The Rise of Virtual K-pop Bands

In the music video for their latest single “DTDTGMGN,” members of South Korean band Eternity dance in perfect time to a bubblegum pop beat in a neon pink room decorated with school uniforms and celebrity posters. The dizzying camera movements and quick-paced scene changes are typical of the K-pop genre that has become a global phenomenon in recent years.
 
“Hold me tight, lean on my shoulder,” one member sings.
 
But the group’s fans cannot do either of those things, physically speaking — because none of Eternity’s 11 bandmates are real.
 
Built using AI technology, Eternity is one of the latest South Korean acts pushing the boundary between real and virtual entertainment. And the group’s creator and management company, Pulse9, believes that computer-generated stars have a significant edge over their real-life counterparts.
 
How they were made
 
The team at Pulse9 began the process of bringing eternity to “life” by designing its members’ looks. Park’s team generated 101 unique digital faces, inspired by existing Korean celebrities, before dividing them into four categories — dubbed “sexy,” “cute,” “intelligent” and “innocent” — and narrowing the selection down to 11 via an online poll.
 
Using deepfake and motion capture technology, Pulse9 then produced the band’s first music video (to accompany the ironically titled track “I’m Real”) in 2021. Reaction to the video was mixed. Many social media users felt the band members’ facial expressions looked unnatural and divorced from their bodies, while others cited the “uncanny valley” effect, whereby viewers are discomforted by things that resemble humans but aren’t.


​Read more at CNN