Megan Thee Stallion Launches ‘First-Ever’ Virtual Reality Concert Tour
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
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A Megan Thee Stallion concert is coming to Los Angeles, but the Grammy-winning rapper won’t be at the show — at least not physically.
On Monday, Megan announced the launch of a virtual reality concert “tour” that will allow fans in 10 U.S. cities to gather in movie theaters, strap on VR headsets and watch the rapper perform a pre-recorded set. The tour—dubbed “Enter Thee Hottieverse”—is produced by AmazeVR, a West Hollywood virtual reality startup that recently raised $15 million to bring VR concerts to music fans.
Virtual reality concerts have grown in popularity during the pandemic and are emerging as a metaverse-related business opportunity. But whereas other VR shows let fans watch from home, Megan and AmazeVR are betting that fans will want to gather at the same place to share a virtual experience. The startup claims the shows mark the “first-ever” VR concert tour.
“Virtual reality has always been an interest of mine and I’m glad that we’ll be able to make history with this experience,” Megan, whose real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, said in a statement. “My hotties will get to watch me perform in a completely different and unique way and I appreciate the AmazeVR team for helping me to bring this VR vision to life.”
Bringing fans together under one roof is not the only thing that makes AmazeVR’s shows different from others, according to the company. AmazeVR will not turn Megan into a cartoon-like avatar, nor simply play a concert film through its headsets. Instead, the firm films 3D, live-action videos of artists like Megan and inserts them in computer-generated worlds post-production. The Megan concert will feature a multi-song set that moves through a series of environments, the company said.
AmazeVR has raised nearly $31 million since launching in 2015, with its most recent fund round co-led by Partners Investment and Murex Partners. The startup was founded by former executives of South Korean messaging app Kakao and also has an office in Seoul.
Cognizant of the ongoing pandemic, AmazeVR said both its VR headsets and the movie theaters will be sanitized before and after each of Megan’s shows. In Los Angeles, the tour runs April 5-10 at the AMC The Grove 14 movie theater, with subsequent dates in San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, Washington D.C. and New York.
Megan Thee Stallion - Enter Thee Hottieverse Announcment IDwww.youtube.com
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Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
Indji Systems VP of Americas Chuck Parker Courtesy of Indji Systems