From left: Virtual influencer Rina and virtual idol group Mave who are both artistes under Metaverse Entertainment. Clasping her hands, Rina greets passengers onboard a Korean Air plane. Her glossy hair, cut in an asymmetrical bob, bounces ever so slightly as she begins to highlight the safety features of the plane.
Just like your traditional idols, all these virtual idols can perform at concerts, appear on music shows, and interact with fans. It’s capable of scanning objects as small as 30cm and as large as a human. It can even transfer textures and many types of clothing into virtual reality. “We initially used AI, but as generative images can sometimes create discomfort, we now rely more on 3D technology,” explained Kim.In an era where real-life idol groups such as BTS, Twice, NewJeans and Stray Kids are still thriving and bringing in big bucks, the concept of virtual idols might seem redundant.Metaverse Entertainment’s head of virtual human department Kim Ki-deuk.
The results speak for themselves. Mave’s debut song has over 30 million views on YouTube and Plave currently has one of the best-selling albums of the year. Now you might be wondering how one interviews a virtual idol. Well, Zena is “performed” by an actual artiste whose identity remains anonymous. On the day of the interview, the artiste answered questions from Metaverse Entertainment’s VFX studio in a private video call with us as cameras transformed her into Zena in real time.For Zena, the greatest joy of being a virtual idol comes from being able to present different sides of herself.