Even after a musician dies, their music lives on for generations, sometimes becoming more popular posthumously. Now, with the advent of holographic technology, that artist can perform onstage, long after they’ve left this world. The New York Times Magazine has a fascinating article about the rise of onstage music avatars, projected to look very much lifelike.
Everyone from Michael Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly are now making new performances in high tech onstage holograms, as well as upcoming ‘performances’ by Whitney Houston, Maria Callas, and many others. The technology involved is extremely complicated and finicky, requiring large investments into R&D. Companies like Eyellusion are the ones bringing these onstage holograms to life.
A hologram of Maria Callas.
Roy Orbison onstage in hologram form earlier last year.
Base’s Whitney Houston begins performances this year.
