Rock Group Ends Live Concerts, Becomes Computerized Avatars
2023-12-09
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1Recently, members of the American rock band Kiss closed out their final performance.
2The group's "The End of the Road" concert series ended in New York City's famous Madison Square Garden.
3But as it turns out, fans will still be able to enjoy Kiss performances for years to come.
4The band formed in 1973. It is currently made up of founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, as well as Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.
5Towards the end of Saturday's show, the band members left the stage and revealed computerized likenesses of themselves.
6The computerized avatars launched into a performance of the song "God Gave Rock and Roll to You."
7After 50 years of Kiss, the band now hopes to be remembered forever.
8The avatars were created by George Lucas' special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic.
9The company also worked with Pophouse Entertainment Group.
10Björn Ulvaeus, a member of the Swedish musical group ABBA, is its founder.
11The two companies recently came together for the "ABBA Voyage" show in London.
12Fans there could enjoy a full concert by the Swedish band as performed by the computerized avatars.
13Per Sundin is chief executive officer of Pophouse Entertainment.
14He said the new technology lets Kiss continue its history for "eternity."
15He said the band was not on stage during the computerized performance.
16He added, "Kiss could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That's what you could do with this."
17In order to create their computerized avatars, Kiss performed in equipment that followed their movement.
18This equipment is called motion capture suits.
19Experimentation with this kind of technology has become increasingly common in the music industry.
20In October, K-pop star Mark Tuan partnered with Soul Machines to create a computerized version of himself called "Digital Mark."
21The technology lets fans have one-on-one talks with Digital Mark.
22Tuan is the first famous person to attach their likeness to OpenAI's GPT artificial intelligence technology.
23Aespa is a K-pop girl group.
24The group often performs alongside their computerized avatars.
25In fact, the four-member band is meant to be seen as a group of eight.
26Another girl group, Eternity, is made up entirely of computerized performers.
27No humans are necessary.
28Kiss performer Paul Stanley told reporters that what they have done "... has been amazing, but it's not enough. The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are."
29"We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we've never dreamed of before," Kiss performer Gene Simmons added.
30"The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he's ever done before."
31I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Recently, members of the American rock band Kiss closed out their final performance. The group's "The End of the Road" concert series ended in New York City's famous Madison Square Garden. 2But as it turns out, fans will still be able to enjoy Kiss performances for years to come. 3The band formed in 1973. It is currently made up of founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, as well as Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer. Towards the end of Saturday's show, the band members left the stage and revealed computerized likenesses of themselves. The computerized avatars launched into a performance of the song "God Gave Rock and Roll to You." 4After 50 years of Kiss, the band now hopes to be remembered forever. 5The avatars were created by George Lucas' special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic. The company also worked with Pophouse Entertainment Group. Björn Ulvaeus, a member of the Swedish musical group ABBA, is its founder. 6The two companies recently came together for the "ABBA Voyage" show in London. Fans there could enjoy a full concert by the Swedish band as performed by the computerized avatars. 7Per Sundin is chief executive officer of Pophouse Entertainment. He said the new technology lets Kiss continue its history for "eternity." 8He said the band was not on stage during the computerized performance. He added, "Kiss could have a concert in three cities in the same night across three different continents. That's what you could do with this." 9In order to create their computerized avatars, Kiss performed in equipment that followed their movement. This equipment is called motion capture suits. 10Experimentation with this kind of technology has become increasingly common in the music industry. In October, K-pop star Mark Tuan partnered with Soul Machines to create a computerized version of himself called "Digital Mark." The technology lets fans have one-on-one talks with Digital Mark. Tuan is the first famous person to attach their likeness to OpenAI's GPT artificial intelligence technology. 11Aespa is a K-pop girl group. The group often performs alongside their computerized avatars. In fact, the four-member band is meant to be seen as a group of eight. 12Another girl group, Eternity, is made up entirely of computerized performers. No humans are necessary. 13Kiss performer Paul Stanley told reporters that what they have done "... has been amazing, but it's not enough. The band deserves to live on because the band is bigger than we are." 14"We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we've never dreamed of before," Kiss performer Gene Simmons added. "The technology is going to make Paul jump higher than he's ever done before." 15I'm Gregory Stachel. 16Maria Sherman reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17_________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19concert - n. a public performance of music 20revealed - v. to make (something) known 21avatar - n. a small picture that represents a computer user in a game or on the Internet 22eternity - n. time without an end 23amazing - adj. causing great surprise or wonder 24deserve - v. used to say that someone or something should or should not have or be given something 25iconic - adj. being a famous person or thing that people admire and see as a symbol of a particular idea or way of life