KISS will conclude the final performance of their “The End of the Road” farewell tour at the renowned Madison Square Garden in New York City on Saturday evening. However, could it truly be the end?
The band’s current configuration, consisting of guitarist Tommy Thayer, drummer Eric Singer, and founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, will exit the stage during their encore to unveil digital avatars of themselves. Following the metamorphosis, the virtual KISS will commence a rendition of “God Gave Rock and Roll to You.”
The innovative technology will be employed to allude to a forthcoming phase involving the rock band: following five decades as KISS, the members are presently intrigued by a form of digital immortality.
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Industrial Light & Magic, the special effects company owned by George Lucas, collaborated with Pophouse Entertainment Group, which was established with ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus as a co-founder, to develop the avatars. Recently, the two organizations collaborated in London for the “ABBA Voyage” performance, wherein enthusiasts were able to observe the Swedish band’s entire concert through the virtual avatars of the band.
Even after their final live performance, this new technology enables KISS to continue their legacy for “eternity,” according to Sundin, CEO of Pophouse Entertainment. He explains that the band’s absence from the stage during the virtual performance is “critical” due to the innovative technology in question. “KISS could perform a concert in three cities across three continents on the same night.” “You could accomplish that with this.”
KISS performed in motion capture suits so that their digital personas, which are essentially superhero versions of the band, could be created.
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The utilization of this particular technology for experimental purposes has become progressively prevalent in specific sectors of the music industry. Mark Tuan, a K-pop celebrity, collaborated with Soul Machines in October to develop “Digital Mark,” an autonomously automated “digital twin.” By doing so, Tuan achieved the distinction of being the inaugural celebrity to associate their image with OpenAI’s GPT integration, an artificial intelligence system that enables users to engage in personalized dialogues with Tuan’s avatar.
Aespa, a K-pop female group, often performs in conjunction with their digital personas; the quartet is conceptualized as an octet consisting of digital twins. Eternity, another girl group, is composed solely of virtual characters; no humans are involved.
“Although our accomplishments are remarkable, they are not sufficient. “The band is greater than we are; therefore, it is deserving of survival,” KISS lead singer Paul Stanley stated in a roundtable discussion. “It’s exciting for us to go the next step and see KISS immortalized.”
Gene Simmons, bassist for KISS, added, “By taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before, we can remain eternally young and iconic.” “The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he’s ever done before.”
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