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Avirtual concert, also calledV-concert orvirtual live, refers to a performance in which the performers are represented byvirtual avatars. Virtual concerts can take place in real life, where digital representations of the performers are projected in on stage, or within fully digitalvirtual worlds. Real life concerts are popular inSouth Korea, where performances by groups such asGirls' Generation have attracted thousands of fans.[1] Performers in virtual concerts may represent real individuals, but can also be entirely fictitious characters likeHatsune Miku.[2]
More recently, virtual concerts have taken place invideo games. Games likeFortnite Battle Royale andMinecraft have been used by artists as venues to reach wider audiences and offer interactive experiences for attendees.[3][4]
Within theK-pop music industry, V-concerts were first introduced by several South Korean record labels such asSM Entertainment andYG Entertainment. In 1998, SM Entertainment attempted to kick start its firstholographic debut withH.O.T. (a now-defunct boy band), but failed to do so.[5]
On January 5, 2013, a breakthrough occurred after SM Entertainment held a virtual concert inGangnam District with life-sized images ofGirls’ Generation projected onto the stage, attracting thousands of K-pop fans.[1]
After its first virtual concert featuringPsy's "Gangnam Style" took off at theCOEX Convention & Exhibition Center in May 2013, the South Korean record labelYG Entertainment announced that it plans to establish 20 venues for virtual performances of its K-pop singers by the year 2015 in North America, Europe, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.[6]
On July 20, 2013, YG Entertainment launched a permanent virtual concert at theEverland theme park inYongin, South Korea. Under the slogan "K-Pop Hologram: YG at Everland", virtual performances include Psy's "Gentleman" and "Gangnam Style" as well as virtual concerts byBig Bang and2NE1.[7]
On May 27, 2022, the Swedishpop groupABBA began theABBA Voyage, a virtualconcert residency. The concerts feature virtualavatars (dubbed 'ABBAtars'), depicting the group as they appeared in 1979, and using vocals re-recorded by the group specifically for the show, accompanied by a live instrumental band on stage.[8] The concerts are held inABBA Arena, a purpose-built venue near theQueen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.[9] The digital versions of ABBA have been created withmotion capture and performance techniques with the four band members and the visual effects companyIndustrial Light & Magic, in what is the company’s first foray into music.
Since the mid-2000s, virtual concerts have also been held invirtual worlds instead of physical locations. The first major band to perform live in a virtual world wasDuran Duran, who performed inSecond Life in 2006.[10][11] In the same year,Phil Collins appeared inGrand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories performing his single "In The Air Tonight"; the concert is accessible as part of the game.[12]
In January 2019, a virtual music festival called Fire Festival (named as a play on the infamous 2017Fyre Festival) was held on a dedicatedMinecraft server. Organized by Canadian producerMax Schramp, the event was held in support of LGBT suicide prevention organizationThe Trevor Project.[13] The following month, on February 2, EDM producerMarshmello held a ten-minute concert on the main map of third-person shooterFortnite Battle Royale. The concert was viewable to anyone playing the game during that time, and a special variant of its "Team Rumble" game mode withrespawns enabled was provided for the event.[14]
Virtual concerts grew in popularity through 2020 and 2021 due to restrictions set by theCOVID-19 pandemic that made it difficult to hold traditional concerts.[4] More concerts were held inFortnite featuring artists includingTravis Scott,[3]BTS,[15]Diplo,[16] andAriana Grande[17] as interactive experiences.Fortnite would continue to host virtual concerts on a smaller and more social-oriented side map called "Party Royale".[18] On April 16, 2020, American singer-songwriterSoccer Mommy collaborated withClub Penguin Rewrittenfangame to host an in-game concert for her albumColor Theory.[19] On the social platformVRChat, a number of groups have organized digitalnightclubs and music festivals with live streamed DJ performances by users and producers, hosted in specially-designed worlds on the platform that mimic real-life venues.[20][21][22]
Many virtual performances have begun experimenting withvirtual andaugmented reality. TheWave, a dedicated platform for virtual reality concerts, launched in 2017. Artists who have performed on the platform includeImogen Heap,[23]The Glitch Mob, andKill the Noise; the service shut down in 2021, with the company stating that it was focusing on distributing its productions via "popular streaming platforms" instead.[24][25] In August 2020, Canadian singerthe Weeknd collaborated with social media platformTikTok to hold an interactive augmented reality live stream titled "The Weeknd Experience" on various dates, with the first occurring on August 7, 2020.[26]
On July 14, 2023, the company named AmazeVR launched their VR concert application,[27] featuring real footage of artists in virtual worlds created usingUnreal Engine. The app currently offers access to free songs, as well as the option to purchase full VR concerts featuring artists likeMegan Thee Stallion,Upsahl,Ceraadi,Zara Larsson, andT-Pain.
On August 25, 2023, the video gameSky: Children of the Light set aGuinness World Record for''Most users in a concert themed metaverse hangout'' as 10,061 users joined an in-game concert of Norwegian singerAurora, all on the same server.[28]
On October 27, 2023, the startup namedSensorium premiered a show developed in collaboration withCarl Cox. The 30-minute show, titled 'Intermundium[29],' showcases tracks created, produced, and performed by Carl Cox, who is represented through his avatar taking center stage during the performance. The show was made available in VR, VR-360 and 2D formats.
On November 22, 2023, it was announced thatEminem would make an appearance inFortnite during its Chapter 4 finale.[30] The Eminem show was part of 'the Big Bang Event',[31] which launched on December 2, 2023. The event attracted 10 millionFortnite players. However, the entire event's duration was only 10 minutes, with Eminem's performance lasting just 3 minutes.[32] Additionally, there were reports of difficulties in accessing the initial launch of the show.[33]
On December 2, 2023,KISS unveiled their digital avatars at the end of their final concert atMadison Square Garden in New York.[34] While the four members of KISS had left the stage, the avatars performed a song on-screen. The performance ended with the text "A NEW ERA BEGINS". No details have been announced yet about the future use of these avatars. The avatars were designed byIndustrial Light & Magic (ILM).[35]
A virtualK-pop music video costs over US$180,000 and is about two to three times more expensive than a normal K-pop video.[36]
V-concerts have been criticized by K-pop fans because singers do not appear in person and are only electronically projected onto a screen. Some claim that V-concerts could possibly endanger the quality of live music.[37]
SM has been experimenting with the holographic performances for more than a decade, although its first attempt to make H.O.T., a now-defunct boy band, a holographic debut failed in 1998.
NIK released its holographic images of Psy in World IT Show in COEX on May 23 before opening the exclusive theater for K-Pop Hologram-YG at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province this month. The Everland showcase will include the holographic performances of Psy's "Gangnam Style" and "Gentleman" in July and add more holographic content from Big Bang and 2NE1 in September. After launching the Everland theater, it will establish some 20 venues for virtual performances of its K-pop singers in major theme parks or others in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and North American and Europe by 2015.
{{cite news}}:|last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Holograms have yet to fully catch on, so making them is still expensive; one hologram video costs about 200 million won ($183,908) to make, which is two or three times more than a run-of-the-mill K-pop video.