PLAVE
Discover without further delay the comeback of PLAVE, a group of virtual handsome boys!
The virtual group PLAVE realizes on February 26 its very first comeback with a second mini-album called «ASTERUM: 134-1» during a showcase on Seoul.
Group of the VLAST COMPANY, it is composed of the members YEJUN, NOAH, BAMBY, EUNHO, HAMIN and therefore has the particularity of being a group made using artificial intelligence, such as MAVE, AESPA using virtual alter ego, or the collaborative group K/DA between (G)-IDLE and the video game League of Legends. The members all have a dedicated position in the group, YEJUN being the leader, as well as a date of birth and a distinct personality. It was on March 12, 2023 that PLAVE made its debut with the will to be a group composed of beautiful boys. The name PLAVE comes from the fusion of PLAY and RËVE (dream in French), meaning that it is possible to create a world where everything is possible and achievable. In addition, each member participated in the writing and composition of the group’s songs, and this mini-album is no exception.
«ASTERUM: 134-1» has six tracks, including one, «Merry pllistmas» which was unveiled to the public on December 12 last year. In addition, the group also has a single «ASTERUM» marking its debut, a digital single «Why» and a first mini album «ASTERUM: THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME». It is therefore a promising comeback that the group offers today to journalists who have travelled to attend the showcase so unusual of a virtual group.
Usually, a showcase begins with a photo session to introduce the group to reporters, but here, the members do not exist physically, the photos are provided to the press on the internet, as well as a video where we see the performance group that you will find throughout the article. Another video is broadcast to recall the discography of the group, and the records it broke. For example, the members reached the first place at the TOP100 Melon. All five seem to come straight out of an Otome Game by their angelic and flawless design. The clip of the title song of this second mini album, «Way 4 luv», is then broadcast, finding PLAVE in a colorful and futuristic universe aboard a flying car crossing the clouds, and a forest worthy of that of Pandora in the film Avatar.
A MC is present to animate the showcase, and a video is again broadcast to put us in contact with the group, as if we were in the middle of a call on Zoom or Meet. The group talks, each member presenting himself individually, and we can hear the real boys behind the group as if they were present in the backstages. The artists seem to have a filter on them to make the group virtual, and animations have been planned so that members send hearts or winks to the press. They thus present the world in which they live, ASTERUM, saying that they come from this fanciful planet and that they have prepared songs to share with the inhabitants of TERA, namely the Earth. Their messages are therefore universal.
The MC then asks them for details on the video of «Way 4 luv», the group claiming that they are also at the origin of the MV, and not only songs of the album. The shooting lasted about 5 days, shooting every day in a different environment. Thus, we ask them what sets they preferred, HAMIN chooses the jungle, because he could spend a pleasant moment with the other members, while taking photos all together. NOAH selects the sky with the car in the clouds for its vaporous and delicate effect. BAMBY delivers a difficult moment in the shoot, talking about a day when, for a scene, they had to run all day in order to have the perfect shot. While the rest of the shooting was rather easy, this scene was the most physical.
BAMBY is then selected by the group as the best member for this comeback, thanks to its many facial expressions. To prove his point, the member concerned shows hearts to frame his face. A medley of the album is then presented, to make the press discover the six different tracks of the album, starting with «Watch me woo», then the title song «Way 4 luv», followed by «Visual idol», «From», «Our movie» and «Merry pllistmas» who gave them first place on the Melon chart.
« We’ve done everything in this album, be it the songs, the production, and even the clip, so we hope our fans from Korea and abroad are eager to discover it» – NOAH
PLAVE talks more about the songs on the album, starting with «Watch me woo» which adopts an afro pop genre using instruments such as guitar and bass to create a captivating atmosphere to start the album. The title song uses the same codes while approaching a lighter and pop style to match the musical imprint of the group. «Visual idol» also uses guitar, but inspired by the hip-hop genre and the 808 bass. «From» is softer, with piano and violin accompaniment, and is a message from our past self. The penultimate track, «Our movie», turns more towards the R&B style before closing the mini-album on «Merry pllistmas», which is a song addressed to their fanclub, the PLLI, for Christmas whose inspirations are well felt with the sound of bells in particular.
The group conforms well to its futuristic concept, saying that driving a flying car is very simple since there is only that on ASTERUM, and the members express surprise by learning that it does not exist on Earth. To show that their abilities are endless, the group performs a spin to change outfits. They who were dressed in black are now dressed in blue, outfits found in the clip they shared with journalists:
The MC then takes a more serious tone to announce the various awards the group has received since its debut almost a year ago.
- KMCHART 2023 3rd Season – Best Awards Best Rookie of 3rd Season : Male
- The 33rd Season Music Awards – New Wave Star Award
- The 31st Hanteo Music Awards – Virtual Artist Award
The group is not destabilized by these important awards, but expresses its great gratitude to its fans. Although having a performance of PLAVE is impossible during the showcase, the group wanted to sing to the press «Our movie» through the screen. The artists do not dance so that we can focus on their singing and rap, but they still interact with the camera so that the journalists have the impression of having them on stage. In addition, for those wishing to follow the group, PLAVE is present on many social networks, including TikTok and Weverse, and also has a fancafe. Another performance is projected, for «Way 4 luv», whose extract above comes from.
