Hunting for the Next HUNTR/X: Galaxy Corporation Holds L.A. Auditions for Virtual K-Pop Group

Los Angeles was the epicenter of K-pop’s adjacent improvement this week arsenic Galaxy Corporation hosted its first-ever auditions for a virtual K-pop radical astatine the El Rey Theatre.

From aespa’s “ae” avatars to motion-captured virtual radical PLAVE to the existent chart-topping occurrence of HUNTR/X and Saja Boys of KPop Demon Hunters, virtual idols and the premix of exertion and euphony is thing new, but Galaxy Corporation’s auditions connected Monday (Sept. 8) seemed to autumn astatine the cleanable time. The institution describes itself arsenic “enter tech” — converging IP, media and exertion — and they’re betting large connected a aboriginal wherever quality performers powerfulness a virtual radical that tin execute and interact with fans successful existent time, marking different measurement guardant successful the euphony industry’s ongoing experimentation with integer idols. They presently person a small-but-quickly-growing roster of clients, from G-Dragon, Song Kang-ho (Parasite) and Kim Jong-kook, and besides produced the Netflix breakout world contention Physical: 100, which has gone connected to person respective spin-offs.

While astir K-pop auditions person strict property ranges, a specified sex oregon different barriers to entry, Galaxy Corporation’s audition was searching for anyone with talent, careless of genre, nationality oregon age. With this planetary search, they are “looking for creativity, affectional honesty, and the quality to link with an audience” alternatively than visuals, arsenic the group’s members volition person integer avatars via question capture, GK (Gyuhyuk Song), caput of IP Music astatine Galaxy Corporation and elder pb for this project, tells Billboard. Some aspects of this task are based connected the accepted idol radical model: “Traditional idol grooming volition stay astatine the core, but we’re besides integrating caller elements similar integer show and instrumentality enactment successful virtual spaces, to hole artists who tin determination seamlessly betwixt carnal and virtual worlds.” And arsenic intended, candidates who came successful idiosyncratic were aged betwixt aboriginal teens to adults. One begetter flew successful with his auditioning girl from the East Coast with dreams of participating successful this project.

“Can an creator genuinely beryllium forever?” is simply a question that stuck with GK during his 12 years astatine SM Entertainment earlier joining Galaxy Corporation, noting that “groups conflict to surpass the seven-year modular declaration period.” Of course, determination are galore exceptions these days with the planetary standard of K-pop and the mode fans are much connected to their favourite artists than ever, but with this caller project, the extremity is to make “eternal artists.”

The conception of virtual artists isn’t wholly caller — Gorillaz were an aboriginal pioneer the thought successful the aboriginal 2000s — but what sets these newer groups apar...