In entertainment , a virtual band (also called a virtual idol , virtual singer , virtual group , cartoon group , cartoon idol , cartoon singer or cartoon band ) is a band or music group whose depicted members are not people, but animated characters or virtual avatars . The music is recorded (and, in the case of concerts, performed) by real musicians and producers, while any media related to the virtual band, including albums , video clips and the visual component of stage performances, feature the animated line-up; in many cases the virtual band members have been credited as the writers and performers of the songs. Live performances can become rather complex, requiring perfect synchronization between the visual and audio components of the show.
71-588: Pentakill is a virtual heavy metal band associated with the League of Legends universe. Their music is primarily composed and performed by Riot Games' in-house music team but features cameos by various renowned metal musicians. Their second album, Grasp of the Undying , reached Number 1 on the iTunes metal charts in 2017. Their third album III: Lost Chapter was premiered using an interactive "live" concert. Pentakill currently consists of seven members, all from
142-539: A CGI idol in 1996. However, she failed to gain commercial success, largely due to technical limitations leading to issues such as unnatural movement (an issue known as the uncanny valley ). Despite her failure, she provided the template for later virtual idols who gained commercial success in the early 21st century, such as the Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku and the virtual YouTuber Kizuna AI . In 2007, Crypton Future Media and Yamaha launched Vocaloid 2 , with
213-547: A Muppet Magazine article as one real cool dude and during The Muppet Show (season 1 episode 23) he says to Kermit the Frog : "Kermit, you are talking to Floyd Pepper! The hippest of the hip! I mean I have a room for life at the home of the chronically groovy!". His name and pink color are homages to the band Pink Floyd , and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band , the album by the Beatles . He appears backstage more often than
284-631: A one-hit wonder . Dethklok is a fictional melodic death metal band featured in the Adult Swim animated television series Metalocalypse , known for its satirical or parodic lyrical themes. The first official Dethklok album was released on September 25, 2007, entitled The Dethalbum . The album debuted at number 21 on Billboard magazine 's Top 200 list. K/DA is a virtual K-pop girl group consisting of four themed versions of League of Legends characters Ahri, Akali, Evelynn and Kai'Sa. (G)I-dle members Miyeon and Soyeon provide
355-488: A Muppet caricature of Henson on banjo . Dr. Gerald Teeth Jr. is the gravelly-voiced lead singer and keyboardist . He is green-skinned and red-haired with a large grinning mouth of teeth including a gold tooth supposedly fashioned by melting down his gold records. He sports a scruffy red beard with no mustache, a fur vest, a striped shirt and a floppy purple top hat. He has arms so long that additional puppeteers are required to guide them; this design enabled Henson to work
426-553: A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and the video game Muppets Party Cruise . In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz , she was performed by Tyler Bunch . Her most recent performer is David Rudman , who first performed her in Studio DC: Almost Live . John Lovelady performed her for one appearance in 1975. A running gag in some Muppet movies was that during a scene in which several characters were excitedly talking at once and someone called for silence, Janice would be
497-490: A baby. Sgt . Floyd Pepper is the bassist and backup singer . A laid back hippie with a pink body and long orange hair, he usually wore a green army cap or sometimes while in the pit, a slightly fancier cap of stiffer, glittery material and a red uniform with epaulets and ornate gold braid on the buttons. He plays his bass left-handed; and although he's been seen playing a variety of bass guitars over time, he appears to have settled for playing Fender basses. The character
568-426: A brown hat with a turquoise gem and a feather. Though she regularly performed vocals, she actually only sang lead a couple of times on the show. She also acted in sketches periodically, most notably as wisecracking Nurse Janice in 'Veterinarian's Hospital', a recurring parody of medical dramas; in the latter role, she dispenses with much of her flower child lingo. Her name is an homage to Janis Joplin , and she bears
639-551: A commercial success, spawning multiple CDs released in Japan. The Japanese talent agency Horipro created the first real-life AI virtual idol, Kyoko Date , in 1995. Her creation was inspired by the success of the Macross franchise and dating sim games such as Tokimeki Memorial (1994), along with advances in computer graphics . Her initial announcement drew headlines, both in Japan and internationally, before she debuted as
