IS AI REPLACING K-POP IDOLS: Rise of Virtual Idols

In the world of K-pop, few achievements loom as large as dethroning IU - one of the most successful and influential female soloist in South Korea.

Yet that's precisely what happened recently on Melon, the country's most popular music streaming platform. IU's album, featuring a hugely popular collaboration with BTS member Taehyung, set a new benchmark by amassing the most streams on Melon within 24 hours in 2024. However, her stellar first-day numbers have now been eclipsed.

The group that dethroned the iconic IU isn't even from the prestigious "Big 4" K-pop agencies. Yet their comeback single "WAY 4 LUV" and 2nd mini album “ASTERUM : 134-1” have propelled them into the same stratosphere as 5th generation K-pop’s biggest boy groups like SM Entertainment's RIIZE and WakeOne Entertainment's Zb1 from Boys Planet, joining them as the only ones to have sold over 1 million total copies in South Korean and Japan.

However, to the general domestic public in Korea, they were virtually unknown - a "nugu" group called PLAVE. This five-member group is under VLAST and had been engaging in pre-debut activities since 2022 before officially debuting on March 2023 with their mini album "Asterum."

Their most recent comeback album has reached some unprecedented accomplishments like being the best-selling boy group in 2024 on the Circle Chart with over 500k copies and they’re the first 5th generation group to surpass 500 million total streams on Melon. These milestones alone serve to contextualize the sheer magnitude and trajectory of PLAVE's success.

However, what makes their meteoric rise even more astonishing is that PLAVE isn't like your typical K-pop idol group.

They’re virtual idols.

Are they AI?

PLAVE isn't the first and probably won't be the last virtual idols in the industry. There has been a string of groups similar to them post-2020 after Aespa (one of the biggest K-pop girl groups) popularized this concept of virtual avatars to the mainstream public by introducing their 'ae' counterparts, which were 'virtual models made from how they present themselves on social media.' But since Aespa's inception, their concept has embroiled heavy criticism from both domestic and international audiences, which is why their agency, SM, has since de-centered and distanced this idea of the virtual world and virtual models away from the group's image.

Since Aespa came onto the scene, groups like PLAVE, MAVE, and Superkind have popped up and iterated on this idea in their own way. K-pop fans have generally categorized all of these groups with virtual avatars as "AI Idols” given their virtual nature. But this is a big misconception that they are AI.

The members of PLAVE aren't AI.
There are real humans behind the members of PLAVE.

What exactly are ‘Virtual Idols’?

The PLAVE members don't openly share their physical appearances or their 'real-life' identities.

There's no artificial intelligence in PLAVE or any of these other iterations of "AI Idols" like MAVE or Superkind (at least not yet). In some cases like MAVE, another virtual idol group that debuted in 2022, AI might be used within the tooling to design the avatars, but they don't run on their own automatically. AI hasn't developed far enough or become cheap enough to create seamless independent fully-functional idols just yet. They're not fully functional independent beings.

Thus, the term 'virtual idols' is a more accurate and all-encompassing term to describe this phenomenon, and ‘real-life idols’ can be used to describe traditional idols and groups.

• They're ‘K-pop idols’ because they operate within the same overarching K-pop industry system — involving choreographers, producers, a training system, entertainment companies, promotions on Korean music shows & variety shows, fan-chants, fan-names, etc.

• They're virtual because their personas and identities are formed through digital technologies like avatars.

For PLAVE specifically, there is a 1-to-1 real-life human behind each virtual idol. They essentially are and operate like other "real-life" K-pop idols but do everything through virtual avatars.

This concept of virtual idols in K-pop isn't completely novel. While there are nuances within all the different Virtual Idol groups, PLAVE specifically are just like VTubers (Virtual Youtubers) originating in Japan, where people use virtual avatars to remain pseudo-anonymous while producing videos and live streaming on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. The rise of VTubing in Japan owes much to early talent agencies like Hololive and Nijisanji, who recruited talents from the entertainment industry, such as voice actors and idols, integrating them into the established J-pop idol system akin to groups like AKB48 – resulting in a fusion of idol culture with live streaming using virtual avatars. Tracing this idea further back, it's similar to phenomenons like Hatsune Miku and Vocaloids.

