Behold: The divabot–soon to be known as the greatest threat to the music industry since Napster.

From PopSci:

Using breath-analysis software and mouth-movement observations, engineers in Japan have taught a robot how to sing. The divabot, an HRP-4 with a creepily realistic tilting head, blinks and opens her mouth as she croons, even mimicking the facial expressions of the human singer.

Researchers used a real singer as a model, recording her every move as she sang.

Masataka Goto, who leads the Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology’s media interaction group, explains that researchers developed a software program called VocaListener to synthesize notes, and a program called Vocawatcher to analyze a singer’s facial tics as she belts out a tune. The robot’s head therefore follows the roll, pitch and yaw movements of the real singer.

Check out the above video to see the divabot in action: She sings! She dances wobbles! As you can see, Miss Robo-Thang is giving every other pop ho in the building a run for her money (yen?).

Sugary electro-vocals gleeful and piercing enough to make Perfume burst into tears? Check.

Minimal hip-swaying ‘dance moves’ sharp enough to snatch Katy Perry‘s tattered blue wig? Check.

And as for that impeccable stage presence? I’ll be damned if the gays in Camp Ke$ha and the Haus of Gaga aren’t already scrambling to Google “implant Auto-Tune into human brain” at this very moment.

In conclusion: Robots are taking over the world.

But what else is new? We already have a working model here in America–and she’s still going strong.

Both of their album covers are mind blowing eyegasms and you can almost see the pixie dust floating through the air song after song. This is the fiercest of the fierce, the best of the best, corniest of the corny and, at times, sluttiest of the sluts. We’re talking about Perfume’s sophomore release, Game. And trust me, these girls are far from the scent you can find at your local dollar store.

The albums opener track, “Polyrhythm,” paints a landscape for what the album takes you through, which is nothing short of a ride through luxurious dance grooves, boom-tss beats, synth heavy madness and cute high pitched vocals that sound more innocent than Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen back when they were on Full House. Perfume continue their hard ass Pop beats through the next two tracks “Plastic Smile” and “GAME.” The albums title track may have the best production on a dance track that has been produced in years.

Even when Perfume takes the slower route for songs such as “Baby Cruising Love,” they know just what to do to keep your attention: vocals that are drawn out, sugary, sweet and sound like they’re rather bored with life at times. They even thrown in a great sounding snare drum.

“Chocolate Disco” may throw you off. Its title sounds like it’d be something that would end up on a Dora the Explorer soundtrack, but I assure you that both this song and “Macaroni,” the song that follows, are filled with nothing but pure camp, pop happiness. The song named after the pasta allows you to take a break from an album that could’ve been named “WEWILLATTACKYOUWITHOURSYNTHS,” with a beat that is stripped down for a more laid back feel.

Sometimes, I feel like pulling a Britney Spears and dancing on a pole. Up until this point, if I had the chance to pull off a stripper move, I would’ve probably told the DJ to turn on Out Hud’s “How Long” and let my inner Lindsay Lohan shine (see I Know Who Killed Me,) however, out with the hud and in with the “Take Me, Take Me.” A song which smells of electronic sex and date rape drugs, Perfume tells the listener “take me, take me, take me tonight,” over and over again. I’m unsure what the Japanese lyrics are actually saying, but I’m sure that they’re equally as sexy.

The girls, who sound like they’re talented eight year olds, get creative on us with “Secret, Secret.” The song starts out with four measures, and after the third the track fades out–only to come at you with a subtle nudge, until the song is built up into a dance frenzy.

By the time the last three songs come on, one of two things will happen to you. Choice number one: you’ll continue listening or choice two: You will want to turn it off because you cant take the boom-tss anymore. Lets pretend that this time I chose choice number one and go on with the review. “Twinkle Snow, Powdery Snow,” is another song title that sounds like something Mariah Carey would pull off the top of her head while she is sitting in her home studio, leaning up against her pink road cases. However, rest assured that this song is nothing like Mariah Carey’s bummer new album E=MC2.

I give this album an absolute perfect rating. If you’re looking at this album from a dance perspective, there are no flaws. Its like they took Madonna‘s Confessions on a Dancefloor, and turned it into J-pop bliss. Perfume should’ve called this album “Hard Candy,” because it sure suits this record, more than it does Madonna’s new release.

Recommended listens from “GAME” by Perfume:
-Polyrhythm
-Game
-Baby Cruising Love
-Macaroni
-Take Me, Take Me

Supplying an all-out type of frantic energy that only pico-pop can supply, the girls of Perfume formed their group back in 2001 in their hometown, Hiroshima. The J-Pop group had a shaky start with a slew of independent releases. However, their persistence paid off after a couple of years. Relying upon crashing crescendos, synthesized scaling, and vocal distortion beyond all reality, Perfume shot to fame with their fifth (tenth overall) single, “POLYRHYTHM” after the song was attached to a Japanese recycling campaign in 2005. With the help of Capsule‘s production, the song became a smash hit, allowing the band to deliver chart topping hits ever since.

Now, the girls are gearing up for their second major label album release, entitled Game, which will be out on April 16. Their sound may be interpreted as too childish to some, too processed for others, but for true appreciators of pico-pop, look no further.

For a preview of an upcoming track, check out this radio rip of their song “Secret Secret”.

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DL: Perfume – POLYRHYTHM
DL: Perfume – Computer City