710-413: A detailed explanation. In some instances, most notably The Chipmunks , manipulation of voices may be employed, either to achieve a desired vocal effect, or to make it dissimilar to the voice of the actual singer. The manipulation is done by either modifying the playback speed of the vocal track or by putting it through a synthesizer ( Vocoding ). Writing and production credits may be assigned to either
781-454: A featured role in 2015's The Muppets as the house band on the show-within-a-show Up Late with Miss Piggy . The same year, they released two music videos for " Jungle Boogie " (featuring Sam Eagle ) and "Kodachrome". An Electric Mayhem "live" tour with audio-animatronic versions of the puppets and rock band My Morning Jacket performing the characters was proposed by The Walt Disney Company but ultimately abandoned. The band performed
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#1732780753085852-589: A form of animation; this consideration means groups like Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem or 31 Minutes can be considered virtual bands. The recording of the music is done by the human musicians and artists, whom the virtual artists are depicted to emulate. In some cases, the singing is done by machines or synthesizer applications, like the Hatsune Miku vocaloid . This is done using the normal in-studio recording process; see Sound recording for
923-537: A live five-song set at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival on August 6, 2016. The Muppets Mayhem , a series about the Electric Mayhem recording their first eponymous studio album , premiered on Disney+ on May 10, 2023. Despite featuring Dr. Teeth's name prominently in the band's name, the group officially has no frontman and instead has described itself as a "rocktocracy". The original pilot episode of The Muppet Show also featured Jim,
994-548: A music video in each episode. Virtual bands still appear in television: the Chipmunks appeared in their own television show for much of the 1990s, and the Adult Swim show Metalocalypse features the virtual melodic death metal band Dethklok . Virtual idols originate from Japan, with roots in anime and Japanese idol culture, and dating back to the 1980s, starting with the Macross mecha anime franchise (adapted into
1065-583: A proto- Matrix -like virtual reality . Megazone 23 was a success in Japan partly due to the appeal of EVE, and it was later adapted into Robotech: The Movie (1986) in North America. A similar concept later appeared in Macross Plus (1994) with the virtual idol Sharon Apple , a computer program who takes the form of an intergalactic pop star . The same year, the fictional Japanese rock band Fire Bomber from Macross 7 (1994) became
1136-444: A resemblance to Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary . Janice is the band's lead guitarist and backup singer and she plays left-handed. Her favourite guitar is a Gibson Les Paul with cherry sunburst colour scheme. Janice was involved with Zoot in the first season of The Muppet Show but paired up with Floyd Pepper at the start of season two. Janice was performed by Eren Ozker during the first season of The Muppet Show (without
1207-477: A spin-off of The Muppet Show centering on his band, Floyd would probably emerge as the central figure. He was designed by Michael K. Frith and built by Dave Goelz . He debuted in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence . A battle of the egos occurs whenever he and Miss Piggy are on screen together as he loves to poke fun at her airs and graces. He's also somewhat arrogant, referring to himself in
1278-499: A team. Richard Hunt and Jerry Nelson had established themselves as a team prior to The Muppet Show . Therefore, the change in Janice's performer may have been the reason for her relationship shifting from Zoot to Floyd. After Hunt's death, her character was faded back to brief non-speaking background appearances until 2000's Muppet Race Mania in which she was performed by Matt Vogel . Brian Henson also provided her voice for It's
1349-418: Is a teal-colored, balding saxophone player with dark glasses and a high-crowned blue felt hat that is generally a laid-back fellow of few words. His name refers to the 20th-century saxophonist Zoot Sims and per designer Bonnie Erickson is modeled after Latin jazz artist Gato Barbieri . He is performed by Dave Goelz . He was conceived as a burned-out, depressed 50-year-old musician but according to Goelz when
1420-506: Is a virtual girl group formed in 2023 by Metaverse Entertainment. The group consists of Siu, Zena, Marty, and Tyra, who are hyper-realistic, AI-generated members that were created using machine learning , deep fake , and full 3D production technology . Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem , or simply The Electric Mayhem , are an American Muppet rock group that debuted in 1975 on
