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virtual band In entertainment, a virtual band (also called a virtual idol, virtual singer, virtual group, virtual artists, cartoon group, cartoon idol, cartoon singer or cartoon band) is a band or music group whose depicted members are not people, but animate ...
created by
video game developer A video game developer is a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large business with em ...
Tetsuya Mizuguchi and
record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
Kenji Tamai. Rachel Rhodes portrayed the band's frontwoman, a fictional 17-year-old girl named Lumi who was the first human born in outer space on the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
on September 11, 2019.


Biography


2006-2008: Genki Rockets I: Heavenly Star

The two producers behind Genki Rockets are renowned digital media creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi of
Q Entertainment was a Japanese video game developer. The studio created, produced, and published digital entertainment content across multiple game consoles, PC broadband and mobile units. It was founded on October 10, 2003 by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, formerly of S ...
, and Kenji Tamai, a renowned music producer and CEO of Agehasprings Corporation, who has produced other musicians and acts such as Yuki,
Yuna Ito is an American-born former pop singer and actress who was active in Japan. Ito made her musical debut in Japan with the single, " Endless Story", which was used as one of the theme songs for the popular 2005 film '' Nana''; she also starred in ...
, Base Ball Bear, and TRF. Mizuguchi co-produced and wrote the lyrics for the first song, "Heavenly Star", and directed the
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
, which debuted in the
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
'' Lumines II'' and was later used in the
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
game '' No More Heroes''. An
AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Airborne aircraft carrier, a type of aircraft * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New ...
version of the song began selling on the iTunes Store in December 2006 and was eventually accompanied by several different
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
es from various artists such as Metalmouse,
Headwaters The headwater of a river or stream is the geographical point of its beginning, specifically where surface runoff water begins to accumulate into a flowing channel of water. A river or stream into which one or many tributary rivers or streams flo ...
, Techriders, and DJ Sodeyama (the "Count Down", "Glorious", "Love", "Space Walk", "Sunrise", "Aurora", "Floating", and "LnM Projekt" remixes). "Heavenly Star" was nominated for the ''Best Song'' category at the 2006
Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...
Video Game Awards. The original song, seven remixes, and a second song, "Breeze", were released as a
maxi single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...
on July 4, 2007. The single peaked at number 24 on the
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
charts and stayed on the charts for 15 weeks. In September 2007, "Breeze" received its own standalone single and video and was later remixed several times. In October 2007, a "Heavenly Star" trance remix single was released on 12" vinyl by Avex Trax's sublabel Rhythm Republic; it featured remixes by Overhead Champion, Delaction and DJ Ten. Genki Rockets was also awarded with the Best New Artist (Electronic) Award in 2007 by iTunes. In 2008, the Genki Rockets released two new songs: the medium-tempo "Smile" was released for download on March 23, and the rock-influenced "Star Line" became downloadable on May 14. A music video for "Star Line" was also released around the same time. "Smile" was used in an advertisement for the Menard Facial Salon and "Star Line" was used in promotions for the annual 4-day sale held by Parco. It was later announced that the two songs, along with three remixes, would be featured on Genki Rockets' second maxi single through Avex Trax, which was released on June 11, 2008. The single was followed a month later on July 2 by the release of the group's debut album, '' Genki Rockets I: Heavenly Star''. On November 24, 2008, Genki Rockets participated in the YouTube Live Tokyo event, playing a non-stop mix of their most popular songs.


2009-2011: Genki Rockets II - No Border Between Us

In January 2009, a 15-second clip of a previously unreleased song called "Reaching for the Stars" was used for Parco Japanese department store advertising a 4-day sale. Throughout the year, Genki Rockets did not release any original material, but performed at various live events, such as ''House Nation''. The group remixed two tracks for Japanese artists, Crystal Kay's "Koi ni Ochitara" (included on the album " The Best Remixes of CK"), and Floor on the Intelligence's "Fade" (included on the album "Romaholic"). In 2010, Genki Rockets created the world's first 3D and full CG music video, and presented it at
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
's "make.believe" 3D event in Japan. This made Genki Rockets the first to ever host a live 3D concert in the world. In June 2010, a remix of "Star Line" was used in the reveal trailer for the interactive video game '' Child of Eden''. The game was produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Q Entertainment, and published by
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. Lumi is featured heavily in ''Child of Eden'', with the central plot focusing on rescuing "Project Lumi" from a malevolent force. The game's soundtrack is composed entirely of Genki Rockets songs and remixes. At the 2010 IFA exhibition in Berlin, the group performed daily at
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
's "make.believe" stand. In January 2011, Genki Rockets performed in the United States for the first time at the CES convention, where a preview of the new song "Curiosity" debuted. Throughout the year, the new songs "Reaching for the Stars" and "Touch Me" were used in Japanese television advertisements. Commercial ringtones of the songs were made available for download through the Japanese ringtone store Chaku-uta. In June 2011, the 3D music video for "Curiosity" was released, showcasing Lumi dancing on a futuristic platform surrounded by holograms. Genki Rockets' second album, '' Genki Rockets II: No Border Between Us,'' was released on September 7, 2011. The album updates the band's biography, Lumi has visited the Earth when she reaches 20 years old in 2039.