The questions given to journalists are divided into two sections, the first concerning individual members, in order to get to know them better before taking an interest in PLAVE as a group. First of all, the press is interested in the project that the members want to reach, and all agree on holding a concert to go in one way or another to meet their fans. They are also asked if they are inspired by video games, or if they would like to collaborate with games, and EUNHO replied that they have no video game projects at the moment, but that they are open to proposals and would be very happy to collaborate. Regarding their inspiration, there are not particularly, except that they consider themselves magicians capable of everything.
Then, approaching the creative process of the songs they write, NOAH confides that they first write songs and then receive feedback from the agency, and listen carefully to the feedback they receive when they do live shows twice a week to chat with their fans. They then select their favorite artist on TERA – Earth — and EUNHO, BAMBY, HAMIN and NOAH choose Justin Bieber while the leader YEJUN expresses his preference for BTS. They hope to one day be able to hold performances on musical programs to make themselves known.
A journalist questions the group on their willingness to hold a concert, and the feasibility of this project. First, BAMBY reveals that they have already stood on stage in front of people and that the screams and encouragement of the public push them to surpass themselves to achieve their goal. EUNHO says the group has a vibrating fire in them feeding them to keep moving forward. The prospect of holding a nonvirtual concert is not to be excluded according to NOAH, even if he does not know when this opportunity will come. However, the group is confident about its virtual identity since it allows to achieve many things.
« We consider that the music on ASTERUM and TERA is the same, there is no difference between our two worlds. » – YEJUN
Creating music from their world ASTERUM to broadcast on TERA does not seem to be a problem for PLAVE that adapts well to the human world. However, they are asked what is more to be a group based on virtual reality. For NOAH, the group must be considered as aliens communicating using a computer, and that they have nothing more than a real group except magic. HAMIN bounced on the acronym AI (Artificial Intelligence) which can also be translated as “ASTERUM Idol.” YEJUN hopes that as virtual idols, they will manage to reach first place on the Billboard charts, and even collaborate with Justin Bieber. To conclude the Q&A session with the journalists, when asked if they consider themselves virtual idols or simply idols, EUNHO replies that they are both, because behind the virtual idols stand real idols, but that they prefer to consider themselves virtual idols to launch a new digital trend. They hope to be able to perform forever thanks to the evolution of technology.
Before ending the showcase, it is possible to ask questions to the representative of the VLAST COMPANY to learn a little more about this choice to develop a digital group. For the representative (윤창희), digital is a new market that offers unlimited marketing possibilities, thus appearing to be an opportunity for the agency to seize by developing a virtual group. It is also the way to stand out on the Kpop stage which already has hundreds of groups, most of which fall into oblivion. VLAST is originally a digital startup that wanted to embark on the musical adventure to extend its field of work. The agency became interested in the world of idols and Kpop, learning the codes to start in this closed universe and apply it to PLAVE to make real idols. The representative is confident, they are preparing live performances, and although it takes time to set up, the goal of VLAST is to produce a concert for PLAVE.
Being a virtual group, each element of the group must be created from the start, whether the design of the members, their outfits, clips and promotional photos. Although this represents a huge amount of work, the digital staff affiliated with PLAVE is increasingly fast and efficient, mastering digital tools to make such a project possible. The real members are also not inactive, since they train in singing and dancing to improve and not disappoint their fans. The agency would like to make a concert possible to reward the group for its efforts and seek information here and there to find a place capable of hosting AI technology using motion tracking to create idols. Motion tracking allows to retransmit all the actions performed by a person on his virtual double. If the person winks, the double will make one too, and it is this technology they use for PLAVE and they would like to improve so that the quality reaches that of an animated film or a movie made with special effects such as Avatar. The example of the video game Fortnite was also cited as a reference.
YEJUN is the one who has worked the most within the group to develop motion tracking, as a leader, to make things easier for other members afterwards, which also gave the agency the desire to surpass itself and to develop technologies as quickly as possible and the necessary knowledge to improve PLAVE. But VLAST keeps a cool head, because the agency is aware that as a small company with limited visibility it is difficult to find an audience receptive to virtual idols. But by continuing to develop the group, adding cute effects for example, the agency and the group gained confidence, and were able to find an audience that allowed PLAVE to reach the first place at the TOP100 Melon. It is with these last words that the showcase concludes, after learning more about PLAVE and its agency. Without further ado, discover the group’s comeback with «Way 4 luv»:
The words of our reporter: «It is very peculiar to attend the showcase of a group that does not exist physically, but the agency seems devoted to the success of the group so I wish them to achieve their goals!»
Journalist: Pillet Anaïs
Photos: VLAST COMPANY
Sources: KSTATION TV, VLAST COMPANY
