re:'s songs, though, since I think that while he can sing anything, his voice fits a certain type of genre. Recently I've fallen in love with his and Lilie's collabs and I had hoped that they'd do more kaoling collabs in the future. I'm glad I wasn't disappointed.

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Utaite Spotlight: Lilie/Lily

Lilie / Lily / リリィ

mylist | blog

Lilie is an utaite highly regarded for her wonderful soprano voice and impeccable mixing. She was formerly known as Ririco, and by 2010, she has officially changed her utaite name to Lilie or Lily.

Lilie's voice, as mentioned, is a clear, strong soprano. The fact that she can still sing with force despite the very high notes often make her listeners amazed. But even if she's mostly singing very high songs, she can also sing in a full and solid low voice. She mostly sings techno and folk-inspired Vocaloid songs, and generously utilizes autotune and other effects that gives her voice a whispery, digital and even scrambled effect. She often calls her shaky, echoey voice effect the Bohemian version. She is also known for "whistling" in her early works.

Lilie has participated in some Touhou vocal albums as well as some utaittemita albums including "Alternative" by VUCA. She has also collaborated with a lot of utaite including Re:, Himawari, etc.

sample songs
A. Solos
• L'azur (Treow original)
• Zou+ (AVTechNO! original)
• Tsubasa wa nai kedo Watashi wa Toberu (kaoling original)
• World's End Dancehall (wowaka original)
• Candy Addict Full Course (Machigerita original)

• Synchronicity ~Dai Ni Dan, Hikari to Kage no Rakuen~ (w/ Re:, HitoshizukuP original)
• free (w/ Himawari, AVTechNO! original)

nikki says
To be honest, I don't listen to Lilie on a regular basis, but I think her voice, while not for your usual listening playlist, is unique and is always a pleasure to listen to. I was first taken by her cover of L'azur, and took note of how great the mixing (not to mention the high pitched parts) was. Eventually, I ended up listening to her again after I loved her and Re's cover of Synchronicity. I think I like her traditional/folk-inspired covers more, especially her kaoling covers, but it's always a surprise listening to her covers of more popular songs, like wowaka's XD. I don't dig her Bohemian voice much, but I admit it adds a certain impact to her songs.

Current Mood: giddy

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Utaite Spotlight: Hanatan

For ofurotaimu's anniversary month, we will be featuring two utaite spotlights each week. These two singers have uploaded collaborations with each other over the years. Last week,

fascinais has featured Vivienne and Ten. For this week,

stephieku and I will be writing about a very famous pair.

Hanatan/花たん/YuRiCa/ユリカ

mylist | blog | community | twitter

Hanatan, who is also known as YuRiCa, has been uploading songs since 2008 and is considered as one of the most beautiful voices of the community. She has a wide range and can hit really high notes like Usa. The beauty of Hanatan's voice lies in how much emotion she puts in the song. She sings uptempo songs best but she can do ballads perfectly as well. Her most famous work is her rendition of doriko's Romeo to Cinderella which has reached over 2 million views to date.

Aside from her Nico Nico Douga works, Hanatan is very active in the doujin music scene as YuRiCa. She has released albums with circles like Crest and Sound Holic that releases Touhou soundtracks. She has also released an album under her doujin circle, cordelia, entitled Colorful Flower.

She is mostly known to have collaborated with Pokota. You can view all their uploads in their HanaPoko mylist. But aside from Pokota, Hanatan has collaborated with Montea and ASK. She has also collaborated with a lot of producers like Yuyoyuppe, minato, SignalP and doriko who produced her major debut album, Flower Drops.

sample songs:

solos:
Romeo to Cinderella (doriko original)
Palette (Yuyoyuppe original)
Saihate (Kobayashi Onyx original)
Aitai (SignalP original)

collabs:
Suki Kirai -with Ask- (FernandoP original)
Never -with Montea- (DATEKEN original)
Perfect Crime -with Pokota- (samfree original)
Cendrillon -with Pokota- (SignalP original)

len says

It's not hard to love Hanatan. One note from her and you'll fall in love with her voice. My favorite Hanatan cover is Palette. It was a very difficult song to sing but she has managed to reach the high notes without any effort. She can be compared to most professional singers as every release from Hanatan is never a disappointment.