stayc main image

Playboi Carti Teases Fans With Long-Awaited “Music” Album

December 11, 2023

Playboi Carti, the sensational rapper who took the hip-hop world by storm in 2017 with his debut mixtape “self-titled” and the viral hit "Magnolia," is back in the spotlight as he hints at...

Read more
stayc main image

Iconic Canadian Rock Bands

December 11, 2023

The majority of the music industry, including the rock music industry, is dominated by American artists. Most of the big record label companies are American, famous musical awards shows like the...

Read more
stayc main image

Bohemian Rhapsody - One of the Greatest Songs Ever

December 11, 2023

There are hundreds of music genres, hundreds of thousands of bands, and millions of songs that exist in the world today, and these numbers are constantly growing. In this vast sea of music...

Read more
stayc main image

The Story of Iron Maiden

December 6, 2023

Iron Maiden is one of my favourite heavy metal bands, and is one of my favourite musical groups overall as well. With their theatrical performances, complex musical arrangements and iconic songs...

Read more
stayc main image

Lil Uzi Vert Announces Retirement from Music After “Luv is rage 3”

December 6, 2023

In a surprising turn of events, Lil Uzi Vert, the revolutionary Philadelphia rapper, has announced that their upcoming album, "Luv Is Rage 3," will mark the end of their prolific music career...

Read more
stayc main image

Legendary Musical Collaborations That Push Beyond Genre

December 2, 2023

There is a vast amount of variety when it comes to genres, sub-genres, and styles of music. Normally, when two musical artists collaborate to create a new song, the individual artists both produce...

Read more
stayc main image

The Return of the SICK NEW WORLD NU-METAL festival

November 29, 2023

In a groundbreaking turn of events, the eagerly anticipated music extravaganza, Sick New World, following last year returns to the city of Las Vegas on April 27, 2024...

Read more
stayc main image

Virgil Abloh: Unparalleled Influence on Fashion and Music

November 29, 2023

Two years ago today, the fashion world lost one of its brightest stars, Virgil Abloh, at the young age of 41. A trailblazing designer known for his groundbreaking work with Off-White and Louis...

Read more
stayc main image

The History of Rock n’ Roll

November 29, 2023

One of the most iconic and well known genres of music is rock. It has been around for many decades, and it continues to evolve to this day...

Read more
stayc main image

Keinemusik: Revolutionizing the Electronic Scene

November 28, 2023

Keinemusik, an innovative music-creator collective from Berlin, represents a distinctive movement in the electronic music scene. The group's name, which translates to "no music" in German, embodies...

Read more
stayc main image

Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign's Album: Anticipation Builds Amidst Controversy

November 28, 2023

The music world is buzzing with anticipation as Kanye West, now known as Ye, and Ty Dolla $ign are set to release their joint album, a project enveloped in both excitement and controversy...

Read more
stayc main image

TikTok - Changing the Music Industry

November 24, 2023

There is no question that technology and the internet is changing the way in which many aspects of the world operate. The internet has rapidly accelerated the rate that information can be...

Read more

They're Not Real? The Rise in Virtual Kpop Groups

stayc main image

Photo Source: News24

As virtual technology continues to evolve and we move towards the metaverse future, the K-pop industry has begun delving into all the possibilities. Virtual/ AI groups and performers are becoming increasingly popular and widespread in the K-pop industry. In this article, we’ll dive into a few virtual groups that have debuted in recent years.

AESPA

In November 2020, SM Entertainment debuted Aespa, the first K-pop group with their own AI avatars. The group debuted with the single “Black Mamba” and has released three albums since. Having popularized the metaverse concept in K-pop, the group consists of four members and their virtual counterparts (“aes”). These online avatars have been created from the data that the members have uploaded online, being the reflection of Aepsa.

ETERN!TY

Created by Pulse9’s technology, the group, consisting of 11 members, made their debut in March 2021 with their first single, “I’m Real.” The company started by generating female faces using Deep Real AI, based on the traits: cute, sexy, innocent, and intelligent. Based on fan votes, the winning characters were designed and have been projected onto the faces of actual girls. However, the voices of the members are the voices of the actual singers.

MAVE

MAVE is a four-member girl group, entirely composed of AI members, under Metaverse Entertainment. The group debuted with their single album, “Pandora’s Box” in January 2023. The group’s name means “make a new wave,” as it hopes to create a new wave of K-pop that includes virtual idols. The group is formed through a collaboration between Kakao, an internet company, and Netmarble, a mobile game company.

PLAVE

In March 2023, PLAVE made their debut under Kakao’s VLAST with the single album “Asterum.” Unlike other virtual artists, PLAVE uses computer graphics to create manhwa-style characters in place of the real bodies. Each track on their album was written and composed by the members themselves.

FE:VERSE

FE:VERSE is a virtual 5-member girl group formed by the winners of Kakao’s survival show, GIRL’S RE:VERSE. The group debuted with “CHO” in May 2023. Although the members are virtual, they are played by idols from other K-pop groups.