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AI Has Invaded The Music World


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‘The only thing we can’t do is sign autographs’: 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.

As with most popular K-pop groups, Eternity’s members include a group leader, vocalists, rappers and dancers. But one member in particular, Zae-in, can do it all. “Zae-in has (a combination of) characteristics that most human artists would be hard-stretched to pull off,” said the firm’s CEO Park Ji-eun. “She can sing very well, rap very well and she can be creative as a (fashion) designer. And she’s a natural-born actress.”

With the help of real-time face-swapping technology and an AI-generated voice, Zae-in is played by 10 different people, including actors, singers and dancers, who lend their talents to her avatar as needed. In one video posted on Zae-in’s Instagram account, for example, she deftly rides a longboard beside Seoul’s Han River. For the video, her creators filmed the stunt with a stand-in whose face was later swapped out for Zae-in.

“There is the pop music Zae-in, actress Zae-in, reporter Zae-in,” the virtual star told CNN in a Zoom interview, during which she was played by an actor (though Pulse9 said that its AI software can recreate Zae-in’s voice and generate speech without human input). “Various Zae-ins exist, so our unique advantage is that we can do what one person cannot.”
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