Tomorrow X Together's 'Hyperfocus' VR concert: The future of K-pop only inches away

K-pop

Tomorrow X Together's 'Hyperfocus' VR concert: The future of K-pop only inches away

Published: 08 Aug. 2024, 15:30

YOON SO-YEON
yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr

Captured scenes from “Hyperfocus: Tomorrow X Together VR Concert″ [AMAZEVR]

Tomorrow X Together’s Yeonjun, from right in front of the audience, hands over a lightstick as he personally guides the guests through a magical portal to a mystical forest. The boy band's members pass by, their faces so close that they could almost touch the audience, with eye contact so intimate that the reality of the experience is only broken by its ironic surreality.

A VR concert experience for boy band Tomorrow X Together, titled “Hyperfocus: Tomorrow X Together VR Concert,” kicked off on July 31 and will run until Aug. 27, exclusively taking place at the 4DX theater at the Megabox Coex branch in southern Seoul.

The 31,000-won ($22.50) ticket for a 60-minute virtual concert may seem too pricey for some, but the experience is worth every penny.

The VR concert is, simply put, a virtual dream come true for every K-pop fan who has imagined the day they get to see their favorite stars up close — just inches away from their very eyes and just for themselves without anyone else in the room. The VR headset gives each audience member the visual privacy of a single-person concert view accompanied by the exciting sonic companionship of the fellow viewers sitting inside the theater.

“Hyperfocus” is packed with the best of Tomorrow X Together’s songs including “Sugar Rush Ride” (2023), “Good Boy Gone Bad” (2023) and the latest release “Déjà Vu,” as well as close-up talk sessions in between the performances just like real-life concerts — but all at a distance where no real-life concertgoer could ever be.

Captured scenes from “Hyperfocus: Tomorrow X Together VR Concert″ [AMAZEVR]

A ″Hyperfocus″ VR concert screening session on Aug. 5 at the Megabox Coex branch in southern Seoul [YOON SO-YEON]

The major difference from online concerts, which have been abundant since the pandemic, is that the 360-degree 3-D view shown by the VR gadget gives the uncanny sensation of reality to the video being played before the audience's very eyes.

In fact, the theater was frequently filled with real-life viewers letting out screams of joy whenever certain members approached the camera so closely that they seemed like they were less than two inches away.

“I was so scared that I might actually kick the camera,” Yeonjun said at the end of the concert.

Shooting for the VR film took place over a day three months ago, after which its was up to the production company to perfect the performances the members gave. AmazeVR, asked the members to give their best to the performance because every fan would be watching afterward, according to AmazeVR CEO Steve Lee.

Guests watching girl group aespa's VR concert [AMAZEVR]

“VR concerts would never totally replace real-life concerts, but we believe that they are a strong alternative for people who either want to see the stars up close or for people who just can’t go to offline concerts,” Lee told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

Founded in 2015 by Lee and three other experts who worked during Kakao’s early stages, California-based AmazeVR is a leader in developing and creating VR concerts. It presented girl group aespa’s VR concert last year as well as a VR concert for Kai of boy band EXO. The company has also worked with U.S. singer-songwriter Upsahl, Swedish singer Zara Larsson, rapper Megan Thee Stallion and singer T-Pain for their own VR solo concert experiences.

The company learned several lessons from its first try with aespa, such as upgrading the background images and using AI to achieve a higher resolution for the videos. Tomorrow X Together’s concert is longer than that of aespa’s because the company wasn’t sure that people would like to watch an hourlong VR concert at first — but their fears have since been quashed.

Girl group aespa's VR Concert [AMAZEVR]

“Fans are already saying that they’ve watched it multiple times because it’s just a totally different experience at a much cheaper price,” Lee said. “We started out small and only at one theater, but we believe that we can expand to a dozen more theaters across the country by next year.”

Technical difficulties — including the heavy memory necessary to achieve the ultra-high resolution of 12K, syncing all the VR gadgets in a theater with the visuals and sound, creating the CGI backgrounds, erasing the noise from the raw videos and more — are overcome with the help of AI, allowing the company to sustain itself with a surprisingly small number of 50 staff members.

AmazeVR has raised around $50 million in investment, according to CEO Lee.

A poster of “Hyperfocus: Tomorrow X Together VR Concert″ screenings in the United States [AMAZEVR]

“Our goal isn’t just to make VR concerts for a few artists; our goal is to become the next Spotify, Netflix or TikTok,” Lee said.

“For us, the goal is to create VR for all artists that fans can watch with their own VR gadgets at home. Artists can only tour in certain countries, which leaves out fans in different corners of the world. We can create content from just a day's work with the artist and distribute that all around the world.”

The “Hyperfocus” VR concert begins its U.S. premiere on Thursday at the CGV Los Angeles 3 theater in Los Angeles until Aug. 21. It will later open on screens at the Buena Park 8 theater in Buena Park on Aug. 23, Houston on Sept. 5, Chicago on Sept. 26 and New York on Oct. 17.

“We are also in talks with other artists to create similar content, so we hope you look forward to that,” AmazeVR’s Lee said.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]