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Virtual Teresa Teng live concert to debut in Shanghai

By Zhang Rui: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, July 30, 2015

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A live concert featuring a virtual version of the late Chinese pop icon Teresa Teng will be held in Shanghai in August, China.org.cn has learned.

To mark the 20th anniversary of her death, the Teresa Teng Foundation decided to hold the concert at the Shanghai Gymnasium in Shanghai, one of Teng's favorite cities when she was alive, on August 8. Currently, Shanghai is the only Chinese mainland stop.

A virtual version of the Chinese pop icon Teresa Teng sings on stage in Taipei in May, 2015. A virtual concert featuring Teng will be held in Shanghai in August. [China.org.cn]

Such a virtual concert was previously held on May 9 this year in Taipei, with singer Fei Yu-ching as special duet guest and an audience of 7,000 attending. The full 2-hour concert was well received and the hologram styled 3D Teresa Teng image was stunning.

It was later revealed that the full concert was produced by the visual effects and digital production company Digital Domain 3.0 with the virtual human special effect technologies they developed for years and with US$15 million from the Teresa Teng Foundation. The virtual Teresa Teng has the power to move audiences to tears. Every detail in her mouth, hair, expression and body language was delicately reproduced.

"It has been a really long time since I saw you last time, I miss you very much. I hope you love the songs I sing tonight," the virtual Teng said in her thrilling and otherworldly opening remarks.

Then she sang classics such as "Sweet Honey," "The Moon Represent My Heart" and the duets "What Do You Have To Say," and "Wishing We Last Forever" with real human singer Fei Yu-ching in Taipei. The same set list will be performed on the Shanghai stage.

Digital Domain 3.0 has worked on more than 100 films including "Titanic," "Iron Man 3," "Tron: Legacy," "Transformers," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and had been recognized with nine Academy Awards. In July 2013 the majority ownership of Digital Domain was acquired by the Hong Kong listed public company Sun Innovation, with Reliance MediaWorks continuing to own the minority stake, and a new CEO, Daniel Seah, was appointed.

Teresa Teng's virtual image previously appeared on the stage in a concert by pop star Jay Chou for a duet. But the full concert by the late singer was the first in the world. The Teresa Teng Foundation and Digital Domain prepared and developed the project for 5 years and produced 15 songs using Teng's image.

Frank Teng, Teng's brother and the executor of Teresa's estate, said the virtual Teresa will help fans to recover their memories of his sister and introduce Teng's charm and music to a new generation of fans. "This is a great respect paid to Teresa Teng," the brother said.

In recent years, a number of late pop icons have been brought back to the stage using high-technology. Also in 2012, a subsidiary Digital Domain created a virtual likeness of the rap star Tupac Shakur for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's show at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which gained worldwide recognition. In 2014, a virtual version of the King of Pop Michael Jackson, developed by Pulse Evolution, performed the song "Slave to the Rhythm" at the Billboard Music Awards and generated a lot of buzz. Digital Domain also announced that the company would create a virtual Elvis Presley in partnership with CORE Media Group.