”One million albums sold out if you advertise them”...The heyday of virtual idols

"She's making the dreams of her fans come true. There's no idol more perfect than her," said A, a company employee who calls himself an "otaku for 20 years," recently talking about virtual idols among friends.
He is known as the evangelist of idols. He actively promotes the idea that they have comic book-like visuals, great music, and that they are good for supporting idols without worrying about love affair rumors or other problems.
A's coworkers, who only a year ago would ask, "Why do you like virtual idols?", have now become friends with him and support his idol.
Popular culture critic Shik said, "Virtual idols have already perfected their visuals, so they just need to focus on music," and "They are popular in the sense that they don't look away and just focus on their fans."
"PLAVE" is the first virtual idol to sell over a million copies.
We are in the golden age of virtual idols. Their music performance and album sales are on par with those of K-POP idols.
With the rapid development of technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence) and XR (mixed reality), virtual idols are now holding offline fan meetings and contests.
It has become possible to certify virtual idols. The representative virtual idol is the five-member group "PLAVE." "PLAVE" is a virtual IP (intellectual property) startup.
This team was launched by the content company Brainst in March 2023. It is not an AI-based virtual human, but a real human acting as a virtual character.
By utilizing the OnReal Engine, a framework for developing dynamic games, and real-time motion capture technology, it is possible to realize dynamic K-POP dance.
The response has been enthusiastic. PLAVE released their third mini album, "Caligo" on the 3rd.
Pt.1" sold 1,038,308 copies in its first week of release.
This is the first time for a group to surpass a million copies sold in its first week, and the first time for a virtual idol group to surpass a million copies sold in its first week. The group is also doing well on the music charts, which are a measure of popularity. The title song "DASH" was released on major music charts as soon as it was released.
It topped the charts and exceeded 11 million cumulative streams within 24 hours of its release, making it the Million Album with the highest 24-hour streaming number of any album released on Melon.
The secret to PLAVE's popularity is "good music." Ms. B, a woman in her 30s who has been an idol fan for over 10 years, said, "I found PLAVE's song to be good, so I searched for it and found that it's a good song."
"I'm satisfied with both their visuals and their music, so there's no reason not to support them," he said. [Virtual idols are also in the advertising industry... they sell out when they appear]
As virtual idols gain popularity, they are also receiving love calls from the advertising industry.
The limited edition "PLAVE Lotte Pepero" was released ahead of Pepero Day (November 11th) and became a huge hit. 90% of the prepared quantity was sold within an hour of the store opening.
Encouraged by the positive response, they produced additional items, but they also sold out in one day. Naevis, who is under SM Entertainment, released a holiday season collection for lifestyle brand HOLLYS in December last year.
The cake "Strawberry is Having a Party" advertised by Naevis has recorded a high sales rate of 199% compared to the whole cake of the previous season, along with various promotions.
Parable Entertainment's "Otherworld Idol" held a collaboration event with Duchim, a brand that specializes in chimtak (chicken stewed in soy sauce), and held an open run (store open).
A source from the entertainment industry said, "Virtual idols are free from human risk, have no time or space restrictions, and are highly scalable."
We expect to see him succeed in many areas in the future, including music, advertising, and the metaverse."