Originally Oliver's boxart had male American Goldfinch and was present because the artist felt it made the art look a little more balanced and complimented Oliver's soon to be released design. It is also a little nod to the fact that a lot of Americans worked on this project.[1] The name of the bird was left to be decided amongst the fans of Oliver and eventually "James" became the popular choice. James has since developed his own identity apart from Oliver.
According to Oliver's Twitter, the account is actually maintained by James who types out everything Oliver says and declared James as his name.[2] Vocatone also played on James' popularity during the PV Dinky Dink, where James can be seen wearing sunglasses.
James is also viewed as having a intellect on level with humans, as evidenced by his abilities not only to use a keyboard (to maintain Oliver's Twitter account), but also to be able to talk.
Despite being dubbed "James" by the fans and Oliver's Twitter, take note that the name still remains a fan-given name and that nowhere on the offical boxart is the name even mentioned. A staff member of Vocatone has stated that the name James is still not "canon."[3]
On April 1st 2012, Vocatones ran a April fools joke announcing James will become a Vocaloid 3 voicebank.[4][5]