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IA (イア) is a Japanese Talk Voice developed by 1st PLACE Co., Ltd., and was released for CeVIO Creative Studio in February 2017. She was originally released for the VOCALOID3 engine in January 2012 and received an additional voicebank known as "IA ROCKS" in June 2014, both designed for singing in Japanese. She later received an English Song Voice known as "IA ENGLISH C", making her the first CeVIO Voice to be able to sing in English.

IA was later updated to CeVIO AI with a Japanese Talk Voice in March 2021, and Japanese and English Song Voices in October that year.[2][3] IA later received Japanese and English Song Voices for VoiSona and were released in January 2024.[4]

Her voice provider is Lia.

Concept

IA is the first vocal of the -ARIA ON THE PLANETES- project.[5] The design philosophy 1st PLACE worked toward was to make the voice simple and straightforward but easy to adjust and customize, letting creators create their own version of IA.[6]

IA has little background information, however she and ONE were given some through the ARIA - IA Musical & Live Show – performances. In a series of YouTube videos dubbed ARIA STATION, IA and ONE introduced their home-world known as Planet ARIA. Planet ARIA is described as a world similar to Earth with various life forms that resonate and co-exist together, several of whom raised IA and ONE.

Some information about IA's character was revealed in her 6th anniversary special talk live.[7] Notable ones include:

  • Her favorite food is sakuramochi
  • It takes about one whole hour to dry her hair after factoring in treatment and using a hair dryer
  • ONE tends to argue with her as there are a lot of things ONE gets upset about
  • Her favorite onomatopoeia is "fuwafuwa", which is the sound for fluffy things
  • She never gets nervous before going on stage

According to a livestream in June 2021, HIPPI taught IA how to play guitar before she came to earth. HIPPI was regarded as a strict teacher to her.[8]

IA had no official age up until March 4, 2022, where she was confirmed to be 16 years old.[9]

Etymology

"IA" is taken from her voice provider's name: "Lia".

There are at least two ways to read her project's name of "-ARIA ON THE PLANETES-":

  • The words "Aria" and "Planetes" are Latin and Greek for "open space" and "planet" respectively, giving the translation of "Open Space on the Planet".
  • "Aria" is also the Italian word for "air" and is used as a term in opera for expressive pieces, usually sung by a single singer. This also fits in with her more opera-esque vocal results compared to other released Japanese VOCALOIDs.

When she was first released, overseas fans often mistook "Aria" as the name of the character.

Appearance

IA was illustrated by Aka Akasaka (D. Z.) while the design direction was by Maxilla Inc.[10] It was decided that they wanted soft colours instead of vivid ones. At the time, there was skepticism towards avoiding vivid colours due to a fear of her not selling because of the softer tones. Lia wanted IA to be cute and pretty, and was satisfied the first time she was shown the artwork.[11]

Despite the myth of IA's age being 15, she had no official age when this myth spread and has since been confirmed to be 16. This myth seems to originate from a section underneath the paragraph on IA about her provider, Lia, wherein one of the first things mentioned was that Lia debuted in America at 15 years old.

In the IA 6th and ONE 3rd anniversary special talk live, it was revealed that IA is 155cm tall.[7]

IA is a young woman with floor length platinum blonde hair with hot pink highlights. An ahoge sits atop her head. Two strips of her hair are braided, with silver clasps to keep the hair in place. She has bright sapphire eyes.

The illustration for IA's first IA TALK library for CeVIO Creative Studio was illustrated by Aka Akasaka and was shared with her IA ROCKS splash screen artwork. The design features IA with her signature black tank top as seen in her original VOCALOID3 outfit, with detached sleeves, pink skirt, mismatched black socks and white boots.

IA ENGLISH C utilizes a 3D illustration that is shared with the IA/04 -STAR- album and was created by an unknown artist. The design is reminiscent of IA's VOCALOID3 IA ROCKS and IA TALK attire, albeit shown using a 3D model.

For IA's CeVIO AI IA TALK design, she wears a white button down shirt under a raspberry colored vest. Her pink plaid jacket is covered in many medals. A red plaid bow is tied around the collar of her shirt. On her left hand is a gold ring with light blue stone. She wears pink loafers with brown trim and white knee socks. Aka Akasaka returned as the official illustrator.

For IA's AI SONG illustration, used for both of her CeVIO AI and VoiSona libraries, a new illustrator, Simanerikotton was revealed.[12] Her design consists of a white sleeveless top, cut out in the middle and held together by a white bow. Her headphones are white with hot pink detailing on the cup and strap. Around her neck is a black choker. She wears black detachable sleeves with white cuffs. Her black pleated skirt is decorated with a white trim at the hem. She wears a thigh-high black boot, and a white calf high boot, both having pink soles. On her left leg is a white sock with a black circle design on her knee, and two pink rings around her upper thigh.

The illustration for IA AI SONG ENGLISH, used for both of her CeVIO AI and VoiSona libraries, uses a similar 3D rendered image reminiscent of the IA ENGLISH C illustration however, while much of the design is not shown, IA is shown to be wearing a black and white sleeveless top, similar to her AI SONG outfit, with a black and white striped band around her abdomen. The official software boxart illustration features only a head and bust shot of her 3D model, without any noticeable clothing. IA is surrounded by pink, blue and green butterflies overlaid on a light pink box, or blue for the -DUO PACKAGE- edition. The official artist is unknown.