Image and artistry

Genki Rockets' music videos are all almost entirely computer-generated, and all feature Lumi (who sometimes appears as a digitization and other times in the flesh). The visual art style for the "Heavenly Star" video was created by Japan's Glamoove Inc., and was inspired by Norwegian band
A-ha A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...
's music video for their single "
Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by Norwegian synth-pop band a-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff (producer), John Ratcliff. The 1985 international ...
". During live performances, a DJ (wearing a
space suit A space suit (or spacesuit) is an environmental suit used for protection from the harsh environment of outer space, mainly from its vacuum as a highly specialized pressure suit, but also its temperature extremes, as well as radiation and ...
costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...
to conceal their identity) controls a
DJ mixer A DJ mixer is a type of audio mixing console used by disc jockeys (DJs) to control and manipulate multiple audio signals. Some DJs use the mixer to make seamless transitions from one song to another when they are playing records at a dance club. ...
to play a
DJ mix A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically beatmixing, mixed together by a Disc jockey, DJ to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as Phonograph, tur ...
, while Lumi appears to the audience via
bleeding edge Emerging technologies are technologies whose development, practical applications, or both are still largely unrealized. These technologies are generally new but also include old technologies finding new applications. Emerging technologies are o ...
electronic visual display An electronic visual display is a display device that can display images, video, or text that is transmitted electronically. Electronic visual displays include television sets, computer monitors, and digital signage. They are ubiquitous in mobile ...
. Singers Rachel Rhodes and Nami Miyahara provide the vocals for the fictional character Lumi. Rei also appears as Lumi on the group's album covers, in their music videos, and in the 2011 video game '' Child of Eden''. Rei noted that at first her voice and appearance are strongly processed, but later the processing effect had become weaker and her identity became more clear.


Notable Live Performances


Charity

The "Heavenly Star" pack was available for purchase for Lumines Live! on the
Xbox Live Marketplace Xbox Games Store (formerly Xbox Live Marketplace) was a digital distribution platform previously used by Microsoft's Xbox 360 and formerly by the Xbox One. The service allowed users to download or purchase video games (including both Xbox Live Ar ...
from June 27, 2007 to July 17, 2007. A remix of the song was available in the "SOS Campaign Charity Pack". A portion of the proceeds were donated to
Live Earth Live Earth was an event developed to increase Environmentalism, environmental awareness through entertainment. Background Founded by producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Live Earth 2007 The 1st series ...
.


Other appearances

"Heavenly Star" first appeared in '' Lumines II'' and can also be heard as a background song for a number of cutscenes and shop sections in the Wii game '' No More Heroes''. It is the opening theme of the fictional anime "Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly" that exists in the '' No More Heroes'' universe. The music video can also be viewed on Travis' television in the Japanese and European versions of the game. Mizuguchi's videogame, '' Child of Eden'', features Lumi as the central character, as well as music from Genki Rockets. Japanese electropop singer Mitsuki Aira performed a cover of the song during concerts, and a rare CD copy of it was distributed during the live shows. A Cantonese version of "Heavenly Star" was recently introduced in Hong Kong, featured on pop singer
Jill Vidal Jill Vidal () often referred to as Wei Si or simply as Jill, is a Hong Kong–based urban pop singer and actress. She is of Filipino, Korean, and Chinese ethnicity. Her twin sister, Janice Vidal, is also a singer in Hong Kong. Career Music ...
's new album ''Jillympics'', released on August 8, 2008. It is the first track of the album, titled "Youth We Can Hear" in Chinese. Rhodes sang Heavenly Star live at 23rd World Scout Jamboree and Count Down TV Special. She also sang Heavenly Star in Christmas Special Live 2014 and Touch Me in 2015. Her first solo debut album also included Heavenly Star (Acoustic Version). She sang Heavenly Star again in her concert "It’s you" at Billboard Live TOKYO 2021. On March 7th of 2024, on the Playstation official YouTube Channel, they post a new music video in collaboration with Japanese singer
Aimer is a J-pop, Japanese pop singer and lyricist signed to Sacra Music and managed by Agehasprings. Her stage name comes from the French verb 'to love'. Aimer uses the name aimerrhythm for lyrics credits. Debuting in 2011, she has released seven ...
. The song nam
「Play Goes On」


