Who is Sweet Ann ?
Sweet ANN is a virtual vocalist for the VOCALOID2 software produced by PowerFX in partnership with Yamaha Corporation and an anonymous human vocalist, mononymously referred to as Jody[1].
Originally conceived as a voicebank for VOCALOID1 codenamed Jodie, Sweet ANN was in development as early as 2003, four years before her official release for VOCALOID2 in 2007. In early views of the VOCALOID2 RealTime VSTi editor found in the ReadMe.pdf file included with Zero-G's Prima, "Jodie" can still be seen in the singer list as "JODIE2."[2]
ANN's design is modeled after actress and singer Lena Horne[3], combined with a Bride of Frankenstein aesthetic (seen in the stitches around her neck). Her partner voicebank, Big AL, would be released in 2009 with a complementary design based on Frankenstein's monster himself.
In 2011, E-Capsule's Taiwanese distribution of Sweet ANN (among others) came with an updated, anime-style design that added steampunk elements.
After release, Sweet ANN saw mild success in western markets, but rose in Japan's niconicovideo rankings to be the 4th most popular English VOCALOID on the platform in 2010. She later ranked 1st in a general-interest poll hosted by E-Capsule in 2013.
Trivia
- Sweet ANN is the first ever VOCALOID2, and by extension the first female VOCALOID2, and first English VOCALOID2
- Big AL is Sweet ANN's official partner voicebank
- Sweet ANN was originally developed for VOCALOID1 under the name "JODIE"
- Sweet ANN was the first English VOCALOID to receive an MMD model, created by Shuki
- Sweet ANN sings in the opening song of the Nichijou anime, "Helvetica Standard"
1. Interview: Bil Bryant (Production and CEO of PowerFX) by Engloids.wordpress.com
2. ReadMe.pdf for VOCALOID2 Prima by Zero-G Limited, page 5