Is That Hatsune Miku at Coachella??

It’s official, nerds: Hatsune Miku has hit the big leagues. If you’re planning on going to Coachella in 2024, you might just see everyone’s favorite Vocaloid perform.

Coachella’s lineup for its April festival was just revealed this week, and a curious, blue-haired anime girl seemed to show up in a lot of social media posts about the Saturday lineup. This caused a bit of a social media storm, leading many to ask: Wait, is Hatsune Miku really performing at Coachella?

First, before we dive into the claim, let’s clear up some facts about Hatsune Miku. The Japanese idol isn’t actually a human being; she’s a vocal synthesizer voicebank, dressed up in adorable anime attire. Designed by Crypton Future Media for its Vocaloid software, Miku took over the internet when she debuted in 2007. I distinctly and clearly remember my fellow anime fans obsessing over her during those early years, with many 20-something college students scrambling to learn the Japanese Vocaloid program so they could put Hatsune Miku to good use.

And good use, they did. Over the years, Miku has amassed an enormous collection of original songs. So, if Miku really is performing at Coachella, she certainly has a wide repertoire of hits to perform.

OK, but: Hatsune Miku is actually at Coachella?

I’ll admit, I did a double-take when I saw a viral tweet going around with Hatsune Miku’s name circled, the user shocked at her appearance on the Coachella lineup, shouting “MIKU????” At first, the skeptical journalist in me simply assumed this was a shitpost edit, clowning on Coachella’s new artist listings.

So, I sprung into action to engage in some rigorous investigative journalism, digging into the bowels of the new Coachella lineup (I googled “coachella” and went to the official site). There, I looked over the official poster, and I was shocked to see that Hatsune Miku is officially playing at Coachella 2024.

To think, the little AI anime girl that took over anime imageboards with her “Ievan Polkka” cover is now playing at one of the biggest music festivals in the world. Way to go, Miku.

Miku will play on Saturday, April 13 and April 20, and she’s listed along with such acts as FLO, The Red Pears, The Blessed Madonna, and SPINALL. So if you’re going on Saturday to catch Ice Spice, Grimes, and Tyler, the Creator, you’re in for a treat.

To be clear, people on social media lost it when they realized Hatsune Miku would be playing at Coachella.

One X user compared the Saturday lineup to an eclectic collection of Fortnite skins in the game’s lobby, given the sheer range of artists and musicians performing in just one day.

Wait, why is Hatsune Miku listed as a small artist?

Many were quick to point out that Hatsune Miku is billed as a smaller act, despite the fact Miku is an incredibly popular online musician. Miku, to be clear, has been performing live shows since 2009, and she remains far more popular than many of the smaller artists she shares a billing with in Coachella’s Saturday lineup. According to Google Trends, Miku receives far more Google searches than The Blessed Madonna, The Red Pears, Purple Disco Machine, and Charlotte de Witte—just a few of the acts listed near Miku on the Saturday lineup selection.

In fact, Google Trends shows Hatsune Miku shares a similar popularity level with Grimes. Per Google, the Vocaloid idol largely usurped Grimes in search results from fall 2022 to January 2024. Granted, some of Miku’s popularity on Google Trends could be attributed to her meme status. When J.K. Rowling and Minecraft’s Notch were both revealed to be terrible bigots, for example, social media users began declaring that Hatsune Miku actually created Harry Potter and Minecraft, respectively. Still, the joke implies that Miku’s popularity transcends music, making her an even bigger star worth a more prominent placement in the lineup.

And besides, the most popular YouTube upload featuring Hatsune Miku has 81 million views, which isn’t a far cry from Grimes’ own YouTube record: 89 million clicks on “Oblivion” (admittedly a personal favorite of mine from a decade ago). So why not list Hatsune Miku right below Tyler, the Creator? Because she’s too “weird” for Coachella concert-goers? Because she’s too “anime” and “strange” for their tastes? Pft. Coachella fans are going to see Miku, and they’re going to fall in love with this strange little blue-haired anime girl, just like the rest of us did.

So if Hatsune Miku is playing at Coachella 2024 (and she is!), then it’s time for everyone’s favorite Vocaloid queen to get the respect and love that she deserves. Bring on Miku, the creator of Harry Potter, Minecraft, and the woman who rotted my brain with viral anime songs in high school.

(featured image: Sega)