The popular VTuber group Hololive English is celebrating their first year of activities with a new contest! The hololive English Art Battle is now open on the art-sharing site pixiv, and entries from around the world are welcome. There will be five different stages in the illustration battle, one for each member of the first generation of hololiveEN talents. Those wanting to enter should submit their artwork using the appropriate contest tag, #hololiveENArt.
Each day, the total number of artwork views will be tallied, and that number will ‘deal damage’ to each of the five bosses. When the HP of each stage hits zero, that stage will be counted as clear, and the next stage will begin! The reward for clearing all stages will be the release of the ‘hololive English x pixiv FAN ARTBOOK,’ a digital release that will be available to everyone. The ten best pieces submitted to each round will be posted on the official pixiv Twitter (@pixiv), so check them out!
In addition to the ten MVP awards per round, a special acrylic block featuring each member’s signature is also up for grabs! The members of hololiveEN will be choosing the winner, so give it your all.
Even if you aren’t an artist, be sure to check out the submitted illustrations to help whittle down the boss’s HP!
Information
hololive English Art Battle
Running: September 13, 2021 – October 31, 2021 at 23:59
The Tokyo-based girl artists and creators' collective bala has finally launched for real! The group will release its first single barla on March 8.
bala consists of MANON, SUNNY ONLY 1, DAN, and KANO, each with their own global background. The project aims to resonate with Gen Z youth culture and to be a collective of artists that connects hybrid Japanese pop culture with audiences around the world.
The debut song barla was produced by Shinichi Osawa, who has numerous hits under the name Mondo Grosso. It was co-written by Kenmochi Hidefumi from Wednesday Campanella. With Y2K culture making a comeback around the world, the track features the house sound popular in the late 90s which is showing signs of becoming the next musical trend yet again. The groovy dance tune is a perfect theme song for these girls who will lead the next generation of pop culture.
<Comment from Shinichi Osawa>
“I’m honored to be involved in bala’s debut. The members are super unique, and collaborating with Kenmochi-san for the first time was a dream come true.”
<Comment from Kenmochi Hidefumi>
“I’m happy to be able to work with the members of bala and Shinichi Osawa. Everyone is so uniquely talented, and this song is filled with everyone's energy and excitement inspired by their long-awaited debut!”
The rookie vocal VTuber group ester eight released their fifth pre-release single BUZZ on all major streaming services on February 22.
Written, composed, and arranged by Hi-ra, the track is a highly danceable song blending J-pop and EDM, revealing a new side of the up-and-coming group.
ester eight will soon make its major label debut. The song is a means to increase their buzz before moving on to the next stage of their careers.
Original goods will be released to commemorate the new track, and a YouTube Live will be held on February 25.
Check out new comments from the members below!
Member Comments
Hiro Shirai
“I’m just so incredibly happy. At the same time, I know that our responsibilities and expectations will only continue to increase day by day. BUZZ has a bit of a hip-hop feel, which is super refreshing. Each member really shows off their personality and role, so we hope you can feel ester eight’s potential. Listen to it a ton, please!”
Teru Mikado
“ester eight’s fifth single is called BUZZ!! It’s a low-pitched, groovy song that really shows off how sexy the members can be. Listen to it as much as you can and make sure you generate some BUZZ for us!”
Shun Turigane
“Our fifth original song is finally here! Another complete change from the previous songs– just how much potential does ester eight have?! Please listen and have a ton of fun with it! Buzz it buzz it…buzz it buzz it…!!!”
Souma Musumi
“BUZZ is ester eight’s fifth original song. It's a sexy song with a little bit of a dark vibe, so please be sure to check it out!”
Kanade Hiumi
“Our fifth original song is BUZZ. It has a totally different atmosphere from the previous four songs we’ve released and it really highlights the cool and dark side of our group. Be sure to listen!”
De Miera
“BUZZ, our fifth original song, has been released! This is your chance to see an entirely different side of us, so be sure to listen to this super cool track!”
Mao Roen
Our fifth pre-debut song, BUZZ, is here!! It’s a drastic change from our past songs, and I think you’ll finally see how cool we can really be! This track really pushes the limit, so I hope everyone will give it a listen!”
moca
“Our fifth single BUZZ is a fast and furious gung-ho, boom-boom, flashy track that you won’t want to stop listening to! By the way, I performed the sexy, cute, and cool role again this time. Huh? You don’t know what I mean? Listen and you’ll find out!”
