IA

IA - ARIA ON THE PLANETES - (イア) is a Vocaloid3 whose voicebank was provided by Japanese singer Lia, who is known for "Tori no Uta", used for the opening theme of the visual novel Air. Her design was illustrated by Aka Akasaka, while the design direction was by Maxilla Inc. She was given a basic personality as a strong and honest character; a dreamer who wants to be friends with everyone. IA is named as such due to the name of her voice provider, Lia.

History
IA was released on January 27, 2012.

A beta demo was released. The song is a cover of one of Lia's original works. On December 14, 2011, two more demos were released. On the 13th of January 2012, the full version of the beta demo was released via Youtube Broadcast

Demo Songs
 * Boy Disliked Was The Classroom Youtube Broadcast
 * Headphone Actor Youtube Broadcast
 * Falling Apart (beta) Youtube Broadcast
 * Asu No Hikari (beta) Youtube Broadcast
 * Freesia (beta) Youtube Broadcast
 * Stardust Youtube Broadcast
 * Meteor Youtube Broadcast
 * Feel Happiness ~ Birth ~ Youtube Broadcast
 * My Soul, Your Beats! Youtube Broadcast
 * Cafe Latte Youtube Broadcast
 * Lost Summer Youtube Broadcast
 * Melody Youtube Broadcast
 * Melting Glacier Youtube Broadcast
 * Tale Of The Tree Youtube Broadcast
 * Alphabeat Youtube Broadcast
 * こんなアタシDOでShow!? Nicovideo Broadcast

Youtube List/IA Songs

Marketing
Information has been released much slower. Her promotions have taken the approach to make her seem more otherworldly and mysterious.

The licensing for IA is slightly different to past Vocaloids and it is worth taking the time to read this page for more details. Unlike some past vocaloids, users can use her image on CDs, flyers and posters, although some permission will be needed for greater usage of her image. This is a departure from past Vocaloids such as Crypton Future Media, who require you to ask permission for use of their Vocaloids' images on CD, flyers and posters.

Prior to her release, you could also buy a t-shirt with her logo on it.

She has a light-toned voice that is soft and clear. Her voice is similar to her provider's vocals and is voiced by a professional singer, making her a more realistic Vocaloid. Her overall quality is higher then all of the other Vocaloid 3 releases. She is especially capable of producing long, drawn out notes and has an almost opera-esque result to her vocals when used correctly.

Some users report that her mid-range is relatively flat in comparison to her high notes. In conjunction to this, other users report that her high notes sound slightly muffled and unclear.

Examples of Usage
Youtube List/IA Songs

Popularity
IA was well recieved and had many hits in the Nico Nico Douga weekly rankings after her release. On 08/04/2012, research conducted showed she had 679 hits on Piapro, 2459 hits on Pixiv (after search was refined) and 2,872 hits on Nico Nico Douga, making her the most popular of the early Vocaloid 3 releases.

Trivia

 * There are at least two ways to read her sub-title of "Aria on the Planetes";
 * In her subtitle of "ARIA ON THE PLANETES" the words "Aria" and "Planetes" are latin for "open space" and "planet" giving the translation of "Open Space of the Planet".
 * "Aria", is also the Italian word for "air" and was used as a term in opera for expressive pieces usually sung by a single singer.
 * Despite the myth of IA's age being 15, she is not 15 years old nor has she had an age assigned to her. The origins of this myth seems to originate from a section underneath the paragraph on IA about her provider Lia, wherein one of the first things mentioned on Lia is that she debuted in America at 15 years old.

Notable for...

 * First 1st Place Vocaloid released
 * First female Vocaloid released by 1st Place