Relations

Four inhabitants of their planet were introduced and their relations to IA and ONE were revealed:

  • A gray, multicolored cat named “チコー” (also known as "Neko-san" or simply as "cat") is one of the spirits that exists on ARIA. She acts as a mother and has been with IA and ONE all of their lives and came to Earth with ONE. She is described as being a very sweet cat that watches over IA and ONE.[14].
  • The second member revealed is a large elder tree named "Chōrō" ("長老", meaning elder) or "Choro no ki", ("長老抜き", meaning the eldest tree). Chōrō is described to be one of the oldest spirits on Planet ARIA and acts as a "grandfather" figure to IA and ONE. He is very knowledgeable about ARIA and is connected to everything on the planet. He was described to have taught IA and ONE all that they know.[15]
  • The third member revealed was a purple, bipedal cheetah named "チート" (also known as "Cheet") [16]. Cheet acts as IA and ONE's dance teacher. She is described as being stern and is able to move very quick.[17]
  • The last member introduced in the series is a large white phoenix named "フェニックス" (also known as "Phoenix" or simply known as "Nix"[18]). He acts as a singing teacher and voice trainer for IA and ONE. It was revealed that he learned how to transform into a human form from Chōrō.[19]

During the IA 9th & ONE 6th Anniversary ‒Super LIVESHOW- on January 27, 2021, three additional characters were unveiled, one of whom bears the name "H" on their nametag and the other two being an anthropomorphic lion and a reindeer-like creature. Their relationship to IA (and ONE) is unknown, however, they were announced to be "ARIA" members.[20]

History

Marketing

Much like her VOCALOID counterpart, IA's CeVIO release has been promoted through live events such as the ARIA MUSICAL & LIVE SHOW, the official YouTube Channel of the company, sponsored albums, and merchandise along with her fellow vocal, ONE.

VIRTUAL MUSIC JAM -CeVIO PARTY- Promo
VIRTUAL MUSIC JAM -CeVIO PARTY-

IA was a featured performer for the VIRTUAL MUSIC JAM -CeVIO PARTY- virtual concert. She performed four songs, a cover using her CeVIO AI library of the song Night Sky Patrol of Tomorrow (アスノヨゾラ哨戒班)[21], a duet cover of the song Conqueror featuring Tsurumaki Maki[22], a duet featuring Yuzuki Yukari of the song Piña Colada[23] and a cover of the song Otsukimi Recital (オツキミリサイタル).[24] She along with ONE and HIPPI performed for the accompanying ARIA SPECIAL SHOWCASE performance.[25]

On August 24, 2022, IA was announced to be performing alongside other CeVIO vocalists for the second VIRTUAL MUSIC JAM -CeVIO PARTY- installment to be held on October 11, 2022.[26] Tickets would be sold beginning September 8, 2022.[27]

Voicebanks

IA
The IA vocal was originally intended to give a vocal based on the clear and crisp vocal of Lia. It is operatic in nature and noted for its large voice and tempo range, both being the largest at its time of release. This allowed the voicebank to cover a wide range of roles and music genres.

Media featuring IA

Spider on the Wall
YouTube logo
[yt]
Featuring
IA
Producers
GHOST (music, lyrics)
Categories Original song
天使だと思っていたのに
YouTube logo
[yt][sc]
Translation I thought I was an angel
Featuring
IA
Producers
Applemint (cover, English lyrics)
Categories Cover song

Search for media featuring IA [show/hide]

Search for media featuring IA [show/hide]

References

  1. https://twitter.com/IA_Official_/status/1499954920560414722
  2. https://twitter.com/1st_PLACE0302/status/1285851844959367169?s=20
  3. https://www.techno-speech.com/news-20200722a
  4. https://twitter.com/1st_PLACE0302/status/1751228255729013137
  5. http://1stplace.co.jp/software/cevio/
  6. http://www.vocaloidism.com/interview-with-1st-place-at-anime-expo-2015/
  7. 7.0 7.1 https://www.vocaloidnews.net/ia-6th-one-3rd-anniversary-special-talk-live-news-roundup/
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlO1T3Qe80s
  9. https://twitter.com/IA_Official_/status/1499954920560414722
  10. maxilla
  11. http://www.vocaloidnews.net/11867-2/
  12. https://twitter.com/simanerikotto/status/1446800106393640965?s=20
  13. https://ia-aria.com/about/ See under "About ARIA" section
  14. https://youtu.be/H2VjZAA4Rhk
  15. https://youtu.be/EVObnMvCB1k
  16. https://twitter.com/IA_ONE_Official/status/1255384047578120192?s=20
  17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu-nyNPEYG8
  18. https://twitter.com/IA_ONE_Official/status/1255384047578120192?s=20
  19. https://youtu.be/a74nOiWFPQU
  20. https://youtu.be/a6f07ZQuaDY?t=385
  21. https://twitter.com/1st_PLACE0302/status/1498251635864211459
  22. https://twitter.com/tomo_ahs/status/1431569356983472128
  23. https://twitter.com/VOCALOMAKETS/status/1431611739641049102
  24. https://twitter.com/1st_PLACE0302/status/1521097169377275904
  25. https://twitter.com/1st_PLACE0302/status/1402566263038087169
  26. https://twitter.com/CeVIO_st/status/1562383177087594498
  27. https://twitter.com/CeVIO_st/status/1568162621068824576

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