VERSEⁿ is a VTuber project that travels through various stories. Through cross-media content such as live streaming, anime, music, illustrations, novels, and manga, the project aims to weave a story of the past, present, and future of the VERSEⁿ world together for fans.
Late last year, VTuber Kashi Otoha announced during a live broadcast that a new song was in production to commemorate her 100,000th subscriber.
Otoha’s new single Signal will be released digitally on February 15. The track was composed and written by Uztama, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter and composer.
An iTunes download campaign is also underway to commemorate the song’s release. Those who preorder Signal on iTunes between February 8 and February 14 will receive an original standby screen image with a comment from Kashi Otoha herself.
Submission Period: February 8 – February 14, 23:59
Submission Eligibility: Those who preorder Signal on iTunes within the above time period are eligible.
How to Enter: Fill out the application form and attach a screenshot showing the purchase screen.
Hoshimachi Suisei, a popular member of the Hololive VTuber group, released her long-awaited second album Specter on January 25, 2023. The album is available for purchase on CD and digitally.
On January 20, Suisei performed her song Stellar Stellar on the YouTube channel THE FIRST TAKE, making her the first VTuber to do so. The video trended worldwide, pulling in over 160,000 views during its premiere and over 5 million views within three days.
Suisei’s first album, Still Still Stellar, was released in September 2021. It reached the top spot on numerous charts including the Oricon Weekly Digital Album Ranking and the Billboard JAPAN Downloaded Albums Ranking.
This second album contains 11 songs written by several incredible creators including Ayase, Jin, Tomoya Tabuchi, Nanahoshi Orchestra, and more!
Hoshimachi Suisei
A forever 18 VTuber who deeply loves singing and idols. Her dream is to one day hold a live concert at Nippon Budokan.
With 1.7 million subscribers on YouTube and over 1.1 million followers on Twitter, she’s a true star on the rise.
In May 2021, the NIJISANJI EN project appeared as a part of the overall umbrella of NIJISANJI VTubers. This April, these English-speaking talents will hold their first live event titled COLORS. A total of 19 performers will appear on April 8 and 9, with the Pastel Stage being held on the 8th and the Vivid Stage being held on the 9th. Don’t miss these fully 3D AR performances!
Online tickets are on sale now, and fans can buy tickets for either a single day or the full two days. The performances can be watched as many times as you like during the viewing period, and the first part of the event will be broadcast for free on YouTube and Nico Nico Live.
Information
COLORS (NIJISANJI EN AR LIVE) – Pastel Stage & Vivid Stage Dates
April 8, 2023 at 12:00JST (Pastel Stage)
April 9, 2023 at 12:00JST (Vivid Stage)
Performer Details and Ticket Info: https://event.nijisanji.app/EN_COLORS
TeamLab Unveils Three New Works at Singapore’s Permanent ‘Future World’ Exhibition
Art collective TeamLab has redesigned two exhibitions at Marina Bay Sands Singapore. The world’s first permanent exhibition from the creators, Future World: Where Art Meets Science, was opened in 2016 at the Museum of Art and Science. Guests can now enjoy three new works along with the Digital Light Canvas, a huge, interactive space inviting guests to share their own pieces of art.
Drawing Flight
Visitors can immerse themselves in these impressive new works while experiencing a complex, three-dimensional world. They can also create new worlds with others!
Future World
The Drawing Flight, part of the Amusement Park of the Future series, is based on the concept of co-creation, allowing visitors to not only draw an airplane that will fly but also allowing them to operate it from a pilot's point of view using a tablet. Whether visitors draw a butterfly or a hawk, they’ll see the world from the perspective of each creature and enter a world constructed by the creature's unique perceptions.
Aerial Climbing through a Flock of Colored Birds
In Aerial Climbing through a Flock of Colored Birds, guests are asked to perceive the world with their entire bodies. Visitors cross a space with sticks floating three-dimensionally in the air.
Autonomous Abstraction, Continuous Phenomena from the Universe to the Self
Autonomous Abstraction, Continuous Phenomena from the Universe to the Self offers a new and abstract concept. As people touch the dots, the rhythm of the dots flickers and their hue changes and disintegrates. The picture will then change dramatically, and despite these changes, the beauty remains.
Digital Light Canvas
Graffiti Nature - Red List Digital Light Canvas
Digital Light Canvas is a space consisting of a 15-meter-diameter circular link of light and a 20-meter-high cylinder of light made up of a collection of light dots. Team Lab's interactive artwork, which changes depending on how many people are around, is on permanent display.