Prima is an English VOCALOID developed and distributed by Zero-G Limited, and was released in January 2008 for the VOCALOID2 engine. Prima is advertised as a "virtual vocalist modeled on the voice of a professional soprano opera singer"; her voice provider has never been revealed.
Concept
Etymology
The name "Prima" comes from the term "Prima donna," meaning "first lady." It is an Italian term used to describe the female with the leading role in a theatrical and opera production. It also refers to the one with the most talent, who was usually a soprano singer.
Appearance
Officially, Prima has no character concept. Instead, the photo on the box is an image of a model photographed by Ivan Grlic (bg_knight), who has works submitted to various stock photo websites. An example of the original photograph is here, titled "beauty profile" File#: 1709473
Promotional E-Capsule version
Prima's Taiwan design is loosely based on the Chinese opera house style of costumes. Prima's outfit itself is based on a theatrical representation of an animal, most likely a Huli jing (fox spirit), based on the shape of the "tail" and ears. Her body has an android appearance with visible joint lines. Her design in this version mostly has a green color scheme.
Relations
For more on VOCALOID relationships, see the FAQ.
- Tonio - A complementary voice bank with masculine vocals.
History
Marketing
Prima was one of Zero-G's professionally aimed voicebanks, and as such, her boxart and voice are not aimed at the general VOCALOID fandom. Her boxart is from a stock image. The photographer was bg_knight (Ivan Grlic) who has submitted his work to various stock photo websites. An example of the original is here titled "beauty profile" File#: 1709473, there are other images based on the model , which is currently on the second page, that includes an eyebrow piercing.
After increased interest began to occur in VOCALOIDs and demand rose, Zero-G began reselling LOLA, LEON, and MIRIAM, from their own website via their virtual shop. Prima was also included in the sale, but according to Zero-G, although the three older VOCALOIDs may get a redesign in the future, they feel Prima is fine the way she is, and neither she nor Tonio will receive a revamp.[2]
Her official website has since been defunct, but an archive snapshot is available.[3]
Voicebanks
- Prima
- Prima was a professional singer vocal intended to be a realistic recreation of her provider who was an opera singer. As such Prima was made for opera and singers in the soprano range.Her counter-partner vocal is Tonio.
Music featuring Prima
![[yt]](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/vocaloid/images/1/16/Favicon-yt.png/revision/latest?cb=20221005233455){kind=small}
| Featuring | Prima
|
|---|---|
| Producers | Weslei O. Santos
|
| Categories | Original song |
| Featuring | Prima
|
|---|---|
| Producers | thibaud76200
|
| Categories | Cover song |
"VOCALOID Prima" on Niconico Video- "VOCALOID Prima" on YouTube
"VOCALOID Prima" on bilibili
"VOCALOID Prima" on SoundCloud
Reputation
Status
| Google Trends |
| Sales |
 In the year of 2010, Crypton Future Media produced a ranking of the VOCALOIDs they sold on their website. Prima was ranked the 9th most popular as they sold, and in the process, the second most popular of the imported VOCALOIDs that Crypton sold.[4] According to a flyer for discounts on VOCALOID released in 2011, Prima was again ranked as Zero-G's 9th most popular product.[5] In 2012, she was in 20th place.[6] She would disappear from the rankings in 2013, to return in 2014 to hold the no.20 spot once again.[7] In 2015, she was the only VOCALOID2 vocal to appear on the top products, holding the no.39 spot.[8] In 2016 Prima was the 10th most sold VOCALOID on the Sonicwire website; she was the only Vocaloid2 vocal to appear and the first to be present on the rankings since 2014.[9] All 3 Zero-G VOCALOID2 vocals have not appeared in the rankings since 2016. Overall, Prima was Zero-G's most successful VOCALOID2 vocal on a long term scale, staying high up in their rankings for a much longer time and thus out competed SONiKA. |
| Reaction |
|
Prima has been held as one of the more popular English-only built VOCALOID2s overall, and acquired a higher level of recognition than the past have achieved. |
| Impact |
|
She was spotlighted in Japan during the height of the start VOCALOID craze, making her the first overseas VOCALOID to grab attention. Because of this, she is the English VOCALOID that is credited for grabbing the attention of Japanese VOCALOID fans and introducing them to the overseas VOCALOIDs, as many were surprised to hear demo songs of a VOCALOID with such a "beautiful" voice. |
| Misc |
|
An independent VOCALOID search on Nico Nico Douga revealed that most voicebanks had less than 1,000 videos uploaded to site between July 1st and December 15th. Prima fell into this category.[10] In 2012, she was in 20th place.[11] |
| Trivia |
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| Achievements |
|
References
- ↑ FAQ - Why are some voice providers not revealed?
- ↑ Engloid Blog - Zero-G Interview: Dom Keefe (Vocaloid Production)
- ↑ Official website archive.org 2016 of October]
- ↑ https://blog.sonicwire.com/2010/12/2010-vocaloid-1.html
- ↑ http://zero-glimited.cmail1.com/t/ViewEmail/y/311FC6D471A126D8/A10CC7377B4C425B1C65CA3F48968C2E
- ↑ http://zero-glimited.cmail2.com/t/ViewEmail/y/5AD208196B553E54/A10CC7377B4C425B1C65CA3F48968C2E
- ↑ http://zero-glimited.cmail2.com/t/ViewEmail/y/FF643C9A6A329D42/A10CC7377B4C425B1C65CA3F48968C2E
- ↑ http://zero-glimited.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/y/E82EF059D5D86F9E/A10CC7377B4C425B1C65CA3F48968C2E
- ↑ http://blog.sonicwire.com/2016/12/sonicwire-2016-2.html
- ↑ http://www.vocaloidism.com/2012/01/04/the-harsh-realities-of-vocaloid-on-nico/
- ↑ flyer sent to Zero-G costumers.
- ↑ Nico Nico Douga - ZGF
- ↑ tweet 2:28 AM - 5 Aug 09
- ↑ tweet 2:30 AM - 5 Aug 09
External links
| Language | Description | Site |
|---|---|---|
| English | Zero-G Limited official homepage | Link |
| English | VOCALOID2 Prima product page | Link |
| English | Link | |
| English | Prima The unofficial 'snapshot' website for VOCALOID Prima (Extant 2016 October) | Link |
| English | deviantArt, art and media community | Link |
| Japanese | Pixiv, art and media community | Link |
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