Meet Yuna, the first-ever virtual K-pop artist to exist in the Metaverse! Complete with three songs already under her belt, a fully functioning AI, a detailed backstory, and a hyper-realistic appearance, Yuna is pioneering the future of K-pop.
Seoul Stars created her as a collaborative project between gaming company Catheon Gaming and K-pop agency HUMAP Contents. Her music was produced by renowned K-pop producer Tommy Lee, a songwriter who has created hit songs for acts such as Girls’ Generation, EXO, Super Junior, and IU.
Yuna lives in the “Yuniverse,” a place that differs greatly from ours, and she expresses curiosity about our world. She wants to learn more about humans and her stories of growth are told through her music.
The debut song “Kiss me Kiss me” describes how the AI learns about love due to a foreboding feeling in her world because its creators fear the heartbreak and sacrifice that accompanies it. Meanwhile, “Lonely” details the singer’s loneliness and journey to find a remedy. Her latest track, “Flower,” is about Yuna experiencing her first spring on Earth where she becomes mesmerized by the color, scent, and texture of flowers.
Currently, Seoul Stars is working on completing Yuna’s first album. The singer will also appear on Korean television in a singing competition, and there are plans to turn Yuna’s story into a webtoon.
Along with Yuna’s creation, Seoul Stars also developed play-to-earn rhythm and karaoke online games. In a similar style to games such as Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution, the blockchain-based NFT game earns players “$SSTAR tokens” which gives them access to exclusive content.
Yuna NFTs enhance gameplay and upgrade various items, sometimes coming in the form of collectibles such as unique illustrations by leading Korean artist Songbly84. NFT holders will also have a say in the evolution of Yuna’s style, personality, and identity.
History Of Virtual K-pop Idols
Virtual idols are nothing new in the K-pop industry, starting all the way back in the late 90s with Korea’s first “cyber singer” Adam with projects introducing Lusia and Cyda soon following. However, the production costs at the time were too high, so the trend had to come to an end.
The K-pop industry currently hosts a handful of virtual idols such as K/DA, the League Of Legends girl group featuring voices of (G)I-DLE members Miyeon and Soyeon. SMTOWN’s aespa has virtual avatar counterparts for each member and they are known as “æ-æspa” who play a pivotal role in the group’s lore, as well as in the wider SM Culture Universe. More recently, Deep Entertainment boy group SUPERKIND made its debut with the team line-up including Saejin, an AI member who fully integrates with the other four real-life members.
Korea’s first virtual influencer Rozy, who made her debut as a singer earlier this year with the song “Who I Am,” is so life-like, that despite over 10 million views on YouTube, most people had no idea she was an AI. Another virtual influencer Reah Keem is a virtual DJ and has her own SoundCloud account. There are plans for her to officially debut as a singer with the label MYSTIC STORY later this year. Likewise, virtual human Han YuA was originally a VR game character by the company Smilegate and eventually debuted as a singer under YG KPlus this April.
Concerns Regarding Virtual Artists
Some people have voiced concerns about the rise of virtual idols such as further promoting unrealistic and unattainable beauty standards. There is a layer of fear in the possibility that it will exacerbate current issues within an industry that already puts a strong emphasis on perfection.
The use of NFTs is a polarizing topic for many people, especially K-pop fans for a variety of reasons. Many of which are all far too complex to be adequately discussed in this article. Whatever your view is, however, everyone should use their own informed judgment to find out if it’s right for them.
Seoul Stars says one of the benefits of Yuna being a virtual artist is that they can put on a show and hold multiple concerts with fans at the same time regardless of location— provided venues or platforms have the capabilities for virtual AI technology. Another positive characteristic they find is that Yuna can never get tired or sick, so she can always be ready at a moment’s notice.
Other proponents of virtual idols is that they can be created and employed in a short period of time. Moreover, they are less likely to have any personal scandals that could damage fan support or brand image. Further commentary suggests there is less risk of backlash or boycott if virtual idols speak on political or social issues (something which is still relatively taboo for real-life K-celebs).
How K-pop’s Metaverse Expanded During The Pandemic
Technology and virtual spaces have always played a part in K-pop, no more so than in the past few years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, online resources have had an even more important role to bridge necessary gaps.
TOP Media boy group MCND was the first K-pop group to introduce what we call “video call fansigns.” Other artists followed suit quickly making online fan meetings a current staple of the industry. The rise of “ON-TACT” events kept interactions between fans and artists going when the world was at a standstill.
While travel was heavily restricted everywhere, fans outside of Korea who normally wouldn’t even imagine the chance to attend a fan meeting suddenly had the opportunity. We also saw the rise of virtual concerts, from paid concerts via Beyond LIVE and Weverse to free concerts live streamed on V Live, YouTube, and other platforms.
Groups of all statures, big and small, produced their own ON-TACT event. Fans were able to see their favorite groups in concert from the comfort (and safety) of their own homes. Virtual concerts were such a huge success that even with things opening up now, K-pop companies are still making online options available for offline concerts.
Yuna herself made history this year by having the first Metaverse concert on the popular Korean platform, Zepeto.
Future Of K-pop In The Metaverse
The Metaverse continues to play a huge role in the future of K-pop. Just last month BLACKPINK collaborated with PUBG Mobile with the CG music video, “Ready For Love.”
Meanwhile, Yuna has already received endorsements and congratulatory messages from real-life idols on her debut. Some of those who sent their support for the virtual singer are EXID’s Solji, Weeekly’s Jaehee, U-KISS’ Hoon, Marco (ex-HYB and UNB), Junhyung of GHOST9, former Berry Good member Johyun, singer-songwriter ALI and even Q-Pop group Ninety One.
Currently, Yuna’s music is available on the Seoul Stars YouTube channel and demo versions of the rhythm game. Connect with her here, and learn more about the project and its future updates at the official Seoul Stars website!
How do you feel about virtual K-pop idols? Let us know your thoughts by tweeting to us @whatthekpop1 or leaving us a comment on Facebook and Instagram!
Justin is an Aussie K-pop fan who is passionate about shining a light on underrated and lesser known groups and artists. A lover of all types of music, a dedicated scripted tv show + soap opera fan, and a casual gamer.
Featured images: Seoul Stars
Media: as credited