This past Wednesday, Japanese virtual idol Hatsune Miku made her U.S. television debut by performing 'live' on the "Late Show With David Letterman." The performance was meant to help promote an art show dedicated to Hatsune Miku that is opening in New York. 

Hatusne Miku is not actually a real person, but a "vocal synthesizer software" (a.k.a. Vocaloid) that is hugely popular in Japan and other parts of Asia. According to Buzzfeed, she started out as the mascot for a piece of software developed by Japanese company Crypton Future Media. Her name means "first sound from the future."

Crypton Future Media licenses out Hatsune Miku to whoever wants to work with her. Apart from her image, the Hatsune Miku fan community and the artists that use her software are the real stars behind her music. Crypton Future Media CEO Hirokyuki Ito stated, "Right after the release what happened was - on that first day even - right after the release, people were already making and uploading their music... It started to expand very fast and the popularity raced," conveying the popularity of the Vocaloid software.

On stage, Hatsune Miku is a 2D image rendered through the use of mirrors. Huge crowds of onlookers pump light sticks along with every movement she makes, effectively cheering at "a cartoon on stage." Her character is aged 16, wears her long blue hair in pigtails, and likes pop music. What's not to love?

So far, Ito is not interested in making a franchise out of the Vocaloid pop idol. According to the Huffington Post, Ito realized that Hatsune Miku is more powerful the less there is to know about her. He stated that he intends to keep Miku as "an empty canvas, a plain piece of paper, because only then, people will project their own feelings and use her as an interface."

However, that hasn't stopped Hatsune Miku from appearing on all sorts of stages. This past summer, she even toured as an opener for Lady Gaga. Yesterday while on air with David Letterman, she performed her song "Sharing the World." Given Letterman's wide grin, it was obvious that the host was in new territory.

Watch the performance here!