Miku Expo 2021 is nearly here!

MIKU IN YOUR HOME?

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a pop sensation in your own living room? Perhaps even a concert at home, just for you? It’s possible! Miku, Luka, Kaito and the rest of the crew are having a FREE online concert this very weekend!

In a few days it’s finally time for MIKU EXPO 2021, but I can hear some of you asking who and what it exactly is. Don’t worry, I’ll explain it to you!

Miku herself

Hatsune Miku, a 16-year old girl with long blue hair, is a virtual music sensation from Japan. She’s a computer-generated voice with 3D models during concerts, making it look like she’s actually performing on stage. She was also supposed to perform at Coachella, which was sadly cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Together with a voicebank and a lot of dedicated fans, she has sung over 1 million songs! But even though she’s a virtual artist, she has had big collaborations with other big (and real) artists, such as Lady Gaga, Pharrell Williams and Ashnikko.

Fashion

She might be digital, but she’s actually worked together with real fashion brands for her own wardrobe!
She even owns haute couture that was created just for her.
Riccardo Tisci, a designer at Givenchy, made a beautiful outfit with different types of lace, a bit of Crocodile trim and even some Swarovski crystals.
She also had her wardrobe designed by Louis Vuitton for her own opera called “THE END”. Marc Jacobs swapped her usual grey and blue outfit for a black and white checkerboard patterned two piece, top and skirt. Matched with shoes and accessories, giving her a stark contrast look.

MIKU EXPO

Now that we’ve refreshed our memory of Miku, we can go more into detail as to what exactly MIKU EXPO is. Miku’s company, Crypton Future Media, is located in Japan. As she’s incredibly famous in her homeland, she’s performed at many concerts in lots of different venues in different parts of Japan. Overseas fans started asking for concerts in their countries, wanting to witness her near them. After more and more demands came in, a world tour was finally put together.

Back in 2014, the first edition happened in Jakarta, Indonesia and the United States, resulting in a success. Since then, it has become a yearly thing, with more locations being added every few years. Now that it’s online this year, they changed it up. Instead of multiple days and different locations, they’re airing the same concert 3 times on the same day! There has to be one that’s convenient for the time zone you live in.

Since the concert will be held at different times, there will be different guest artists, such as: PinocchioP, Utsu-P and Flanger Moose. MIKU EXPO also brings along different sub events, such as exhibitions, workshops, club events and more. It brings fans of various backgrounds together, sharing their love for Miku in their own different and creative ways.

Merchandise

Like a usual concert, there are booths with lots of different pieces of merchandise such as posters, buttons, keychains and even t-shirts and happis with big art pieces of different members. You might’ve seen the happi in anime before, mostly when an otaku character appears, often seen in a combo with a headband and lightsticks. Happis are traditional clothing pieces, a coat with tube sleeves, usually worn during festivals. Originally worn to display a family crest.

The merchandise is collaborated with different artists, including Kaomoji!

Kaomoji x Miku

We, Kaomoji, have always loved Miku, that's why we were so excited to have official collaborations with the one and only blue haired diva. One way of showing our love for Miku is through our collaborations with her! Back in 2019 we had our first collaboration item with the virtual popstar consisting of a t-shirt and hoodie design of Miku’s face, together with her iconic 01 mark.
This year however, instead of just Miku, we decided to show everyone in Miku’s friend group some love! They gathered together to make a picture for this year's MIKU EXPO!
Their picture is available on our merchandise, which consists of a t-shirt, a hoodie and a sticker. This way you can support all of them at the same time during their concert!

Times and date

As I mentioned earlier in this blog, the concert will be aired at 3 different times on the same day, which is June 6th. The times are chosen for the different time zones such as the US, JP and EU, all for their representing performers.
The following times are all in JST, make sure to check around what time that would be in your own time zone!

US performers' concerts are from 10AM until 2PM.
JP  performers' concerts are from 5PM until 9PM.
EU performers' concerts are from 9PM until 1AM.

It’ll be streamed live on both YouTube and Twitch.
For more information about MIKU EXPO and its guest performers or for a better look at its merchandise, check out MIKU EXPO’s official site!

All of us at Kaomoji will be enjoying the lovely concert and cheering on our favorites! Is your favorite going to be there? Let us know!

Have fun!

-Team Kaomoji