Everyone knows that Siri has been working on her language skills. However, she also keeps a closely guarded secret: she can sing.
Siri’s hidden talents are showcased in a new Flaming Lips song called, “Now I Understand.” In addition to featuring the iPhone (News - Alert) 4S ingénue, the single features Erykah Badu singing alongside Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne.
Siri has made multiple forays into the music world since her inception. Jonathan Mann sang with Siri in a duet called simply, “A Duet with Siri.” Throughout the track, Mann declares his love for the voice assistant, and she responds with either confusion or a funny comeback. In addition, Siri has split rhymes on a cover of Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize.” The track premiered at the Music Hack Day 2011 Competition day in London.
Singing is just one of Siri’s many skills. She also acted in an episode of the Big Bang (News - Alert) Theory in several scenes with Raj, an astrophysicist on the show. Raj, who is known for his bad luck with women, hits it of with Siri after purchasing an iPhone 4S. Siri doesn’t do her own vocals in this appearance; the voice of Siri is portrayed by a second actress as she interacts with the lovelorn Raj.
On “Now I Understand,” Siri can be heard addressing Coyne as she sings/speaks, “Wayne, I don’t understand the moon, the stars and the sun.”
Before Siri was acquired by Apple (News
- Alert), she got her start at SRI International in an artificial intelligence project. Her founders worked to develop a distinctive personality for the voice assistant program. “The Siri group, one of the largest software teams at Apple, fine-tuned Siri’s responses in an attempt to forge an emotional tie with its customers,” said Siri co-founder Norman Winarsky. “There were many conversations within the team about whether it should be gender neutral” or “should have an ‘attitude.’”
The multi-talented Siri can also change gender depending on the language she is speaking. In the U.S., Australia and Germany, Siri speaks as a female. However, for U.K. English and in France, Siri utilizes a male voice.
Jacqueline Lee is a TMCnet contributor who produces web content, blogs and articles for numerous websites including wikiHow.com. Her background is in business and education.Edited by
Stefania Viscusi