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CGI Anime Character Hatsune Miku Makes Late-Night History on David Letterman

Since David Letterman is always on the cusp of innovative technology, it was really no surprise that he invited Hatsune Miku to perform on The Late Show on Wednesday.

For those of you unfamiliar with the insanely popular Hatsune Miku, she looks like a anime character. The Japanese media company Crypton Future Media created her (to be clear, she's not a real person) in 2007 as a mascot for its vocal synthesizer software, and now, it licenses her out to XXX. Her image was created by manga artist Kei Garō.

Hatsune Miku, whose name means "the first sound from the future,” is what's called a "vocaloid." Fans create music and songs that can be programmed into her voice, including the tune "World Is Mine," which currently has almost 13 million YouTube views.

A slew of big stars in the U.S. have used her fame. Miku's character appeared in a remixed Pharrell Williams music video:

And the vocaloid performed as an opening act for Lady Gaga's worldwide ARTPOP tour and during the Japanese VMAs in 2014.

While Miku is just one of several avatars and personas people developed using Cryton Future Media's software, her character is undoubtedly the most popular, inspiring an abundance of cosplay, video games and merchandise, and most recently selling out New York City concerts.

Miku's appearance on American late-night television on Wednesday was met mostly with positively — albeit a lot of shock by her longtime fans.

TL;DR: David Letterman has a pretty good booking agent.

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