This week there was quite the buzz about the so-called hologram performance of Michael Jackson to his (also so-called) new song, “Slave to the Rhythm,” which performed at the Billboard Music Awards.
Ultimately, while some of the secrets of how it came to live wasn’t revealed, some details emerged, and The Verge reported about how it wasn’t really a hologram at all, but an old-school technique modernized to make things even more realistic.
One thing that I wonder about though, is with all this technology, and the ability for many artists to record a lot of throwaway tracks over the years, whether there will be an inclination to “keep artists alive” decades after their death with holograms, rehashed old recordings and animations, and that becomes a concert. There’s something amazing about live music and seeing musicians perform, so it’s an interesting reaction to see the reactions to the hologram, which will always be able to put on a perfect performance.