Why are People Drawn to PLAVE and Other Virtual Idols?

I believe fans are drawn to PLAVE for the same reasons they get into other K-pop groups with 'real-life' idols, rather than solely because they are uniquely virtual.

The novelty of being virtual avatars, PLAVE's unique handsome 2D web-comic style avatars, and the fantastical nature that comes with being virtual are definitely reasons why fans are drawn to PLAVE. However, in K-pop, good music is crucial because, at the end of the day, they are still music artists. Even if the idols are great performers or dancers, the songs they are performing are the backbone of the entire experience.

PLAVE's music (despite only having about a dozen songs) attracted the attention of many fans. Many attribute their initial interest to hearing PLAVE's music, produced by HYBE's EL CAPITXN (who has worked with BTS, IU, and PSY), piquing their curiosity to check out the group further. PLAVE also self-produces and choreographs their dances. It's this passion and dedication to their artistry that has fans rooting for them, reminiscent of why fans were initially drawn to global superstars like BTS.

However, great music is a dime a dozen within the industry.

There are plenty of groups and soloists who put out amazing music, whether through renowned producers or self-producing. However, they often go virtually unknown by the mainstream public and stay as 'nugu' artists. In an industry with hundreds of idols debuting yearly, good music is the baseline for piquing potential fans' initial interest. Then, factors like the group's personalities, visuals, and concepts make casual listeners care enough to become fans.

The "Realness" of Virtual Idols

Some K-pop fans are drawn to a group like PLAVE despite them being Virtual Idols who do not show their physical selves or reveal their identities outside of the group. Because they operate within the same K-pop system, they function like any other "real-life" K-pop group, just with a virtual twist.

Despite not seeing the PLAVE members' physical appearances or knowing their real identities, fans still develop connections with the boys through various interactions, especially their extended live streams, reminiscent of their VTuber roots. Besides streaming, they interact with fans through 3D concerts, one-on-one fan calls, meet and greets, and by posting about their day-to-day lives on their fan cafe (online forums created specifically for fans of a K-pop group to interact with the idol). They communicate in the same ways that "real-life" idol groups connect with fans. It's just that Virtual Idols are confined to live-streaming or creating more online content because they can't as easily interact with fans in person.

Not only do they communicate and establish connections with fans like real-life idols, but Virtual Idols also recreate the same idol dichotomy that exists in the traditional K-pop system.

David A Tizzard for the Korean Times describes K-pop idols as "An idol is to be a pure creation. They exist only for the fans' happiness and to be a passive receptacle for fans' devotion, love, desire, and fantasy. Idols are shaped, created, and sold by entertainment companies."

PLAVE replicates this unattainability because we see them performing and looking perfect on stage, and then there’s the attainability of being able to interact with them 'off-stage' and get to know more about their day-to-day lives. Despite being virtual, they perform on music shows just like real-life idols, as seen in the images below of PLAVE performing at Music Core and live streaming on Twitch.

Despite being virtual idols, PLAVE still establishes a fan-idol connection and closeness in similar ways to "real-life" K-pop groups. Both interact through live streams, online fan forums, virtual meet-and-greets, and by sharing glimpses into their day-to-day lives. The major difference is that being mostly confined to the virtual space, PLAVE must create significantly more online content to attain that same level of connection.

Because they can't as easily appear on reality/music shows, PLAVE leverages long hours of live-streaming sessions and a constant stream of digital content. These extended, unedited windows into the idols' lives and personalities help foster even more passionate parasocial relationships within their fandom. This overabundance of intimate online content is actually an advantage in today's increasingly global K-pop landscape.

