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Utaite (歌い手, lit.'singer')[a] is a Japanese term for amateur singers who post covers on the Internet, especially on sites like Niconico and YouTube. The term utattemita (歌ってみた, lit.'I tried singing') refers to the genre and culture surrounding covers by utaite, as well as the cover songs themselves, often put in the titles of such videos.
Background
Although utaite can refer to any amateur cover singer on the Internet, the term is closely associated with the Vocaloid scene, and there is much overlap between these cultures; they are said to have grown alongside each other.[1][2] Some famous utaite even double as Vocaloid producers and songwriters themselves, such as Mafumafu. Many, but not all, utaite do not publicly show their face, and instead opt to use a character to represent them.[3] Some faceless utaite like Ado and Eve have garnered enough attention to sign with labels and make their major debut,[4] while maintaining their anonymity and preserving their real-life identity.[5][6] Many popular singers in Japan had their start as utaite and later departed from the scene, revealing their identity to become traditional singers such as Reol.
Utaite became increasingly popular after the release of the Vocaloid library Hatsune Miku on August 31, 2007. The release of "Melt" (メルト, Meruto) by Supercell songwriter Ryo on Nico Nico Douga in December 2007 played a significant role in boosting the utaite community after the song was covered by numerous utaite including halyosy and Nagi Yanagi, who at the time was known as Gazelle.[7]
Part of the reason why Vocaloid songs are so often covered by utaite is because the complexity of Vocaloid songs, often written to take advantage of the inhuman capabilities of synthesized vocals, provide a challenge to human singers, and allows them to demonstrate their singing skills. Also, many Vocaloid producers choose to make the instrumental versions of their songs readily available on sites such as Piapro, allowing and directly encouraging utaite to use them for covers.[1][8]
^The word utaite, although literally translating as "singer", is not the typical word for a professional singer in Japanese, 歌手, kashu, and is distinct.