{"id":158669,"date":"2025-05-15T18:08:17","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T22:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/05\/15\/behind-the-screens-with-plave-k-pops-biggest-completely-virtual-band-yet-2\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T18:08:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T22:08:17","slug":"behind-the-screens-with-plave-k-pops-biggest-completely-virtual-band-yet-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/05\/15\/behind-the-screens-with-plave-k-pops-biggest-completely-virtual-band-yet-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Screens With PLAVE, K-Pop\u2019s Biggest Completely Virtual Band\u00a0Yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tOn April 13, the Circle Chart \u2014 South Korea\u2019s longest-running music ranking, and its equivalent to the RIAA \u2014 unveiled its latest musician milestones. Alongside accomplishments by Blackpink\u2019s Jisoo, NewJeans and BTS, stood PLAVE \u2014 a boy band whose members\u2019 real-life identities are hidden behind digital avatars, but whose commercial performance and ambitions rival K-pop\u2019s biggest human acts.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor almost three decades, Korean music companies have attempted to develop cyber singers, with mixed results. But none have broken through like PLAVE, which with its third mini\u2011album, February\u2019s Caligo Pt.\u00a01<\/em>, became the first entirely virtual Korean act to surpass 1\u00a0million units sold, according to Circle Chart. But much like Gorillaz \u2014 the virtual British band created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett \u2014 the members of PLAVE are, behind the screens that project their avatars, real artists proving they can have real impact without revealing their faces or personal lives.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\tPLAVE \"Dash\"<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tVirtual Group PLAVE Scores Four Debuts on Billboard Global\u00a0Charts\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tPLAVE was conceptualized in the unassuming Seoul office building that houses VLAST, an entertainment company that started as a for-hire computer graphics studio and is now a full-service production house for real-time graphics and virtual intellectual property that also provides label and management services to PLAVE, which is currently its sole musical group. Inside its scrappy yet cutting-edge production facility, and under CEO Lee \u201cWilliam\u201d Sunggoo\u2019s direction, the company imagined a virtual band in the style of manhwa<\/em>, the Korean comics and webtoons that have become increasingly popular over the past two decades thanks in part to the otherworldly good looks of their characters. After successfully pitching the potential of virtual artists to the singer who would go on to voice PLAVE leader Yejun, VLAST recruited four more artists to round out the quintet as Bamby, Noah, Eunho and Hamin. \u201cEach new member was recommended by someone who recognized their musical ability,\u201d Lee says.<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to VLAST, the men behind PLAVE are all artists who previously pursued K-pop or R&B careers. Their virtual selves \u2014 brought to life in meticulous 2D detail through motion-capture rendering \u2014 sing, dance and rap like any K-pop stars would. But the real men of PLAVE also write, produce, choreograph and play instruments on tracks, a level of creative involvement usually seen in chart-\u00adtoppers like BTS and Stray Kids that\u2019s still atypical among idol groups.<\/p>\n

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\"Bamby
Bamby<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Eunho
Eunho<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tAt VLAST\u2019s Seoul headquarters, creative teams huddle around screens, monitors and camera rigs, overseeing motion-capture stages and ensuring the PLAVE avatars and the actual musicians in the room with them have every dance move and facial expression synced. Through real-time animation, PLAVE can host frequent livestreams with fans and play concerts and festival appearances \u2014 so long as venues have a screen to display them.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe quintet\u2019s real members can even see its fans \u2014 known as PLLI \u2014 as it performs from inside VLAST\u00a0HQ and respond directly to them. So far, the group has headlined four concerts with in-person audiences, all in Seoul: First, it sold out two April 2024 shows at the city\u2019s 2,500-seat Olympic Hall, then two dates the following October at the 11,000-capacity Jamsil Indoor Stadium, according to VLAST. In a review of the latter, the Korea JoongAng Daily<\/em> lauded onscreen feats like watching PLAVE \u201cdriving a burning motorcycle to the stage,\u201d but noted that the band\u2019s inability to actually meet its audience \u201cgreatly limits the range of performance,\u201d while technical \u00adglitches jolted fans from the fantasy.<\/p>\n

\n\t(\u201cWe are always committed to delivering the best possible results,\u201d VLAST says. \u201cEnhancing PLAVE\u2019s concert experience involves upgrading every element that allows the audience to feel fully immersed and connected \u2014 including minimizing technical issues.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPLLI are the kinds of fans who truly see the real us,\u201d Bamby tells Billboard<\/em> in a video interview. At 5\u00a0foot\u00a09, he\u2019s PLAVE\u2019s shortest member and sports pink hair and magenta eyes. (Whether these avatars\u2019 attributes are in any way directly inspired by the people voicing them remains a secret.) Because of PLAVE\u2019s virtual nature, Bamby continues, \u201cWe rely even more on communication platforms. We\u2019re constantly curious about how they\u2019re doing and how they\u2019re experiencing our content.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSince its March 2023 debut, PLAVE has earned more than 2.1\u00a0billion official on-demand global streams, according to Luminate. Before its latest single, \u201cDash,\u201d<\/a> became the first song by a Korean virtual group to reach the Billboard Global\u00a0200<\/a> in February 2025, PLAVE had entered the Global\u00a0200 Excl.\u00a0U.S.<\/a> chart with \u201cPump Up the Volume!\u201d<\/a> and \u201cWay\u00a04 Luv.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Hamin
Hamin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tPLAVE joins a long history of virtual acts from Asia. In the mid-1990s, Japan pioneered virtual idols; the first from South Korea was Adam, a Sims<\/em>-like cyber singer from information technology company Adamsoft who \u201cdebuted\u201d in 1998 and whose first album, Genesis<\/em>, sold a reported 200,000 copies. Adam led a small boom of cyber stars, but corporations ultimately abandoned them as costs exceeded earnings.<\/p>\n