1491-468: Is no evidence that Animal was based on anyone specifically, and is simply an amalgam of common stereotypes about rock drummers. Oz performed Animal from his first appearance until 2000; he has been performed regularly by Eric Jacobson since his 2002 appearance in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie . In Muppet Babies , he was voiced by Howie Mandel (1984–1985) and by Dave Coulier (1986–1991). Animal
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#17327807530851562-470: Is not limited to, being a nursery school teacher, inspiring The Bangles song "Walk Like an Egyptian", and introducing Paula Abdul to MC Skat Kat . Clifford , performed by Kevin Clash , was briefly made a member of the Electric Mayhem (as a percussionist ) in 1990. His only appearances with the group were in the television special The Muppets at Walt Disney World and minor publicity material. Jim
1633-439: Is practically Floyd's pet. In The Muppets Mayhem , it is revealed that Floyd raised Animal from a young age, and inspired a young Dr. Teeth to become a musician. Floyd has declared himself to be an excellent songwriter—when the band briefly went on strike, one of his conditions was that he be allowed to write new theme music for the show—but with no apparent contradiction, admits that everyone hates his music. "If I didn't know I
1704-582: Is presented in media such as music videos, interviews, comic strips and short cartoons. Gorillaz's music has featured collaborations with a wide range of featured artists, with Albarn as the only permanent musical contributor. One-T are a French virtual band created in 2000 by Eddy Gronfier and Thomas Pieds. Eddy Gronfier produces the music while Thomas Pieds creates the artwork and visuals. They were successful across Europe, especially France and Germany, with their 2003 hit single "The Magic Key" , but since then were not able to repeat that success and remained
1775-472: Is required to synchronize spoken lines and instrumentation with animated action. This can be eliminated by using pre-recorded music and speech; however, doing so also weakens the actual "live" experience. (Some non-virtual artists and groups have employed a similar technique on some concert tours and performances. DJ Shadow , for example, on his In Tune and On Time tour, had pre-animated sequences, which were played on giant screens behind him while he performed
1846-458: Is the lack of audience interaction, which can be vital during concerts. This is best suited to short performances, where audience response can be predicted. The second, and more complex, method differs from the first in that allowance is made for a variety of responses and interaction. This means having a wide range of animated sequences ready to play, with matching spoken lines, in response to different reactions. In both cases, extensive rehearsal
1917-420: The League of Legends universe: vocalists Kayle (Noora Louhimo) and Karthus (Jørn Lande), guitarist Mordekaiser, keyboardist Sona, bassist Yorick, and drummer Olaf. Other characters who appear include Viego. This article on a heavy metal musician or group is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Virtual band The term virtual band was popularized with Gorillaz in 2000 . However,
1988-572: The Robotech franchise in North America). The first virtual idol was Lynn Minmay , a fictional singer who is one of the main characters in the anime television series Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982) and the animated film adaptation Macross: Do You Remember Love? (1984). Voiced by Mari Iijima , Lynn Minmay became the first fictional idol singer to garner major real-world success. The theme song "Do You Remember Love?" (from
2059-411: The baritone saxophone , while most of Zoot's other playing has the sound of a tenor saxophone and his instrument appears to be an alto saxophone . In A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa , it's revealed that he celebrates Hanukkah . Lips is the band's mumbling, yellow-haired trumpet player who joined the Electric Mayhem during the final season of The Muppet Show . His name is inspired by
2130-944: The pilot for the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show . They are the house band for The Muppet Show , with personalities and appearances inspired by prominent real-life rock music and jazz performers. They subsequently appeared in various Muppet films and television specials and have also recorded album tracks and covered numerous songs. The Electric Mayhem consists of Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards , Animal on drums , Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass , Janice on vocals and lead guitar , Zoot on saxophone , and Lips on trumpet . The band's members were originally performed by Jim Henson , Frank Oz , Jerry Nelson , Richard Hunt , Dave Goelz , and Steve Whitmire , respectively; they are presently performed by Bill Barretta , Eric Jacobson , Matt Vogel , David Rudman , Goelz, and Peter Linz , respectively. The group made their debut in 1975's The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence ,
