Acclaimed singer Amy Winehouse, who passed away at the young age of 27, will be returning to the stage, as a hologram in 2019. Reuters reports that the company BASE Hologram, will be teaming up with the Winehouse family to preserve the legacy of the acclaimed pop-star.
“Fans have been clamoring for something new from Amy, but really there isn’t anything new (in terms of music),” Mitch Winehouse, Amy’s father, said in an interview. “We felt this would be a tremendous way for Amy both to revisit her fans through a hologram, and also an incredible way to raise money for our foundation.”
BASE Hologram has made holograms for other deceased artists including 1960s pop singer Roy Orbison, who passed away in 1988 and opera singer Maria Callas,. who passed away in 1977. Orbison’s hologram tour has played over 35 stops across the United States and Europe to acclaim from each respective audience.
Mitch Winehouse was reportedly impressed with the Orbison hologram after seeing it live however, the father has also claimed that he wants to make sure that the hologram captures the late Winehouse accurately.This would mean that the mechanics behind the Winehouse hologram will have to be different from the Orbison one, due to the nature of their performances.
Orbison, who typically stood in front of his microphone while he sang, performed much differently than Winehouse, who danced around the stage during her performances. His hologram showed some limited mobility, thanking the audience for their applause, and turning its back to the orchestra to nod, while Winehouse’s is set to be much more complex.
To achieve this the company will hire an actress to recreate the singer’s stage movements, to emulate her stage presence in addition to the use of prosthetics and computer-generated imagery. “We will do the best we can in terms of honoring her legacy. This is a celebration,” the company’s Chief Executive Brian Becker stated.
Each set is expected to be around 75 to 110 minutes according to Becker, with proceeds from these benefit concerts going to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, that seeks to assist young people struggling with substance abuse. The late Winehouse, who struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction, died of alcohol poisoning in her London apartment back in 2011.
While she was known for having great performances, Winehouse’s issues reached a climax during the year of her death, when she cancelled her European tour. The singer appeared to noticeably have problems during an infamous show in Belgrade, Serbia, where she reportedly forgot lyrics during her performance, arrived late and was eventually booed off the stage.
Earlier this year demo by the singer was eventually released, showcasing the star’s emerging talent at the young age of 17, two years before she would be signed. This demo, entitled On My Way, was allegedly a tape that was sent to record labels to help get her signed to a major label.
In the realm of holograms, many have been developed by other companies throughout the year’s most noticeably the Digital Domain Media Group’s Tupac hologram, which made an appearance at Coachella in 2012.
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