New Opportunities with AI Music

The appearance of virtual singers, or the widespread use of AI technology in the Vietnamese music market, is not surprising to audiences. However, for AI or virtual artists to truly “live” in showbiz, it requires a lot of effort from production units.

Long-term development orientation

After more than 1.5 years of absence, Vietnam's first virtual idol singer - Ann has recently officially returned with the MV Cry. At the press conference, "she" performed with a live band on a real stage using 3D hologram technology.

Explaining the reason for the temporary hiatus, the producer said that it was a time to perfect the image, motion, and sound technologies. In particular, the sound part received the most investment, with the "mixing" of many voices to create a unique voice color, responding to the length and pitch of the music. The highest goal now is to make it possible for Ann to perform with real singers on stage. And the next long-term plan will be to build and develop her own fan community.

“We always closely follow market changes to adjust the production process more reasonably and perfectly for Ann,” said Mr. Bobo Dang, representative of Ann's parent company.

Virtual singer Ann returns in the MV Cry. Photo: BOBO STUDIO

Debuting not long before Ann were two AI singers Michau and Damsan - inspired by Vietnamese folk tales and epics and developing their own stories, freely adapting their talents and psychology. At the HOZO International Music Festival 2022, both performed live on the big stage with real dancers through 3D hologram projection technology. At the HOZO International Music Festival 2023, the crew released Michau and Damsan's first two MVs Losing you, Don't look back. Mr. Nguyen Tien Huy, CEO of Pencil Group - the unit that built and developed the two surreal singers, said that both AI singers are in the process of being built, so feedback from the community plays an important role in the performance style, musical color...

Not yet a trend

Michau and Damsan received sponsorship for their debut from DST Entertainment, and media sponsorship from Appota and OTA Network - prominent names in the entertainment industry. However, after nearly a year of debut, both of them have not left any mark on the Vietnamese music market. The reason is said to be because Michau and Damsan's songs are all catchy music genres, not picky about listeners, but also not outstanding, the audience will forget after listening to them once.

As for Ann, with this comeback, she not only hopes to "breathe a new wind" but also hopes to gradually represent the combination of technology and art bearing the Vietnamese mark. However, it will take time for the audience to remember "her". At the premiere, many audiences had positive feedback, such as young audience member Nguyen Tuan (student of Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture) commented: "The sound is okay but the image needs a lot of improvement, the face is still too stiff, lacking vitality, especially the soulless eyes that easily offend the audience".

Audience member Nguyen Nam Trung (Nha Be, Ho Chi Minh City) shared: “I think Vietnamese audiences will accept AI singers positively if they do well. Like the time Tung Duong sang a duet with the late artist Tran Lap in the song May Rain. It was the 3D mapping technology that recreated an emotional Tran Lap, blending the images and voices of the living and the dead, creating a strong impression on viewers.”

Of course, the “invasion” of AI also creates many mixed opinions. In early July this year, singer Dan Truong released the MV Em oi vi dau, attracting attention when applying AI technology to build the image. However, the MV was released and met with a series of unpleasant reactions from the public because the characters were stiff, the images were unreasonable, and not lively. Some supporting characters were not complete, even looking deformed.

Previously, engineer Bao Dai's music-writing AI model also received debates about the boundary between technology and artist creativity. Commenting on AI music, musician Huy Tuan said: "In my opinion, most of the things behind, such as images, singing, and composing ability, AI will take a long time to replace humans, or even not. AI will probably be a trend, enough for entertainment products but it will be difficult to have a higher "status" in art."

And that is also the common view of today's artists, AI will not replace but support, become a powerful assistant to help people speed up, remove many obstacles in the music production process. The Vietnamese music market is still in the exploration stage, waiting for new opportunities for both real and virtual artists. And, any development must be based on internal foundation, identity and strength.

TIEU TAN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nhung-co-hoi-moi-voi-am-nhac-ai-post757260.html