2201-561: The valley-girl voice), then she was performed by Richard Hunt until his death in 1992. Briefly, in The Muppet Show pilot, in the Muppet Meeting Films and in one Season 1 sketch she was performed by Fran Brill. Due to the lack of female Muppet performers, Janice has, since Ozker's departure, consistently been played by a man. Muppet characters are frequently paired together based on how well puppeteers perform as
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2272-542: The 1980s and has roots in anime and Japanese idol culture. Popular virtual idols include the Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku and the virtual YouTuber Kizuna AI . The term is sometimes confused for music groups who collaborate using the Internet , who do not require members to be in the same physical place for their work. The members of virtual groups are depicted as animated characters, with their own personality, voice, history, and playing style. For example, Alvin,
2343-668: The Dr. Teeth puppet while another performer acted as Dr. Teeth's hands in order to play the keyboard. His self-introduction in The Muppet Movie was typically grandiose: "Golden teeth and golden tones. Welcome to my presence." He often misuses long words and mangles verb conjugation. Jim Henson originally performed him, basing the character on New Orleans musician Dr. John . He was designed by Henson and Michael K. Frith and built by Don Sahlin . He debuted in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence . Dr. Teeth only sings lead vocals on
2414-584: The Hook , a duo similar to the Squid Sisters. The two duos have performed together as holograms, and has had a special guest, K.K. Slider from the Animal Crossing series, to celebrate the release of Animal Crossing New Horizons. Prior to it, Nintendo had already made a virtual band composed of characters from Pikmin called Strawberry Flower , to promote the games. Their first single, Ai no Uta ,
2485-415: The band apart from Animal to have appeared on the animated series Muppet Babies . In her single appearance, she was portrayed as slightly older than the main characters and able to read. She was voiced by Dave Coulier who regularly voiced baby versions of Animal, Bunsen Honeydew and Bean Bunny . In the 2023 series The Muppets Mayhem , Janice is revealed to have an estranged twin sister. Zoot
2556-501: The band leader, Dr. Teeth is never featured in the regular orchestra playing at The Muppet Show like the rest of the group. Instead, Rowlf plays the piano in the orchestra pit. Jim Henson once said that Dr. Teeth was one of the most difficult characters to play due to the harshness of the character's voice. Although he appeared in Muppet Treasure Island , he was absent from Muppets Tonight and did not appear in
2627-404: The band to be " anklin' " during its brief strike, only Zoot seemed dubious, noting "The frog's been good to us." Zoot's claim to fame was playing the final off-key note to the end theme of the show; he then looks into his saxophone with a bewildered expression, checks his music, gives a satisfied nod, looks around at the other musicians and gives the same nod. The note played is the lowest note on
2698-580: The band, being the only member to appear in every feature film and the only member in the regular cast of the Muppet Babies spin-off cartoon. He is named for his wild behavior and drumming. Some speculate the character is based on either Keith Moon , John Bonham , Ginger Baker , Mike Baird , or Levon Helm , while others have suggested Mick Fleetwood . Original performer Frank Oz has stated that Animal's character can be summed up in five words: sex, sleep, food, drums, and pain. Several years ago,
2769-453: The concept of the virtual band was first demonstrated by Alvin and the Chipmunks in 1958, when their creator, Ross Bagdasarian , accelerated recordings of his own voice to achieve the "chipmunk voice". There have since been numerous virtual bands that have recorded material. Computer animation , traditional animation , and vocal mixing and manipulation are common features. The term virtual idol originates from Japan, where it dates back to
2840-529: The deaths of two of the group's puppeteers, Henson and Hunt, they were limited to brief instrumental background music throughout the 1990s. However, the Electric Mayhem backed Miss Piggy for a song in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz and performed alongside Miley Cyrus in the 2008 Studio DC: Almost Live television special. They have been a mainstay in the Muppets' viral video efforts of the 2010s and have