Discography


Albums

* 008.07.02 Genki Rockets I: Heavenly Star (元気ロケッツ I -Heavenly Star-) * 011.09.07 Genki Rockets II: No Border Between Us (元気ロケッツ II No Border Between Us) * 012.08.08 Genki Rockets II: -No border between us- Repackage (元気ロケッツ II -No border between us- Repackage)


Singles

* 007.07.04Heavenly Star / Breeze *
008.06.11 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European '' *oḱtṓ(w)-'', and as such cognate wi ...
Star Line / Smile * 010.06.06Make.Believe / Flow


Vinyl

* 007.02.16Heavenly Star * 007.08.24Breeze * 007.10.11Heavenly Star (TRANCE MIX) * 007.11.23Breeze (REMIX) * 008.07.16Star Surfer


Music Videos

* 010.12.22make.believe 3D Music Clips e.p. * 011.06.27Curiosity" 3D Music Clips e.p.


Digital Downloads

* 008.03.26Smile * 008.05.14Star Line * 008.08.13Genki Rockets iTunes Live From Tokyo * 010.06.06Make.Believe / Flow * 011.04.27Reaching for the Stars (CM ver.) * 011.04.27Touch Me (CM ver.)


Remixes

* 007.07.18Melody (Genki Rockets Remix) - FreeTEMPO * 008.01.06Life Is Once (Genki Rockets Remix) - Alpha * 009.07.08Fade (Genki Rockets Remix) - Floor on the Intelligence * 009.12.16Koi ni Ochitara (Genki Rockets Remix) -
Crystal Kay is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host. After releasing her first single, "Eternal Memories" (1999), Crystal Kay gained fame for her third studio album, ''Almost Seventeen'' (2002), which debuted at number 2 on the Japanese O ...
* 011.06.15Bad Girl (Korean Version - Genki Rockets Remix) - Beast * 012.10.03Fuyu no Diamond (Re-echoed by Genki Rockets) - Aimer * 013.03.20Hoshi no Kieta Yoru ni (Re-echoed by Genki Rockets) - Aimer * 013.12.04Best of my Love -Genki Rockets Remix- - Rei Yasuda


Compilations / Other

* 007.05.23HOUSE NATION Tea Dance Vol.0 * 007.08.08HOUSE NATION Tea Dance - Premiere Gig * 007.08.29SUPER★BEST TRANCE PRESENTS DJ Marie in CELEBRITY MIX * 007.12.05HOUSE NATION Tea Dance - Second Gig * 007.12.05SUPER★BEST TRANCE 08 * 007.12.26TOKYO AUTO SALON 2008 presents EVOLUTION #04 * 008.01.09D.A.D presents LUXURY HOUSE * 008.01.23THE BEST OF OVERHEAD CHAMPION * 008.01.30SPEED & POWER STYLE 2008 * 008.02.20Alpha - Life is once * 008.02.27SUPER★BEST TRANCE x ULTRA Z-TRANCE 03 * 008.07.02HOUSE NATION - beach * 008.07.2320years 200hits -Complete Best Collection Box- * 008.07.2320th Anniversary -THE LEGEND OF INTERNATIONAL DANCE TRAX- * 008.08.06HOUSE NATION - Best Gig * 008.08.06SUPER★BEST TRANCE 09 * 008.09.17ZIP DANCE NATION ZIP-FM 15th ANNIVERSARY ~BEST HIT DANCE~ * 008.12.10HOUSE NATION - Fourth Gig * 009.01.21DAISHI DANCE remix. * 009.02.04Hadaka no Koi ga Shitai Kara. Season 3 (裸の恋がしたいから。Season 3) * 009.03.04CLUB LEGEND 20th -1988-2008- THE BEST OF BEST 50 * 009.03.0420years 200hits Complete Best + aLOVE * 009.07.08Floor on the Intelligence - Romaholic * 009.08.05PANIC Level 01 * 009.10.07HOUSE NATION Terminal Disco * 009.12.16Crystal Kay - THE BEST REMIXES of CK * 010.07.07DJ Kaya - Japanation * 010.08.04HOUSE NATION Complete Best * 010.10.20DJ Hello Kitty In The Mix * 010.12.15Gossip * 010.12.22Ongaku 3D Sengen! - 3D Music Video Selection Vol.00 * 011.02.23Francfranc presents BLOOMIN' Garden * 016.06.22Tropical Disco Remix


References


External links

*
Genki Rockets on Sony Music Entertainment Japan
{{Authority control Japanese pop music groups Bands with fictional stage personas Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups from Tokyo Video game musicians