After KISS's Final Show, They'll Become Digital Avatars From Industrial Light & Magic

Gene Simmons is 74 years old. But as the singer for the classic rock band KISS left the stage after their final show, USA Today reports there was a surprise: in the most on-brand KISS move even by KISS standards, before the quartet likely hit their dressing rooms after disappearing on stage in the blizzard of smoke and confetti that accompanied the set-closing "Rock and Roll All Nite," a message blasted on the video screens: "A new KISS era starts now." Digital avatars of the band followed, playing their anthem, "God Gave Rock and Roll To You." ABC News reports:The avatars were created by George Lucas' special-effects company, Industrial Light & Magic, in partnership with Pophouse Entertainment Group, the latter of which was co-founded by ABBA's Bjorn Ulvaeus. The two companies recently teamed up for the "ABBA Voyage" show in London, in which fans could attend a full concert by the Swedish band - as performed by their digital avatars. Per Sundin, CEO of Pophouse Entertainment, says this new technology allows Kiss to continue their legacy for "eternity." He says the band wasn't on stage during virtual performance because "that's the key thing," of the future-seeking technology. "Kiss could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That's what you could do with this." In order to create their digital avatars, who are depicted as a kind of superhero version of the band, Kiss performed in motion capture suits. Experimentation with this kind of technology has become increasingly common in certain sections of the music industry. In October K-pop star Mark Tuan partnered with Soul Machines to create an autonomously automated "digital twin" called "Digital Mark." In doing so, Tuan became the first celebrity to attach their likeness to OpenAI's GPT integration, artificial intelligence technology that allows fans to engage in one-on-one conversations with Tuan's avatar. Aespa, the K-pop girl group, frequently perform alongside their digital avatars - the quartet is meant to be viewed as an octet with digital twins. Another girl group, Eternity, is made up entirely of virtual characters - no humans necessary. Kiss frontman Paul Stanley told ABC News that "The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are."

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