2911-562: The end of the show's run. After The Archies , produced by Filmation , became a huge pop hit, Hanna-Barbera started releasing several cartoon TV shows with the adventures of rock bands, such as Josie and the Pussycats , The Cattanooga Cats , The Impossibles , Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids , Jabberjaw , and others. During the 1980s, Hasbro released Jem , an animated TV series featuring two enemy bands with
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2982-669: The famed Ludwig Drum Company built a specially modified version of their child-sized Ludwig Jr. kit for Animal, as noted on their website at the time. In the April 8, 2002, episode of Inside the Actors Studio , Billy Joel claimed that Liberty DeVitto was the inspiration for the Muppets character Animal. This assertion has not been taken seriously as Animal's initial appearance in the 1974 pilot for The Muppet Show occurred two full years before DeVitto even made his first recording (on Joel's 1976 album Turnstiles ). Others say there
3053-454: The film Macross: Do You Remember Love? ) reached number seven on the Oricon music charts in Japan, and the song has since been covered numerous times over the next several decades. The Japanese cyberpunk anime Megazone 23 (1985) took the virtual idol concept further with EVE, who is depicted as a computer -based artificial intelligence (AI) who takes the form of a virtual idol within
3124-564: The filming of the 2015 music video " Kodachrome ". Lips speaks frequently in The Muppets Mayhem (2023), with his dialogue mainly consisting of unintelligible mumbling and occasionally a determinable sentence. A recurring gag in The Muppets Mayhem and media released around the same time is that Lips has inexplicable connections to a myriad of celebrities and other people the Mayhem come across. This colorful history includes, but
3195-416: The first episode. In the 2023 series The Muppets Mayhem , Dr. Teeth is revealed to be an actual doctor, having worked in his family's dentistry business before leaving with Floyd to start the band. After an argument with the band, he rechristens the band's name simply as "The Electric Mayhem" out of parity for the other members. Animal is the primitive wildman, drummer and the most published member of
3266-499: The imagery of lips seen on posters for The Rocky Horror Picture Show , one of Whitmire's favorite films. He has yellow frizzy hair that has been compared to a chrysanthemum (much to his chagrin), a goatee , and a permanent squint. His appearances on the Muppet Show were few and far between and when he did appear in the later episodes or movies, he rarely did anything besides play the trumpet. One of his few speaking appearances
3337-411: The last one still talking on a topic with no apparent connection to the situation. In The Muppets Take Manhattan : "So I told him 'Look, buddy, I don't take my clothes off for anybody, even if it is artistic,' and... Oh". Another example from The Great Muppet Caper , she says: "Look, Mother. It's my life. OK. So if I want to live on a beach and walk around naked... Oh". Janice is the only member of
3408-515: The leader of the Chipmunks, is mischievous, and Skeleton Staff's Guitarist Stanton is a party-going underachiever. Furthermore, Freen in Green's bassist Sparky is sluggish, Murdoc of Gorillaz is a middle-aged satanic bass player and Renard Queenston, also known simply as Renard, a fox psychopath dressed as a nurse. Another example is Hatsune Miku who does not have a definite personality; her personality changes in each song based on interactions from
3479-545: The opening ceremony of the 2019 League of Legends World Championship, alongside holographic versions of their characters. Dvar is an anonymous virtual band from Russia that plays darkwave and electronic music . Eternity is a virtual idol group formed by Pulse9. The group debuted on March 22, 2021, with the single "I'm Real". The group consists of 11 members: Seoa, Sujin, Minji, Zae-in, Hyejin, Dain, Chorong, Jiwoo, Yeoreum, Sarang and Yejin. They are created with artificial intelligence technology, Deep Real. Mave:
3550-855: The orchestra in later episodes. Lips joined the band as the sixth member in the fifth season of the series, and made some appearances with the group after The Muppet Show ended production; the group later reverted to its original five member line-up, until Lips returned in 2011's The Muppets . The band's first film role was performing the song " Can You Picture That? " in The Muppet Movie . They also performed "Night Life" and participated in "The Happiness Hotel" in The Great Muppet Caper and performed " Jingle Bell Rock " in A Muppet Family Christmas . They appeared in The Muppets Take Manhattan (sans Lips) where Dr. Teeth sang "You Can't Take No For An Answer". Following