\n\tVirtual artists began making a comeback at the start of the 2020s after artificial intelligence and metaverse technology trends helped launch groups like Mave:, an AI-powered female quartet that virtual-artist management house Metaverse Entertainment launched in 2023. Korea\u2019s Kakao Entertainment invested a reported 12\u00a0billion won (about $9.7\u00a0million at the time) in a partnership with Metaverse. While Mave: is strictly operated through technology, other groups with real humans behind virtual facades like PLAVE now exist, including female sextet Isegye Idol and 11-member girl group Itterniti. But none have broken through with significant sales or awards recognition like PLAVE.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe initial investment is substantial,\u201d Lee says. \u201cBut once that foundation is in place, there are certain advantages. Unlike traditional artists, we don\u2019t have costs for things like hair, makeup or long-distance travel. Instead, our resources are directed toward technology, creative development and content production.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tPLAVE\u2019s rapid ascent has attracted financial investment from HYBE and YG Entertainment, which double as strategic advisers on everything from the members\u2019 vocal health to global rollout strategy. \u201cAs a company new to the entertainment industry, we valued getting advice and insights from established industry leaders with extensive experience,\u201d Lee says. With global distribution from YG\u00a0PLUS, Caligo Pt.\u00a01<\/em> included the group\u2019s first all-English track, \u201cIsland\u201d<\/a> (co-written by Adrian McKinnon, whose credits range from Rae Sremmurd to ENHYPEN). On June\u00a016, PLAVE will release its debut Japanese single, \u201cKakurenbo (Hide and Seek),\u201d following a 2024 agreement with HYBE Japan to support PLAVE\u2019s expansion in the market.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFrom an international fan\u2019s point of view, it can sometimes be hard to fully grasp the emotions we want to express due to language barriers,\u201d says PLAVE\u2019s Eunho, who appears as a silver-haired rapper with fangs. \u201cSome feelings just don\u2019t translate perfectly, so we\u2019re really glad we got to release an English track this time. We believe it helped us connect more deeply with our fans in English-speaking countries, and we plan to keep exploring multilingual projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor now, VLAST has no plans for developing further virtual artists, focusing its energies entirely on PLAVE. Its current goals for the group include upgrading the concert experience, launching a dedicated mobile app, pushing to \u201creach more global fans\u201d \u2014 including in Western markets \u2014 \u201cand introduce them to what virtual artists can offer,\u201d according to Lee.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe biggest misconception we faced was that virtual idols like PLAVE were fully operated by AI,\u201d he adds. \u201cEven now, in some overseas markets where people aren\u2019t yet familiar with PLAVE, that remains a common misunderstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Noah
Noah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Yejun
Yejun<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tThe way that blonde, blue-eyed Noah sees it, \u201cone of the coolest parts about PLAVE is that we can do things on stage that other artists can\u2019t \u2014 like magical effects or cinematic action scenes. People sometimes say, \u2018But aren\u2019t you AI? Doesn\u2019t that make it easier?\u2019 But the truth is, none of it is easy when you actually try it.\u201d (He adds that some members even sustained injuries while rehearsing the \u201cintense\u201d choreography for \u201cDash,\u201d created by Bamby and Hamin.)<\/p>\n

\n\tAs with so many ascendant pop stars, the real men behind PLAVE have faced their share of privacy invasion. Prying online fans have unearthed clues to the members\u2019 real-life identities; last year, some began stalking them at VLAST and their homes, despite the company\u2019s pleas for fans to respect PLAVE\u2019s privacy and subsequent threat of legal action toward anyone disclosing personal information about the act. When rumors regarding the members\u2019 real identities ran wild across social media and online forums around Caligo Pt.\u00a01<\/em>\u2019s release, neither the band nor VLAST responded.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe group\u2019s navy-haired, silver-eyed leader, Yejun, promises that in the coming year, \u201cFans will see us onstage a lot more. Up until now, we\u2019ve had relatively few chances to perform live. In 2025, we want to change that \u2014 more concerts and more global tours.\u201d (In early May, PLAVE announced three August dates at Seoul\u2019s KPSO Dome.)<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAll five members of PLAVE are passionate about music,\u201d Lee explains. \u201cWe believe that high-quality music and performance are what distinguish us from other virtual artists. Creating compelling music is always one of our top priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur chemistry as a group, our direct communication with fans and our distinct musical identity are what have brought us this far,\u201d the black-haired, black-eyed rapper Hamin says. Adds Yejun: \u201cThe bond we share as members \u2014 the connection, the stories we\u2019ve built and the trust between us \u2014 that\u2019s what makes PLAVE special.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis story appears in the May 17, 2025, issue of <\/em>Billboard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Aller \u00e0 la source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On April 13, the Circle Chart \u2014 South Korea\u2019s longest-running music ranking, and its equivalent to the RIAA \u2014 unveiled its latest musician milestones. Alongside accomplishments by Blackpink\u2019s Jisoo, NewJeans and BTS, stood PLAVE \u2014 a boy band whose members\u2019 real-life identities are hidden behind digital avatars, but whose commercial performance and ambitions rival K-pop\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musique","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158669\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}