Hatsune Miku review – hologram star fires up crowdsourced power pop

O2 Academy, Brixton, London
The virtual Vocaloid singer gives online devotees a non-stop real-world rave and a chance to light their glowsticks

On Saturday night, a singer with a 13-year career played only her second London headline show. Naturally, the venue was packed out with rapt, merchandise-clad fans eager to see her live. But "live", in this instance, is a loose concept - because Hatsune Miku is a hologram, or virtual idol.

Miku's name comes from a blend of the Japanese words for "first", "sound" and "future" and the turquoise-haired avatar was created by Japanese software company Crypton, as the face of Yamaha's Vocaloid software, in 2007. Independently produced freeware can be downloaded by anyone and used to create a song in Miku's piercingly sweet vocal. In terms of her tracks, she's the world's first crowdsourced pop star. Her setlist pulled from the more than 100,000 songs that have been made in Miku's name, and that have amassed an international fandom that has propelled her to performing on the Late Show with David Letterman, a Lady Gaga tour, and this year, even at Coachella.