3621-436: The other band members. Although Dr. Teeth is the leader, Floyd is the one who sings lead most often. Some of the songs he sang on The Muppet Show include: " New York State of Mind ", " Ain't Misbehavin' ", " While My Guitar Gently Weeps " and " 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover ". He has a close relationship with Janice and is Animal's close friend and handler. In books like The Case of The Missing Mother , by James Howe , Animal
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#17327807530853692-463: The pilot for The Muppet Show . Dr. Teeth and Animal were designed by Henson, Zoot was designed by Bonnie Erickson , while the rest of the original band members were designed by Michael K. Frith . Animal, Floyd and Zoot also played in the Muppet Show pit band, performing the opening and closing themes and underscoring most of the Muppet Show performances. Lips and occasionally Janice appeared in
3763-557: The recording of his voice to create the distinctive sound; the process earned him two Grammys in 1959 for engineering. The success of the Chipmunks spurred on another group, the Nutty Squirrels , to join the ranks. A scat-singing version of Bagdasarian's creation, they made the American Top 40 with their song "Uh-Oh". Their success, however, was short-lived. In 1968, The Banana Splits premiered on NBC but failed to chart
3834-562: The retirement of Jerry Nelson , Floyd's original performer (although Matt Vogel later assumed the role of Floyd as well as most of Nelson's primary Muppet characters). Dr. Teeth's first major speaking role since Henson's death was in Statler and Waldorf 's very own show, Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony where Victor Yerrid performed him. Bill Barretta , however, has been performing Dr. Teeth consistently since 2005. Although being
3905-487: The role was assigned to him, he did not know how to perform that type of character. He, therefore, made the character mainly communicate through his playing rather than by speaking. Zoot spoke much more in the first season where he was often seen dancing with Janice in the "At the Dance" sketches. Goelz stated that he tried to give most of Zoot's lines away to other characters, particularly Floyd. Floyd's performer Jerry Nelson
3976-487: The second Muppet pilot and during the first season and these songs were only written before Rowlf the Dog had become firmly established as the regular Muppet pianist. Later performances mostly feature lead vocals by Floyd or Janice and only a few featured Dr. Teeth. His speaking roles got even smaller after his performer Jim Henson's death; an exception was the 1991 Muppets stage show Muppets on Location: Days of Swine and Roses ,
4047-405: The set. Again, a large amount of pre-tour planning and synchronization rehearsal was required beforehand. ) While the term had not been coined at the time, Alvin and the Chipmunks were the first virtual band to receive widespread fame. Centered on Alvin, his two brothers Simon and Theodore, and their manager/father Dave Seville, their voices were created by Ross Bagdasarian, Sr. , who accelerated
4118-417: The song uploaded to YouTube subsequently went viral, surpassing 100 million views in one month, reaching 550 million views as of May 2023, and topping Billboard ' s World Digital Song Sales chart. In 2019, Riot created a virtual hip hop group called True Damage , featuring the champions Ekko, Akali, Qiyana, Senna, and Yasuo. The vocalists performed a live version of their debut song, "Giants", during
4189-489: The top 40. A year later in 1969, from rival CBS, The Archies were the first virtual band to appear in worldwide pop charts. During this time, other television programs, such as Josie and the Pussycats and The Muppet Show , began to include bands as part of the format (in the case of Josie and the Pussycats , the eponymous band was the show's focus). Some of the groups that appeared on these shows released mainstream recordings. Some bands, however, would "break up" after
4260-685: The users of Vocaloid . The style of animation used for depicting the characters varies. Some groups and idols, like The Archies , Gorillaz , Dethklok , The Banana Splits , Prozzäk , One-T , Dvar , Renard Queenston, Quasimoto , MC Skat Kat , VBirds , One eskimO and Alvin and the Chipmunks are hand-drawn characters, and much of their media uses traditional animation and cartooning techniques. Others, such as Hatsune Miku , Kizuna Ai , Crazy Frog , Genki Rockets , Gummibär , Pinocchio , The Bots, Studio Killers , Beatcats , K/DA , Your Favorite Martian , Hololive , Eternity and Mave: are computer-generated . Some people consider puppetry as
