Sweet ANN

 Sweet  ANN, codenamed originally "JODIE", is an English VOCALOID developed and distributed by PowerFX Systems AB., and was released in June 2007 for the VOCALOID2 engine. Her voice bank was originally developed for the the first VOCALOID engine before being ported. She is voiced by an Australian singer whose artist name is "Jody". Other than a name, her voice provider's identity has not been revealed.

Etymology
Her name is a pun based on her origins, meaning that Sweet-Ann = Swe-den.

Appearance
Sweet ANN has been described as a "white Lena Horne" by PowerFX. According to PowerFX, their VOCALOIDs are more like Cyborgs than Androids.

She is the first English VOCALOID to have a depiction as such on her boxart, although at this point, the general idea of a true "avatar" would not be considered until Hatsune Miku's release a few months later. She is loosely based on "The Bride of Frankenstein". Her staples (or stitches) are often mistaken for a choker.

Sweet ANN's Taiwan design is based on a bride and features some steampunk details, possibly from the fact she was based on Bride of Frankenstein.

Relations

 * BIG AL: a complementary voice bank with masculine vocals.

Examples of Usage

 * -|Sweet ANN =

Marketing
She was sold under as a 'space lounge robo-vocalist sensation'.

Like VOCALOIDs before her, she was aimed at professional musicians, as there was no established VOCALOID fandom. Her boxart itself appears to be based on the poster art for a movie "Stormy Weather" starring Lena Horne.
 * MySpace

Sweet ANN was given a MySpace page in promotion of her software.


 * Soundation Release

Among the releases for Soundations loops and sounds for Christmas 2010 were some samples of Sweet ANN and Big AL. A contest was also included with a chance to win both VOCALOIDs.


 * Concerts

Sweet ANN appeared in a concert ( Vocalekt Visions x AniMiku x WVD01 at AOD 2012 ) alongside GUMI, Camui Gackpo, and Hatsune Miku. She sang Koda-P's "Headline Love". She appeared in her Taiwanese design.

Trivia

 * Sweet ANN has become so popular with the Japanese audience that she became the first English VOCALOID to receive an MMD model, edited by Shuki. After Sweet ANN's MMD model was created, people began to make other English VOCALOIDs into models, such as BIG AL, whose model was created by Nukude.


 * Her Japanese nicknames 甘音アン (Amane Ann) means "Sweet Sound Ann", and 甘いアン (Amai Ann) is a play on words. "Amai Ann/An" is the word-to-word translation from English and can be read as "sweet bean paste," a common cuisine in Japan.


 * In Project Diva Arcade, Sweet ANN can be heard singing in the background of Magical Sound Shower, even though she is not a Crypton Future Media VOCALOID.


 * Sweet ANN can be heard singing the words "Helvetica Standard" in the anime, "Nichijou", as well as background music.


 * Sweet ANN's voice was used in the demo for the Vocaloid's Ap for Miselu Neiro, a portable Android-powered synthesizer.


 * Their was speculation by a fan about Aoki Lapis (being based off a fairy), being notable for the "first" VOCALOID based off a fictional creature. Their was a clash about Sweet ANN being the first VOCALOID being worthy of the title. it was decided to be worth noting in the trivia instead.

Notable for...

 * First VOCALOID2 ever released
 * First female voicebank for VOCALOID2
 * First English VOCALOID released for VOCALOID2
 * First PowerFX VOCALOID ever released
 * First female PowerFX VOCALOID
 * First English VOCALOID to have an "Avatar"