The Shock of the Music Industry 'PLAVE'

Article published: March 10, 2024

Original source: https://m.entertain.naver.com/article/421/0007400608

English translation: plaveintl

The first topic is the virtual idol 'PLAVE' that has been in the spotlight recently. The five-member virtual boy group 'PLAVE', which debuted in March of last year, has been causing a sensation since their comeback. This is because PLAVE's second mini-album 'ASTERUM: 134-1', released on the 27th of last month, is breaking records.

PLAVE's new album recorded initial sales of 569,289 copies. They have already attracted attention by surpassing 500,000 pre-orders even before the official release of their album. This is their own best record, far surpassing the 27,000 copies of their debut album 'ASTERUM' and the 203,000 copies of their first mini-album 'ASTERUM: The Shape of Things to Come'.

How did PLAVE achieve records surpassing real-life idols?

Firstly, PLAVE utilized motion tracking and real-time rendering technology to seamlessly integrate a real person's voice and movements into avatars. Literally, there's a real person behind the avatar, and since the avatar replicates the actions of that individual, it can effectively represent them.

In essence, PLAVE are just an avatar in appearance but in all other aspects, they're like a real idol. Additionally, PLAVE distinguish themselves by creating their own music and even choreography, satisfying the needs of K-pop fans who value self-produced content.

One of PLAVE's strengths lies in their pursuit of easy listening. In a recent press conference, they emphasized, "Our color is easy listening" stating, "We believe that it should sound easy and enjoyable when listened to, and we confidently created this album with that in mind."

Regarding the aspect of not being able to interact with fans directly offline, they expressed "Since we do live broadcasts twice a week, we think it's okay" and added "We plan to hold concerts for PLLI (fandom name), and we are actively planning various alternative events for things that cannot be done offline."