Japan’s Oldest Record Company Is Launching an AI Singer With a Very Modern Twist
Japan’s oldest record company is launching AI singer HIKARI KODAMA as part of a new “cyber enka” experiment mixing traditional Japanese music, AI and dance beats.
Nippon Columbia, founded in 1910, has unveiled HIKARI KODAMA, a virtual singer created for its new Neo Kobushi label. She will make her official music debut on October 1 with the single Yobeba, Hikari.
But this isn’t simply another AI-generated pop star. Nippon Columbia wants to use artificial intelligence to reinvent enka, a distinctive Japanese style built around powerful vocals, emotion and dramatic songs about subjects including love and heartbreak.
The company is calling the new sound “cyber enka.”
What is cyber enka?
The idea mixes elements of traditional enka with faster modern dance beats and AI technology.
AI is being used across much more than HIKARI’s appearance. Nippon Columbia says the technology is being incorporated into music production, vocals, visuals and music videos, while human creators remain involved throughout the process.
The company has already released teaser videos showing what the experiment looks and sounds like ahead of the official October launch.
And Nippon Columbia isn’t treating this as a one-song novelty. Neo Kobushi plans to release around four tracks every month after launch, potentially producing approximately 50 new songs during its first year.
A real singer will perform alongside the AI star
One of the most unusual parts of the project is that HIKARI won’t exist completely separately from human performers.
Japanese enka singer Luca Mochizuki is also joining the project, with Nippon Columbia planning collaborations between its real and virtual artists.
The company is even planning a combined VR and real-world concert featuring Luca and HIKARI in 2027, potentially putting a human singer and AI performer together in the same entertainment experience.
A five-member group called ENKA GIRLS REVOLUTION will also be part of the new label.
Japan wants to take the idea worldwide
There’s an international ambition behind the experiment too. Nippon Columbia says it wants to combine Japanese musical culture with new technology and take the resulting entertainment to audiences around the world.
That could make HIKARI particularly interesting outside Japan. Virtual performers are already familiar to millions of international fans through Japanese pop culture, but this project is coming from a record company with more than a century of history behind it.
Rather than using AI to leave its past behind, Nippon Columbia is attempting something very different: using the newest technology it can find to keep one of Japan’s oldest musical traditions moving forward.
