Standing virtual reality?
By Amaya Taylor
Take a moment to think of your favorite K-Pop group. The group that interested you into the genre, and jump started your fandom career. Imagine if you woke up and realized that your faves were animations and two dimensional versions of an idea created by an animation studio! For generations, TWICE, BTS, and BLACKPINK have captured the hearts of fans worldwide with their catchy tunes, breath-taking stage performances, and have solidified success all over the world. Do filmmakers want this same success with the formation of a virtual group? What if BLACKPINK fought demons?
With the popularity of the newest Netflix film, K-Pop Demon Hunters, conversations surrounding fictional boy bands and girl groups have risen again. Rumi, Zoey, and Mira of the phenomenal vocal trio, HUNTR/X, use their gifted voices to slay demons and protect the citizens of their country with The Honmoon. While continuously pursuing their mission; “demon hunters” HUNTR/X run into their newest hoobaes, “The Saja Boys”. During The Saja Boys’ street busking event to promote their new single “Soda Pop”, the girls quickly discover the facade of the boy group-- they are demons.
Throughout their journey, HUNTR/X leader Rumi comes to terms with her own inner demons and tries to keep her love for her job at the forefront. This presents challenges that not only she faces alone but she faces with her group members. This film takes the viewer(s) on an enlightening journey of Korean pop culture, folklore, and even a little fantasy and mystery, all while giving us fangirls something to indulge into!
K-pop groups’ devotion to their fans remains at this film’s core. However, this film is not the first time virtual, non-human K-Pop groups have debuted and actually gone on to do anything a normal group would do: Hosting fan meets, concerts, social media challenges, etc. In creating this timeline, it is highly likely that a fanbase would soon follow. Since its release, fans have been raving about the featured groups and their performed songs. If The Saja Boys and HUNTR/X were real, human groups, would they have the same power and effect on K-Pop culture as existing, human groups?
Some popular virtual groups that are currently active within the industry consist of “PLAVE”, a five-member boy group created in CG styles mimicking manhwa art. They debuted in March of 2022 and made waves on social media. They often participate in TikTok challenges and create visual stories by bringing them to life in music videos on their youtube channel. Likewise, K/DA, a four-member virtual girl group created by Riot Games in 2018, developed a fanbase denoted by their own fandom name, before a second comeback by 2020. Even more popular, K-Pop girl group aespa debuted alongside virtual alter ego “nævis”. Nævis was created using Artificial Intelligence and functions as a K-Pop idol soloist within the SM Culture Universe. She has had multiple singles since debuting and her fanbase exists within the MY fandom (Aespa’s fandom name). How have K-Pop and development agencies made it possible to create entire worlds through virtual artists, gain popularity and traction, while simultaneously managing and maintaining existing human K-Pop groups?
When PLAVE debuted in 2022, social media was graced with multiple mixed reactions. K-Pop fans were both intrigued and excited, yet confused and eager. They very quickly gained support and assembled a fandom-like group of people shouting for them online because they are just like real people. PLAVE”s concept, similar to The Saja Boys’ debut song in the movie, “Soda Pop” is very fresh, youth-like, and new. This gives a very familiar feeling to fans, therefore making it easier to connect with their audience. When you hear a song from either of these boy groups, you get a very familiar feeling, similar to the happiness you feel when listening to Whisper, by THE BOYZ, Feel The Pop, by ZeroBaseOne, and any other groups with fresh and youthful concepts in K-Pop. These trends translate to other virtual K-Pop acts. When creating [any] K-Pop groups, virtual or human, concept plays the largest role. Will your artist captivate the audience? How will they do that? Will they be accepted by the fans?
I think the best way for virtual artists to captivate the hearts of audiences and develop a solid fanbase is to thoroughly consider all bases. They have to come up with a concept that captivates audiences, intriguing marketing tactics, and pure talent that transcends all. Virtual groups have the possibility to exist alongside human groups if they have the relatability, the public appeal, and most importantly, the voice(s). While not every single fan may appreciate this new group model, virtual K-Pop groups can develop their own solid fanbase that exists alongside human artists just by creating content and music that the fans will love the most. With technology continuously advancing in the world around us, it is natural to think that virtual groups and their marketing tactics can pose a threat to the existing norms of the industry. Take a look at your favorite boy groups and girl groups. Do you think their success would measure the same if they actually were CG style idols? After re-listening to your ult’s favorite album, think about how the industry is changing and what the future of our ultimate favorite groups could look like.
