Virtual Idol Plave Fills Gocheok Dome Despite Broadcast Glitch
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
Plave, a five-member virtual idol group that debuted in 2023, held an encore concert at Seoul’s symbolic Gocheok Sky Dome (Gocheok Dome) for about 37,000 fans. Unlike typical virtual acts, real performers hidden in a studio use special gear to animate 2D characters on screen. Plave has seen rapid success—selling 1 million albums in a debut week and topping Japan’s Oricon chart—and benefits from a highly loyal fandom called PLLI (official fanclub). During the concert an early network blackout stopped the screen broadcast, leaving live dancers onstage, but fans applauded and the show resumed successfully. The performance mixed K-pop-style staging and quick virtual costume/moment changes, creative effects like projecting members onto hanging cloths, and emotional fan interactions where virtual members made eye contact and waved to nearby seats. Plave emphasized sincerity—thanking fans for helping them reach Gocheok Dome and recreating a busking scene to show their roots—blending “virtual” visuals with very human fan engagement. Their success is inspiring new virtual groups and raising questions about the next milestones for the genre.