With fandoms now developing and engaging predominantly online, most international fans discover and keep up with their favorite groups through digital content. PLAVE streams for about 2-3 hours every other day, which gives fans an unprecedented level of access that time-constrained "real" idols can barely match amid busy schedules. It's exactly this type of personal, behind-the-scenes content that allows fans worldwide to feel closeness with the idols' authentic selves shining through.

The Perceived Assumption of Authenticity that Comes with Avatars

The anonymity afforded by being a VTuber/Virtual Idol shields them from many harsh realities plaguing the K-pop industry, such as stalking by obsessive fans (Saesangs), career sabotage due to dating rumors or opposite-gender interactions, and the unreachable beauty standards that often pressure idols, even at remarkably young ages, into undergoing plastic surgery to avoid being torn apart by netizens.

While virtual idol groups like PLAVE do incorporate fantastical elements, such as member Yejun's "power" of bubbles emanating from his mouth when he speaks, there is still an underlying sense of authenticity and rawness that comes through. By broadcasting for hours on end with no opportunity for editing due to the real-time nature of it all, viewers get an unfiltered glimpse into the idols' true selves. Moreover, the anonymity provided by their virtual avatars allows the members to be uninhibited, free from concerns about their actions impacting their private lives or having to yield to the same unreachable standards mandated onto ‘real-life’ idols.

This cultivates an assumption among fans that what they're witnessing is the idol's most genuine self-expression.

Thus, there's a real ‘human’ connection and relationship created through these candid, unvarnished windows into the personalities behind the avatars.

Ultimately, while PLAVE's music may have initially piqued interest, many fans find themselves becoming devoted due to the idols' displayed real-life personas, charismatic quirks, and the uniquely entertaining qualities that emerge from their virtual existence. The fan-uploaded YouTube compilations celebrating amusing glitches, avatar malfunctions, and other digital hiccups during live streams (some amassing over 300,000 views) exemplify how endearing fans find these unscripted "human" moments.

The juxtaposition of fantastical virtual components with glimpses of relatable humanity is what PLAVE's fanbase resonates with.

The novelty of virtual idols like PLAVE also often attracts criticism and a vocal anti-fan community, which paradoxically strengthens the bond between the group and their fans.

This hive-like mentality, while common in competitive fandoms like K-pop, takes on a unique dimension for PLAVE's supporters. Being on the fringes of the mainstream K-pop fandom due to the group's virtual nature, PLAVE fans not only passionately defend their favorite boys but also serve as educators, patiently explaining the concept of virtual idols to those who attack the group.

Unlike many K-pop fandoms known for their aggressive defensiveness, PLAVE's fans adopt a dual approach – firmly defending the members while simultaneously educating others about the "realness" of these virtual idols. They emphasize that, despite the boys using virtual avatars to maintain privacy and avoid the industry's negatives, the PLAVE members are just as authentic and 'real' as the real-life idols that anti-fans admire. This unique position as outsider compels PLAVE's fandom to not only rally behind their group and with each other but also to spread awareness and understanding about this emerging form of entertainment.

Even within the larger virtual idol landscape, PLAVE has resonated profoundly with the public, achieving unprecedented success in K-pop for a virtual group. This deep dive into PLAVE illustrates a redefinition of how genuine connections can form and flourish between fans and idols despite the perceived obstruction of a virtual avatar. Paradoxically, the avatar becomes a medium through which fans glimpse the idols' authentic selves – a breakaway from the forcefully crafted personas from entertainment companies in the industry.

I believe that the future of K-pop will still be grounded in ‘realness’ & authenticity.

PLAVE is just ushering in a new era of what we consider to be "real.”

Thank you so much for reading my first post on ‘internet cult-like rituals.’

I’ll be posting every month-ish (or sooner) with a new piece on an internet cultural phenomenon I’m obsessively deep-diving into and the cult-live behaviors behind it all.

find me on the fringes of the interwebs 🪐✨ & reach out on twitter @jhuang0804 if you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them.