K-pop的未来新声：虚拟女团，强势崛起

Since releasing their debut single I'm Real in 2021, K-pop girl group Eternity have racked up millions of views online. They sing, dance and interact with their fans just like any other band. In fact, there's mainly one big difference between them and any other pop group you might know - all 11 members are virtual characters. Non-humans, hyper-real avatars made with artificial intelligence.

在发布首张专辑《I'm real》之后，K-pop女团Eternity在网络上获得了数百万计的浏览量。虽然她们唱歌、跳舞、与粉丝互动，看起来与其他偶像团体毫无二致，但其实她们有一个巨大的不同之处——该团队的11名成员全都是虚拟人物：并非真实的人，而是AI技术制造的超现实化身。

虚拟女团Eternity成员

图源bbc

The virtual faces of Eternity's members were created by deep learning tech company Pulse9. Initially the company generated 101 fantasy faces, dividing them into four categories according to their charms: cute, sexy, innocent and intelligent. Fans were asked to vote on their favourites. In-house designers then set to work animating the winning characters according to the preferences of the fans.For videos and online fan meets, the avatar faces can be projected onto anonymous singers, actors and dancers, contracted in by Pulse9. That brings charactets to life.

Eternity成员的虚拟形象均由深度学习公司Pulse9制作。该公司首先制作了101张虚拟面孔并分成四类：可爱、性感、天真、聪慧，让粉丝投票选出最喜欢的。随后，设计师会对胜出的虚拟面孔进行进一步动画制作。且Pulse9称，在拍摄视频和线上粉丝见面会时，可以把虚拟面孔投射到匿名歌手、演员和舞者身上，让她们“活起来”。

十一位女团成员的面孔均由虚拟技术制作

图源bbc

The cultural tidal wave of Korean pop has become a multibillion-dollar force over the last decade. With its catchy tunes, high-tech production and slinky dance routines, K-pop has smashed into the global mainstream, becoming one of South Korea's most lucrative and influential exports.

在过去十年中，韩国流行音乐的文化浪潮已经创造了数十亿美元的营收。由于其扣人心弦的作曲、高科技的制作和优美的舞蹈编排，k-pop已经强势闯入了全球的主流文化，成为韩国最赚钱、最具影响力的文化输出产品之一。

But the top K-pop stars, their legions of loyal fans, and the business-owners are all looking to the future. With the explosion of artificial intelligence (AI), Deepfake* and avatar technologies, these pop idols are taking their fame into a whole new dimension: many K-pop groups have been quick to adopt new avatar technologies - and the business is forecasted to grow steadily. At least four of K-pop's biggest entertainment companies are investing heavily in virtual elements for their stars. The digital human and avatar market size is estimated to reach $527.58bn globally by 2030, according to projections by market consulting company Emergen Research.

与此同时，顶流韩星、庞大的粉丝团体以及相关企业家也都在展望未来。而AI、深度伪造*、和制造“化身”技术的爆发，让韩流偶像们将事业延伸到了一个全新维度：许多韩团已快速引入和应用了新的化身技术，且预估该业务将稳步增长。目前，韩国的娱乐公司四巨头已经为制造旗下艺人的虚拟形象进行了大笔投资。据市场咨询公司Emergen Research预估，2030年之前，全球数字人与虚拟化身的市值将达到5275.8亿美元。

译注：深度伪造，即Deepfake技术。视频伪造是该技术最为主要的代表，制作假视频的技术也被业界称为人工智能换脸技术（AI face swap)。其核心原理是利用生成对抗网络或者卷积神经网络等算法将目标对象的面部“嫁接”到被模仿对象上。

Under the background of times,many entrepreneurs hold positive attitude."Virtual characters can be perfect, but they can also be more human than humans." Park Jieun, the organisation’s seo, tells BBC 100 Women. Despite this, Park Jieun also sees other advantages in virtual bands where each avatar can be controlled by their creators.

