Holographic Tupac: Idea Originates from Hatsune Miku

Last night during Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s peformance at Coachella a miraculous event took place: the legendary west coast rapper Tupac performed a two song set for an astounded crowd; but it wasn’t due to the myriad of theories that Pac is still alive, it was actually a Tupac hologram.  He appeared on stage, gave a shout out to Dre and Snoop, then amazingly shouted out Coachella, and went into a two song set of his signature classics “Hail Mary” and the Snoop duet “Amerikaz Most Wanted”.

This is probably one of the first instances of holographically projected celebrities within an American concert, but it’s actually a concept that‘s been popular in Japan for the last few years.  Back in August I wrote about the most popular Japanese virtual pop star Hatsune Miku who was created in 2007 by Yamaha and Sega.  Her voice is a combination of synthesizer software and Japanese voice actress Saki Fujita, but her likeness is entirely holographic.

It definitely seems like similar technology was used to bring an incredibly lifelike version of Tupac to the stage, from his distinct vocal inflections to even his west coast dance moves in between sharing verses with Snoop.  It’s only a matter of time before entire concerts in America will be performed by holograms, whether they’re entirely synthesized or amalgams of stars that have already passed.  It wouldn’t be surprising if instead of a Michael Jackson tribute concert in Las Vegas they’ll just holographically project a compilation of his best performances for a different crowd every night.  Holographic stars don’t even need contracts, or extensive tour riders, just a tech crew with an endless fiber optic feed.

Hatsune Miku article:

http://lunavega.net/2011/08/social-media-the-simulation-quandary/