Supercell

Supercell (written without capitalization as often as with) is a Japanese pop/rock band that formed in 2007 which owes much of its popularity to Vocaloid, and to which we owe the existence of Black Rock Shooter (2012) as the franchise is known today. The band's leader, Ryo, is both the songwriter and producer; the ten other members of the band are illustrators and graphic artists who produce PVs, art, and booklets. supercell has no official vocalist; its songs have thus far all been sung by Miku Hatsune or freelance singers: most notably Yanaginagi (who made her debut on Nico Nico Douga under the pseudonym "Gazelle"), Koeda, and Chelly (as Egoist).

Ryo and supercell's debut was the Vocaloid smash hit "Melt", a simple love song about a shy girl walking together with the boy she has a crush on. It was first released over Nico Nico Douga in 2007, and has since become considered one of the songs which has established Miku's commonly perceived personality. It was followed up by several more releases, and as supercell gained more attention, they signed a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment. Since their self-titled Vocaloid album, most of their releases have been performed by Yanaginagi , and she is set to be the vocalist for their second album.

supercell and Yanaginagi have provided theme music for several extremely popular anime and games since their debut, among them Bakemonogatari, Cencoroll, and Nasuverse visual novel Witch on the Holy Night. Their Vocaloid song "Kocchi Muite Baby" was used as the opening for the second Project Diva Vocaloid rhythm game. Ryo also composed "Braveheart", the theme of the Black Rock Shooter (2010), although it is performed by a different band. Ryo would also provide the soundtrack to Bravely Second. Supercell made a transition to vocalist Yanaginagiwith their debut single "Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari" (2009). Two more singles featuring Yanaginagi were released in 2010, followed by Supercell's second album Today Is A Beautiful Day (2011), which was Yanaginagi's last contribution with Supercell. Following Yanaginagi's departure, Supercell held auditions for vocalists, and 15-year-old female singer Koeda was chosen out of about 2,000 candidates. Koeda's first single with Supercell is "My Dearest" (2011), and four more singles featuring Koeda were released between 2012 and 2013, followed by Supercell's third album Zigaexperientia (2013), which was Koeda's last contribution with Supercell. In 2019, Supercell chose the singers Ann and Gaku to be their new vocalists.

Supercell and Today Is A Beautiful Day were awarded a Gold Disc by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for having exceeded 100,000 copies shipped in a single year, and Supercell was chosen as one of the best five new Japanese artists of 2009 during the 2010 Japan Gold Disc Award competition.