This K-pop group has virtual members

South Korea – Pointing to the phygital future of entertainment, K-pop band aespa has both human and digital members.

Created by music management company SM Entertainment, the band's human quarter each has a virtual alter ego, known as the ‘æ’ version of themselves. Promotional photos feature member Karina interacting with her counterpart æKarina, while the band's name is a combination of the words avatar, experience and aspect. By digitising themselves, aespa hopes to explore themes of identity and encountering your ‘other self’ online.

The group is a product of SM Entertainment's SM Culture Universe project, which presents a ‘future world centred on celebrities and avatars’, according to Lee Soo-man, founder of SM Entertainment. He adds that aespa will explore ‘completely new and innovative concepts that transcend the boundaries between the real world and the virtual world’.

While we have previously explored the rise of Avatar Employees that enable workers to maximise their output, aespa hints at how digital doppelgängers could augment entertainment.