[Herald Review] Up

How many times in life do we get the chance to see our favorite stars stand a meter in front of us, looking straight into our eyes as they perform?

The Korea Herald got to experience girl group aespa's first virtual reality concert firsthand, which was a rare and unforgettable moment.

The event kicked off in Seoul on Wednesday as part of the launch of SM Entertainment's VR concert brand, Lynkpop, introduced by SM's subsidiary, Studio Realive (formerly Studio Kwangya), and AmazeVR, the global front-runner in the VR concert business.

The virtual show was launched offline at Coex's Megabox in southern Seoul. Tickets for the first week have already sold out, according to AmazeVR, with tickets quickly running out for the rest of the shows, which are set to take place through Nov. 21.

The first surprise is the Meta Quest 3 headset -- released only around two weeks ago -- which is the viewing platform that sets the stage for the live music show. The AmazeVR engineers clearly put a lot of hours into creating this project.

All hints of the real world are quickly pushed aside as a star-studded night sky opens up right in front of the viewer's eyes, and any skepticism about the quality of the technology soon fades at the sight of the cosmos. Indeed, the view is so realistic that the viewers feel as though they are floating in space.

The show kicked off after around five minutes used in connection, and aespa's Karina, Winter, NingNing and Giselle appeared on a stage that felt like it was mere meters away. Donned in glamorous pink outfits, the girl group performed "Black Mamba."

The background graphics were not as breathtaking as the performance, although they were almost indistinguishable from the girl group's past music videos, which centered around the metaverse.