[instiz] WINNING #1 ON MUSIC SHOWS, CONCERTS SOLD OUT WITH 70K PEOPLE…. PUSHING AWAY “REAL LIFE” IDOLS

Virtual idols, born from the fusion of K-pop and cutting-edge technology, are growing their presence in the major music scene. It appears that large entertainment companies are jumping into the virtual idol market. Hybe brought voice AI technology to the forefront through singer Midnatt, and KakaoPage introduced the virtual girl group audition ‘RE:VERSE’. Kakao Entertainment debuted the virtual group MAVE: together with Metaverse Entertainment. Lim Hee-yoon, a pop music critic, said, “When the virtual model first came out, there was an ‘uncanny valley’ reaction (anxiety felt when seeing robots similar to humans, etc.), but now there are success stories. “It is natural for large agencies to try virtual services,” he analyzed.

The origin of virtual idols is Adam, ‘Korea’s first cyber singer’ who debuted in 1998. Plave and ‘RE”VERSE’ are an evolution of the Adam method in which a person sang behind a virtual character. When a person puts on the equipment, a virtual character appears on the screen and shows the character’s words and movements. Plave’s 2nd mini album ‘Asterum: 134-1’, released in February, sold 570,000 copies in one week, and all of the included songs entered the top ranks of music charts. ‘RE:VERSE’ was also conducted in the form of participants from girl groups wearing 3D equipment and broadcasting images.

MAVE:, a four-member virtual idol, has a different system from ‘RE:VERSE’. They’re virtual beings created with AI technology, from appearance to voice, without a human being. Naevis, which will be introduced soon, is a virtual world character that supports aespa in the real world and ae-aespa, their avatar in the virtual world. There is a lot of interest in the news that a virtual character that only appeared in the world will debut as a singer. It is known that naevis’ voices is produced by analyzing the voices of 12 voice actors using AI. An SM official said, “We will use AI technology to create movements and voices, and even enable real-time communication.”