Gorillaz was a game-changer in the surprisingly deep history of virtual artists

"Clint Eastwood" was huge, but not actually the music world's introduction to virtual bands.

By Derrick Rossignol | November 11, 2026 | 1:00pm

(Image: Gorillaz)

Music Features Gorillaz

Gorillaz was a game-changer in the surprisingly deep history of virtual artists

Writer Alan Martin and illustrator Jamie Hewlett were the stars of Deadline magazine (the British comics magazine that stopped publishing in 1995, not the one you’re thinking of). This was thanks to Tank Girl, their hit comic series that even got a live-action movie adaptation in 1995. Among the comic’s fans was Graham Coxon, of the U.K. Britpop band Blur. He was such an enthusiast that in 1990, he arranged to have Hewlett interview Blur for the magazine.

That went fine, but Coxon didn’t stay a fan for long. As Hewlett later explained, at some point after meeting, “I started going out with Graham’s ex-girlfriend, so he hated me.” As for Blur singer Damon Albarn, that relationship wasn’t great, either: Hewlett thought he was “arsey, a wanker.” They eventually warmed up to each other, and by 1997, they were flatmates in London. They didn’t just share that space with each other: it became a major party spot. One eventful night, members of Radiohead, Pavement, and the Spice Girls showed up. Another afternoon, the two got back-to-back voicemails from David Bowie and Pete Townshend, both wondering when the next party was.

“It had to stop,” Albarn later said. “You start looking at yourself and thinking, ‘I’m behaving in a disgusting way. It’s good fun but I’m not happy with it. I can’t possibly do this for much longer.'”

Though that apartment produced some wild moments, it was a calm scene that ended up being most important. “One day, we were home watching MTV with our eyes just kind of glazed,” Hewlett said in a 2005 interview. “Because if you watch MTV for too long, it’s a bit like hell—there’s nothing of substance there. So we got this idea for a cartoon band, something that would be a comment on that.” With Albarn leading the charge musically and Hewlett spearheading the visual identity, the two began work on a project they would eventually name Gorillaz.

The term “virtual band” was popularized to describe the group, consisting of cartoon members 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, and Noodle. Their self-titled debut album arrived in March 2001. Fueled by the moody lead single “Clint Eastwood,” the album was a hit, peaking at number three on the U.K. charts and just outside the top 10 in the U.S. Albarn was the quarterback, but he brought plenty of teammates on board, too, embracing a collaborative energy to deliver diversity and variety of perspective to the stylistically adventurous but cohesive LP.

Gorillaz turned 25 years old in 2026 and it has remained appreciated since its release; “Clint Eastwood” has over 1.2 billion streams on just Spotify and the album is beloved as one of its era’s finest. More broadly, Gorillaz are recognized as pioneers of the virtual band space. What’s important to understand, though, is that they’re far from the first to do it.

If a “virtual band” is defined as a musical act represented by animated characters, the first popular example has to be The Chipmunks, who emerged in the late ’50s and were, with all due respect, a far bigger phenomenon than Gorillaz. Not only was 1958’s “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)” a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, but it was nominated for Record Of The Year at the first-ever Grammys. It missed out on that award but did pick up three other trophies: Best Recording for Children, Best Comedy Performance, and Best Engineered Record—Non-Classical.

The following decade, there was a spell where virtual groups took over television. The Archies, of Archie Comics and The Archie Show fame, yielded 1969’s “Sugar, Sugar,” the defining song of the bubblegum pop movement. Though not quite as influential, Josie And The Pussycats, another product of the Archie Comics universe, were also a memorable cartoon band.

Depending on if you want to include puppets in the virtual band realm, Dr. Teeth And The Electric Mayhem debuted on The Muppet Show in 1975. We have them to thank for Animal, perhaps the most iconic, or at least most wigged-out, fictional drummer. Speaking of The Muppets, Kermit The Frog’s The Muppet Movie soundtrack cut “Rainbow Connection” was a Grammy-nominated hit and perhaps the best amphibian-sung song ever.

That distinction sounds like a joke, but there is actual competition for that title and it arrived a few decades later. In 2005, Crazy Frog, a 3D-animated character, released “Axel F,” a new take on the song of the same name from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. It was an especially major hit in Europe, where it went number one in a handful of countries. The situation gets stranger, surprisingly: The whole time, in promotional images and videos (here’s the “Axel F” single cover art and the “Axel F” video, for example), Crazy Frog just straight-up had his penis and scrotum out, which I don’t think I realized as a kid but finally clocked within the past couple years. He truly was a crazy frog.

Shortly after that, another animated animal, German virtual musician Gummibär, took over. “I’m A Gummy Bear (The Gummy Bear Song)” was a monster hit as a ringtone back when people paid to have specific ringtones. A 30-second clip was also a big-time meme before that word entered the cultural lexicon, reportedly racking up as many as 30 million views on online platforms like MySpace and the then-new YouTube in 2007.

This was around the time the Adult Swim animated series Metalocalypse debuted in 2006. It was one of the greatest black comedies of its era, focusing on Dethklok, a fictional death metal band that wields a level of cultural and economic influence on par with that of major countries. The real-life version of the group, consisting of actual human members as opposed to the show’s characters, actually earned the respect of the metal community: In 2009, they joined a tour with Mastodon, Converge, and High On Fire. Their first three albums also had impressive chart showings on the Billboard 200, with their third release, 2012’s Dethalbum III, debuting and peaking at number 10.

Also happening at the same time was the ascent of Hatsune Miku, the name of a Vocaloid synthesizer software and its turquoise-haired anime-style mascot. The character, a cartoon pop idol, has developed a cult following, and has even had ongoing collaborations with the Pokémon franchise since 2023.

One of the most successful virtual artists ever is somewhat adjacent and actually became a phenomenon recently. The Netflix musical KPop Demon Hunters was a culture-defining success, and so too was the music by the film’s fictional K-pop group HUNTR/X. The soundtrack album topped the U.S. charts, as did the lead single “Golden.” Earlier this year, the track became the first K-pop song to win a Grammy, taking home the trophy for Best Song Written for Visual Media. It also won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Some virtual bands have had higher highs than Gorillaz over the past half-century. Yet, 2-D and the rest continue to define the space. Maybe it’s because they were the first act given that label. Maybe it’s because they’ve been around for a couple decades. Maybe it’s because they’re not a novelty, because the music has always been more impactful than the characters playing it.

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