Virtual Pop Stars and the Future Of Music

This week I met a pop star who doesn’t exist. At least, not in the real world!
Polar may be a rising star of social media with 1.6 million followers on TikTok and millions of views on YouTube, but to "meet" her, you have to step into the metaverse – or rather, my own hyperreal digital avatar – Bernard 2.0 did.

The real, analog me, had to make do with speaking to one of Polar's creators – Patrik Wilkens, VP of Operations at TheSoul – the agency responsible for creating the latest potentially chart-topping virtual pop star.

Virtual pop stars are not a new phenomenon. What is new is the avenues that are now available for us to interact with them. For me, the most interesting aspect of the metaverse – a term which really just refers to the "next level" of the internet, far more immersive and experiential than the flat, 2D web we have become accustomed to – is the blurring of boundaries between the real and the virtual.

So, in this article, I want to take a look at the phenomenon of virtual pop stars and influencers, where they came from, and what they tell us about the way we will look for entertainment and even art in the digital worlds of the future.

Full story here