在这样的时代背景下，许多企业家对虚拟偶像十分看好。Park Jieun是Pulse9的首席执行官。她说：“虚拟人物可以很完美，也可以比人类更人性化。”除此之外，她还看到了虚拟团体的更多优点——比如，创造者可以完全掌控虚拟化身。

Over the past years, K-pop made headlines for various social issues - from dating gossip to online trolling, fat-shaming and extreme dieting of band members. The genre has also spurred a conversation about mental health and cyberbullying in South Korea,after tragic death of young K-pop stars due to overwork or suicide."The scandal created by real human K-pop stars can be a risk to the business." She believes she can put these new technologies to good use and minimise risks for overstressed and pressurised K-pop artists trying to keep up with the demands of the industry.

在过去的几年中，K-pop因五花八门的负面新闻频频登上头条：花边八卦、恶意挑衅、极端节食以及制造身材焦虑等等。年轻韩星过劳死或无奈自杀的悲剧屡屡发生，引起了韩国社会各界关于心理健康和网络霸凌的广泛讨论。“真人明星传出的丑闻会为这个行业制造不少风险。”因此，Jieun认为利用虚拟化身技术可以缓解韩流明星追赶不断提高的业内要求的压力，将风险降到最低。

Han Yewon, 19, is the lead vocalist of newly launched girl group mimiirose. Yet the prospect of virtual avatars flooding the industry worries Yewon, who says that fans appreciate her authenticity."Because technology has improved so much lately, I'm afraid that virtual characters will take the place of human idols." she says.

19岁的韩艺媛是新出道的女子组合mimiirose的声乐担当。她表示，粉丝喜欢的是自己的“真实性”，而如潮水一般涌入娱乐行业的虚拟化身让她对事业前景充满忧虑。“现在科技发展太快，我很害怕虚拟人物会取代我们。”她说。

There are also some concerns in the wider industry about ethical and copyright issues that avatar technologies can present."There's a lot of unknowns when it comes to artists in the metaverse, virtual versions, icons of themselves, whatever it might be," Jeff Benjamin, Billboard's K-pop columnist, tells BBC 100 Women." It might be the fact that the artists themselves might not be in control of their image and that can create an exploitative situation."

虚拟化身技术所带来的道德和版权问题也引发相关忧虑。Jeff Benjamin是Billboard的韩国流行乐专栏作家。他表示：“元宇宙里的艺术家、虚拟版的明星、成为自己的偶像？这个领域的未知数实在太多了。而且也许明星本人没法控制自己的虚拟形象，就极有可能会出现‘虚拟形象被剥削’的情况。”

Except that kind of worrying, there are also many positive voices. For instance, using virtual copies of themselves allow idols to reach fansacross time zones and language barriers - in ways that flesh-and-blood artists would never be able to do. Particularly in pandemic, which has been a huge blow to music-related industries around the world. Global K-pop bands have seen concerts canceled and personal appearances postponed due to social distancing measures. However,using virtual copies is a fantastic way to manage to expand their fan bases through various online gigs. 

但除忧虑之外，仍有许多积极的声音。比如，使用虚拟形象可以帮助明星跨越时间和语言的障碍，与粉丝亲密接触——这是有血有肉的真人明星永远做不到的。尤其在疫情期间，全球音乐产业都遭到重创。为了保持社交距离，许多韩团演唱会或明星个人的见面会被推迟或取消。但使用虚拟化身办线上演唱会就能化解困境，甚至还能多吸一大波粉。

During the Covid-19 pandemic Moon Sua and her K-pop group Billlie had to cancel their live performances and fan meets. Instead, the band's management company created virtual copies of band members, to throw a party for fans in the virtual world."At first we were bit clumsy. But as time went by, we got used to it, talking with the fans while adapting to the virtual world. We had such a good time." said Moon Sua.

在新冠疫情期间，文秀雅及其所属团队Billlie虽然被迫取消了线下巡演和粉丝见面会，但她们的经纪公司为她们制作了虚拟替身，在虚拟世界中为其粉丝举办了一场盛大的派对。“一开始我们有点手忙脚乱的，不过时间一长，也都习惯了这种一边探索虚拟世界，一边和粉丝聊天的模式，大家都玩得很开心。”文秀雅说。

K-pop女团的Billlie的线上虚拟派对

图源bbc

Except for that, girl band aespa, consists of four human singers and dancers (Karina, Winter, Giselle and Ningning) and their four virtual counterparts - known as ae-Karina, ae-Winter, ae-Giselle and ae-Ningning. The avatars can explore virtual worlds with the fans and be used across multiple platforms.

