{"id":5863,"date":"2025-05-02T09:11:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T09:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=5863"},"modified":"2025-05-02T09:11:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T09:11:36","slug":"meet-plave-the-virtual-k-pop-group-taking-tech-and-talent-to-new-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=5863","title":{"rendered":"Meet PLAVE: The virtual K-Pop group taking tech and talent to new heights"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>PLAVE, a five-member K-pop group composed entirely of virtual avatars, has taken the music world by storm.<\/p>\n<p>With chart-topping hits, television appearances, and sold-out concerts, they mirror the trajectory of traditional K-pop idols\u00a0except they exist in two dimensions.<\/p>\n<p>Members Yejun, Noah, Eunho, Bamby, and Hamin are brought to life through advanced motion-capture technology, giving fans a fully immersive experience without ever revealing the real people behind the digital curtain.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking with Reuters under the condition of anonymity, the group shared their aspirations of global recognition akin to BTS.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t often get to meet our fans so when we meet them at a concert we get very excited,\u201d said pink-haired member Bamby. \u201cThey cheer for us together&#8230; We make an all-out effort when we perform.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PLAVE\u2019s unique approach sets them apart from other virtual acts. Unlike AI-generated performers, their movements and vocals are human-controlled in real time.<\/p>\n<p>Vlast, the company behind the group, revealed that during concerts, the in-house motion-capture studio links directly to the concert venue, allowing PLAVE members to see and react to live fan feedback.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis setup includes a feedback system that allows the members to see fan reactions from the concert venue as they perform,\u201d Vlast CEO Lee Sung-gu explained.<\/p>\n<p>Their latest album, Caligo Pt.1, made waves earlier this year by selling over one million copies in a single week and topping South Korean music charts.<\/p>\n<p>The band has amassed over 470 million YouTube views since their 2023 debut and even landed on the Billboard Global 200 chart.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the growing presence of artificial intelligence in entertainment, Vlast is doubling down on motion-capture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s our unique strength,\u201d said CEO Lee. The mystery behind the real-life performers only adds to the allure for fans like Chang Ya Han, a 30-year-old from Taiwan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe love they give us, the way they drive us to become better, or how I wake up every day wanting to see them, that feeling is the same,\u201d she shared during a crowded fan event in Seoul.<\/p>\n<p>As a &#8220;virtual entertainment&#8221; startup, Vlast has secured investments from major K-pop powerhouses like HYBE and YG Plus.<\/p>\n<p>In an industry increasingly embracing metaverse and AI-driven experiences, PLAVE is a frontrunner in redefining what it means to be an idol. Music critic Kim Do Heon points to accessibility as a key part of their appeal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s expensive to go to an idol group\u2019s concert and you need to use a paid messaging app to interact with them these days,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the accessibility of cyber singers makes it much easier to like them.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PLAVE, a five-member K-pop group composed entirely of virtual avatars, has taken the music world by storm. With chart-topping hits, television appearances, and sold-out concerts, they mirror the trajectory of traditional K-pop idols\u00a0except they exist in two dimensions. Members Yejun, Noah, Eunho, Bamby, and Hamin are brought to life through advanced motion-capture technology, giving fans [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5863\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}