Virtual idol boy group Play.
“Let’s write history together. I love you Flea (Group Play Fan Club)!”
On the afternoon of the 9th, MBC music broadcast ‘Show! Music Core’ stage. The audience cheered at the real-time impression video of Playve, a five-member virtual boy group with the face of an animation character. It was the moment when their new song ‘WAY 4 LUV’ took first place in the broadcast rankings. It beat prominent candidates for first place, such as girl group Le Seraphim’s song ‘EASY’, which recently succeeded in entering the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and female singer Bibi’s ‘Bamyanggaeng’, which topped the Melon Hot 100 chart, Korea’s largest music platform. This is the first time that a virtual idol has won first place on a domestic terrestrial music broadcast.
Playve, which debuted in March of last year, operates by having a human body wear virtual equipment and transmit cartoon character images to the screen. Music broadcasts, showcases, fan meetings, etc. are performed through pre-recording and real-time broadcasting. The actual person is not disclosed. The 2nd mini album ‘Asterum: 134-1’, released on the 26th of last month, recorded initial sales (in the first week after release) of 569,289 copies, ranking 17th in the all-time boy group initial release record. At a recent showcase, Flave said, “I want to top the Billboard.”
In the music industry, it is assessed that the shift of many idol fandom contents and performance indicators online after the pandemic served as a stepping stone for the rise in popularity of virtual idols. Like other idol fans, Playve’s fans also operate social media accounts called ‘Smming’, which continuously plays the songs of their supporting singers to increase their chart rankings, and ‘Small Ball’, which leads online group voting. Critic Kim Do-heon said, “Even for human idols, communication with fans is mainly through online chat. “Even though it’s virtual, the communication method is the same, so there’s less discomfort,” he said.