除此之外，女团aespa由真人明星Karina，Winter，Giselle和Ningning以及她们的对应化身 ae-Karina，ae-Winter，ae-Giselle和ae-Ningning组成。这些虚拟化身不仅能和粉丝一起探索虚拟世界，还能在多平台广泛使用。

女团aespa成员及其虚拟化身

图源bbc

While chart-topping girl band, Blackpink made history with the help of their virtual twins, winning the first-ever MTV award for Best Metaverse Performance* in 2022.

红透半边天的女团Blackpink更是在虚拟化身的加持下，赢得了有史以来第一个MTV奖和2022年度最佳元宇宙表演奖*。

译注：最佳元宇宙表演奖，是MTV于2022年新增设的奖项，其定义“元宇宙表演”为：在数字空间中进行的音乐演出，由虚拟化身的艺术家进行表演，并且有数字观众进行互动参与。

女团Blackpink借助虚拟化身进行演出和互动

图源bbc

Lee Jisoo, 19, has been a dedicated Billlie fan since the group launched in 2019." Their love for their fans is amazing. You cannot help but love them more." says Jisoo.Jisoo collects fan albums and merchandise, while also interacting with the band online and in the virtual world." The vitual world is interactive,where I can give back my happy feelings to Billlie. I think this is a positive thing for me and I can also draw us closer.”

19岁的Lee Jisoo自从2019年Billlie出道以来就是她们的忠实粉丝。“她们特别宠粉，我完全控制不住再多爱一点的心情！”她说。Jisoo不光收集专辑周边，也会在线上虚拟世界与Billlie互动。“虚拟世界的互动性很强，我可以把我的快乐反馈给她们，还能拉近和她们的距离，真的很棒！”

女团Billlie为粉丝办了一场虚拟空间见面会

图源bbc

But the virtual world can also be an unwelcoming space, with regulations to prevent cyberbullying or abuse lacking or rarely being enforced. The industry has been rocked by online bullying and smear campaigns waged against successful stars."When I see mean comments on Billlie online,which it is also an insult to the things I like, I get stressed out and heartbroken." says Jisoo.

但是虚拟世界在防止网络暴力方面法律法规的缺失或法规执行的缺位，使得它并非一个理想天地——先前对明星的网络霸凌、蓄意抹黑等事件已经对这个行业造成了重创。“看到网上对Billlie的恶评时，我感觉就像最爱的东西受了侮辱，会特别焦虑和难过。”Jisoo说。

In the fast-changing K-pop industry, it might be too soon to say whether virtual idols are a short-term fad or the future of the music industry. But for now, for fans like Jisoo the choice of who to follow is an easy one.

在快速发展的K-pop产业，现在对“虚拟偶像到底是昙花一现还是乐坛未来希望”下结论还为时尚早。不过在当下，对于Jisoo这样的粉丝来说，选择追随真人明星还是虚拟偶像是一件很简单的事。

"Honestly, if someone asks me, 'Do you want to watch Billlie on the metaverse for 100 minutes or in real life for ten minutes?', I'll choose to see Billlie for ten minutes in real life." She believes "people who like real idols and people who like virtual idols are completely different" - and for many like her, it would be "hard" to fall for the avatars at the expense of human K-pop stars.

老实说，如果有人问我‘你想在虚拟空间看一百分钟的虚拟Billlie，还是想在现实生活里看他们的真人十分钟？’，我会选择后者。”她相信“喜欢真人偶像的人和喜欢虚拟偶像的人完全不同”，而且对这类粉丝来说，放弃真人K-pop明星而爱上虚拟偶像是很难的。

lucrative  adj.生利的; 赚钱的

例句：Her career had begun anew, with a lucrative Japanese modelling contract. 

获得了在日本做模特儿的高利合同之后，她的事业重新开始。

dimension  n.方面; 特征; 可度量的范围; 维; 维数度; 量纲；v.将…切削成特定尺寸; 在(图表)上标出尺寸

例 句：Water can add a new dimension to your garden. 

水可以给你的花园增添一点新的特色。