PLAVE: WHERE VIRTUAL MEETS REAL IN THE WORLD OF K-POP

'ONE OF THE BAND'S BIGGEST STRENGTHS IS THE ABILITY TO EVOLVE WITH TECHNOLOGY AND CONTINUOUSLY DEVELOP WHAT WE CAN SHOW, SAYS BAMBY

- By DEBASHREE DUTTA

From the virtual world of Caelum, a supernatural force led Plave to Asterum-a mystical realm that connected their planet to Earth. This bridge allowed them to share their music, thoughts, and emotions with people in the real world.

As a Korean virtual boy group introduced by Vlast, Plave is a quintet of animated artists inspired by webtoons, with each member bringing something different. Yejun, Noah, and Eunho focus on producing music and content, while Bamby and Hamin lead choreography and performance. Since debuting just over two years ago, Plave has made a major impact on the Korean music scene.

After the release of their single "Asterum" in March 2023, they became the first virtual group to top major Korean music charts, even winning on music shows like Show Champion and Show! Music Core. In February 2025, their album Caligo Pt.

I broke records, earning over II million streams on Melon in a single day-the fastest million-streaming album in 24 hours. Within a week, their total streams hit over two billion. The title track "Dash" landed on Billboard's Global 200, with four more songs charting on Billboard's Global Excl. US. Beyond the stats, their success comes from strong music, showmanship, and a truly unique story-something they opened up about in this chat with Rolling Stone India.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN: HOW PLAVE CAME TO LIFE

Bringing Plave to life is a big-time collaborative process, with real artists behind each virtual character. This synergistic brilliance between creators, animators, and vocalists results in an identity that seamlessly blends artistic vision with technical expertise. Taking us behind the scenes, Yejun explains that the members have full creative control over their music and choreography while working closely with the technical team. "From the demo stage, we share ideas with our company staff and fine-tune the overall image and concept together.