4331-408: The virtual band characters, or the human writers and artists involved. Virtual bands often perform through virtual concerts , where their likenesses are represented digitally on stage. One of two methods can be employed for live performances. The first involves animating the entire set, with little or no allowance for audience interaction, then "performing" it as is. The major pitfall with this method
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#17327807530854402-619: The voice bank of Hatsune Miku . In 2009, Hatsune Miku had her first concert. Other Vocaloids include Meiko , Kaito , Kagamine Rin and Len , and Megurine Luka . Virtual bands can also originate from video games , as proven by the 2015 Wii U game Splatoon , which features songs credited to various virtual bands, the most notable being a pop duo called the Squid Sisters , who have performed several real world concerts as holograms. The game's 2017 Nintendo Switch sequel, Splatoon 2 , introduces more virtual bands, most notably Off
4473-425: The voice being performed by John Kennedy . He performed Dr. Teeth from 1991 to 2003 but made only very brief appearances with very little dialogue, some examples being the 1999 film Muppets from Space and once in the music video for the " We Are Family " charity song in 2002. Bill Barretta took over the role beginning with The Muppets' Wizard of Oz so that Kennedy could start performing Floyd instead following
4544-433: The voices of Ahri and Akali, respectively, Madison Beer voices Evelynn, and Jaira Burns provided the voice for Kai'Sa. However, the characters have also been voiced by other artists. K/DA was developed by Riot Games , the company behind League of Legends , and was unveiled at the 2018 League of Legends World Championship with an augmented reality live performance of their debut single, " Pop/Stars ". A music video of
4615-548: Was a genius," he once declared, " I wouldn't listen to the trash I write." He nonetheless seems to have made a small fortune on advertising jingles during one of the band's sabbatical. It is believed he is based on the guitarist Jeff Baxter , who is a studio musician and a former member of both Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. Janice is a guitarist and backup singer with a flower child personality. She has blonde hair, big eyelashes and lips, and usually wears
4686-563: Was a massive success in Japan, reaching #2 on the Weekly Oricon Top 200 Singles chart. In 2020, Sega and Sanrio teamed up to make their first collaboration virtual band, Beatcats . Gorillaz are an English virtual band created in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett , from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums). Their universe
4757-558: Was also played by Kevin Clash in Muppets Tonight and by Bill Barretta in MuppetFest (the first Muppet fan convention). Animal's drumming was performed by British jazz and big band drummer Ronnie Verrell . He has had numerous appearances on television in advertising and on a U.S. postage stamp. The 2023 series The Muppets Mayhem , it is revealed that Animal was raised by Floyd after being abandoned on his doorstep as
4828-520: Was in the Shirley Bassey episode where he sang a line of "Barnyard Boogie." He was mainly created so that Whitmire could have a character to perform in the band. His lack of character development was apparently due to Whitmire's uncertainty about performing Lips. He was less experienced as a puppeteer at the time and wanted to use a voice like Louis Armstrong but was afraid of offending African Americans . After The Muppet Christmas Carol , he
4899-502: Was not performing full-time in the first season which may explain Zoot originally having more dialogue. Since his eyes are hidden by his shades, he often appears oblivious to events around him—during the band's first meeting with Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear as depicted in The Muppet Movie , he briefly forgot his own name which Floyd described as Zoot "skip[ping] the groove again"—but he can be sharper than he seems. When Floyd declared
4970-478: Was not seen at all until the 2009 NBC special Christmas in Rockefeller Center . He also appeared in The Muppets (2011). He also appeared and spoke (albeit very briefly) in the 2014 movie Muppets Most Wanted . He appears (and speaks on several occasions) in the 2015 series The Muppets having been completely rebuilt, as the original puppet from his Muppet Show days disintegrated on set during
5041-400: Was originated by Jerry Nelson until 2003. At this time, Nelson retired from performing most of his characters, citing health reasons and John Kennedy took over the role beginning with The Muppets' Wizard of Oz . Matt Vogel took over in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa and is Floyd's current performer. Author Christopher Finch says that Floyd is most like Nelson and if there were
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