VIVE ORIGINALS, a subsidiary of HTC dedicated to the production and distribution of XR original content, today officially announced that the new virtual idol music talent show “VPOP ASIA” will premiere on July 18. The show took a year and a half to plan. It is Taiwan’s first virtual idol music talent show. It uses high-standard 3D virtual technology to mix real-life reality, showing a new form of combining technology entertainment and music content.
“VPOP ASIA” is jointly produced by Liu Siming, general manager of HTC VIVE ORIGINALS, and Chen Zhenchuan, a well-known music producer. Liu Siming said: “I hope to get an accelerated ticket for Taiwan’s virtual entertainment to enter the world. Based on HTC’s virtual technology, we launched the VPOP cultural initiative to define a new look of Chinese music trends combined with technology.” Chen Zhenchuan added that it took a lot of time to review the program alone, and it was not easy for the artists to understand what the program was.
The program has 12 episodes in total, and each episode will feature a different combination of judges. A total of 29 musicians and artists will participate, with a lineup including ØZI, Yan Yige, Leo Wang, Zhuxiu, Cai Shiyun, Bai An, Jianzhi, Qianda Aisa, Sun Xiezhi, Ai Yiliang, An Xinya, Billie, Basanyao Apu, Peng Jiahui, Wei Li’an, Xiao Huangqi, Dai Ailing, etc. provide professional selection for virtual trainees from different aspects such as creation, singing and stage performance. Internationally renowned virtual idol Kson will also perform a special performance on the show.
The production team selected 120 Chinese pop classics from the past 30 years for new arrangements and gave them to the contestants to sing. Liu Siming emphasized: “We are not doing a nostalgic reproduction, we are creating the future.” He hopes to use this to open a new “high-tech, fully digital” track for Taiwanese pop music, so that Chinese pop music can be reinterpreted through virtual characters, digital stages and cross-platform distribution.
Lulu Huang Luziyin challenges to host on the same stage as a virtual idol
The show is hosted by Lulu Huang Luziyin. Since there is actually no player body at the recording scene, Lulu needs to use the Monitor to determine the position, height and interaction rhythm of the virtual character, and then complete responses such as dialogue, high-fives, and hugs. She recalled the filming process: “If you were watching me from the side during the filming, you would really want to care about my mental condition, because I look so much like a madman! I have to react to the air with various emotions.”
Lulu also mentioned the challenge of the height difference: “Some virtual idols are 190 centimeters tall, so I have to look up; some are set to 150 centimeters, so I have to look down. If they stand in front of or behind me, my eyes have to follow.” But after seeing the clips of the show’s results, she was quite surprised and exclaimed: “Has our technology progressed to this point?”
Combining virtual characters with real-life performances Liu Siming: You will almost have no friends
The core concept of “VPOP ASIA” is “virtual characters and real performers work together to complete stage performances.” The 15 trainees in the show appeared on the stage as 3D avatars. The contestants actually wore motion capture suits, and were accompanied by a real band recording live. Together with the 29 real judges who took turns, it formed a virtual and real performance mode. Lulu laughed and said, “I finally have a real friend to chat with me!”
Liu Siming admitted that this large-scale project took a lot of effort and brought together many top talents, and everyone had different imaginations and innovative concepts for the future. “To the point where I almost have no friends, I gather a bunch of very powerful people together and use all kinds of imaginary programs, concerts, animations, and music production rights. In addition to better results, it is really a road that hurts emotions.”
One of the judges of the program, music producer Shazhao Jiang, pointed out that although the virtual idol audition is presented as a virtual character, the core of the selection still returns to real singing and performance ability, including singing stability, timbre characteristics, singing style, and whether the contestants can successfully interpret the character setting, including performance, body movement, verve and overall stage presentation, which are all the basis for scoring.
Cross-platform broadcast strategy to seize mainstream entertainment channels
The broadcast strategy of “VPOP ASIA” spans TV, OTT and live broadcast platforms: it will premiere on TVBS Happy Channel at 10pm every Saturday from July 18th; it will be available on CATCHPLAY+ every Sunday at 0am from July 19th, and will be broadcast on the main channel of China Television at 10pm every Sunday; and it will be fully launched on VPOP ASIA’s official YouTube and Twitch channels every Thursday at 8pm from July 23rd.
VIVE ORIGINALS is a team under HTC that focuses on the production and distribution of XR original content. It has launched a number of original VR works in the past and has been recognized by international awards such as the Venice Film Festival. Liu Siming started out as a Chinese pop music lyricist, and his works include popular hits such as “Friends” by Zhou Huajian, “I Am a Fish” by Ren Xianqi, and “Sisters, Sisters, Stand Up” by Tao Jingying. He later branched into VR content production and was shortlisted for the Venice Film Festival competition with VR movies such as “Sick Rose”, “Prayer”, and “Gulumi’s Eyes”. From pop music to virtual reality to virtual idol talent show, Liu Siming’s career path runs right through the two worlds of technology and entertainment that “VPOP ASIA” tries to connect.
Conclusion
The launch of “VPOP ASIA” is a new attempt at Taiwan’s TV talent show, symbolizing that virtual idol content has entered the mainstream entertainment channel from the community subculture field. As the global entertainment industry accelerates the introduction of virtual characters and real-time interaction technology, HTC uses hardware technology as the basis and content production team as the driving force to try to open up a VPOP cultural path from Taiwan to the world. However, whether the business model of the virtual idol talent show is mature and whether the audience’s emotional investment in the virtual characters can match that of a real person talent show is still a subject that the market needs time to verify.
Source: KOCPC Chinese