While the K-pop industry is known for its forward-thinking approach to traditional pop, a newly unveiled virtual pop group is proving to be such a success that it’s beating out human rivals just a year since its debut.
PLAVE is the South Korean virtual boy band created by VLAST, the self-described “pioneering virtual entertainment company” that uses real-time graphics and game engines to work towards future communications and productions. A combination of the words “play” and “rêve” (the French word for dream), PLAVE’s name symbolizes their aspirational worldview in creating and playing with and through these new game systems to achieve real-life dreams. The group comprises five members created with computer graphics in the style of manhwa, the term for Korean comics and webtoons that have become increasingly popular in the past decade. The members all boast skills in singing, dancing, and rapping like any K-pop group while also acting as songwriters, producers and instrumentalists composing their songs, and come to life by utilizing motion-capture technology to track their movements and expressions to allow the musicians to hold interactive live streams with spontaneous performances and direct communication with fans.
While PLAVE’s concept seems like something taken from the future, the group is breaking through in the music industry with very real accomplishments in their first year together. Officially debuting on March 12, 2023, PLAVE released their two-song single album Asterum, featuring their light, rock-pop debut single “Wait for You,” with their record selling more than 138,000 copies worldwide, according to South Korea’s Circle Albums Chart. The “Wait for You” music video currently boasts nearly seven million views on YouTube, while a live performance of the song on Korean music program Show! MusicCore has 3.7 million views.
In the year since their debut, PLAVE followed up with their late August EP, Asterum: The Shape of Things to Come, which sold more than 275,000 copies worldwide and earned a platinum certification in Korea. PLAVE landed a breakout hit with their jovial holiday single “Merry PLLIstmas,” which was eventually included in their second EP released in late February. Asterum: 134-1 featured five other new songs alongside the single “Way 4 Luv” to truly solidify PLAVE as an artist to watch.
In under a month since the February 26 release of Asterum: 134-1, the EP has already sold more than 530,000 copies worldwide (making it one of the year’s top-selling records from Korea alongside international idol groups like TWICE, (G)I-DLE and LE SSERAFIM) while the easy-listening rock styling of “Way 4 Luv” secured it a Top 10 hit on the South Korean charts.
Perhaps most notably, PLAVE also managed to score several highly coveted awards on Korean television with “Way 4 Luv” on weekly music-chart programs—a key indicator of a K-pop group that has truly arrived on the scene. K-pop acts promote their latest releases every week with live performances across shows by Korea’s largest broadcasting companies that air across different channels. The shows conclude with the “Number One” song of the week, where varying point systems across the shows combine music sales, digital downloads, song streams, video views, social-media activity, fan votes, and other criteria to name a top track.
On March 6, PLAVE’s “Way 4 Luv” won the No. 1 spot on Show Champion from cable channel MBC M, beating out four other K-pop acts, some of whom were there in person, to secure the historic win as the first virtual group ever to win a Korean music program.
The group followed up with another first-place finish on the March 9 episode of Music Core, the program for public broadcast channel MBC, once again managing to win above some idols in attendance at the filming. While technology made it so PLAVE couldn’t officially travel to the show stage and accept the award as most artists would, the group shared a video reacting to their win and thanking their fans, supporters, and company staff.
Who are the members of PLAVE?
PLAVE comprises five members: Yejun, Noah, Bamby, Eunho, and Hamin, each with dedicated positions within the group.
The five members of PLAVE are Yejun (the group’s leader who also acts as a vocalist and a producer), Noah (a vocalist and producer in the group), Bamby (a vocalist, dancer and choreographer), Eunho (rapper, vocalist and producer) and Hamin (rapper, dancer and choreographer).
In addition to their dedicated positions, their album tracklists show the group’s heavy involvement in their music. PLAVE is listed as the main composer for their lyrics and chorus compositions, while also being credited for their instrumental work, including synths, piano, and keyboards.
While fans don’t know the public identities behind the avatars of Yejun, Noah, Bamby, Eunho and Hamin, what fans have been able to connect with is not just each of their musical abilities but their personalities—a critical difference that’s making PLAVE such a standout success.
Why is PLAVE different from other virtual music artists?
While PLAVE is not the first virtual idol group on the scene, they have managed to break out thanks to their achievements and emphasizing a more human approach to the model.
With an actual, talented human behind each member, PLAVE differs from recent developments from K-pop acts that use artificial intelligence, deepfake, and 3D-production technology. Instead, PLAVE have more in common with virtual streamers or YouTubers (more commonly known as VTubers) as they use a computer-generated rendering to express themselves. Each PLAVE member sings, raps, dances, and speaks through a real person, allowing fans to learn about the musician and person behind each avatar.
We do not know the public identities behind the PLAVE members and instead the artists connected to these avatars can express themselves without the K-pop industry’s notoriously intense focus on looks, weight and youth. Whether or not the people behind the PLAVE avatars are as charismatic as their virtual selves, the group shows new avenues and opportunities for musicians—particularly in the quickly moving K-pop space—who might not fit the “ideal” standards of most musicians or simply do not feel comfortable being public figures themselves—but instead can explore their passions and connect with fans in meaningful ways.
But beyond any sci-fi connotations or distractions that skeptics might conjure up when discussing PLAVE, a listen to Asterum: 134-1 album shows true musical depth, made all the more impressive by PLAVE’s heavy involvement in the songwriting, production and instrumentation for the tracks.
The smooth reggaeton influences on album opener “Watch Me Woo!” quickly set the scene for the listener to listen—particularly on the rap bridge—before moving into the album’s crown jewel in “Way 4 Luv.” B-side tracks “From” and “Our Movie” keep the sentimentalism of the lead single: “From” highlights the group’s gorgeous vocal harmonies and falsetto work over stark piano production without veering too heavily into sappy ballad territory, while “Our Movie” brings the tempo back up with a snappy R&B beats paired with shout-along choruses. The extremely clever track “Virtual Idol” even directly addresses those “haters” who might not think of PLAVE as “real” enough and instead uses a sing-song-y, hip-hop production to declare they are enough, doubling as a battle cry for PLAVE fans and a self-empowerment anthem all its own. You can watch their live “comeback” concert where the guys performed all their new songs below.
With hundreds of thousands not only in music sales, but in their YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter followers, as well as earning artistic accomplishments and working with respected collaborators in industry heavyweights, it’s clear that people worldwide are connecting into a new world being built by PLAVE.
