KISS Unveils "Immortal" Digital Avatars After Final Show on Farewell Tour
Fans are torn on KISS' big farewell announcement.
KISS first formed in 1973, and the band has remained active for the last 50 years. This week, original band members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley took the stage with longtime band members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer to play their last show ever. The concert was held at Madison Square Garden and marked the final show of their "End of the Road Tour," which first began four years ago. The glam rock band has had a handful of farewell tours over the years, but with Simmons being 74 and Stanley being 71, it seems they really mean it when they say they're done donning the big boots and makeup. In fact, when the final song played at their big show over the weekend, they revealed that the band would live on as digital avatars.
"KISS army, your love – your power – has made us immortal. The new KISS era starts now. Oh yeah!" Stanley told the crowd. The avatars then "performed" a song before the show ended with the tease, "A new era begins."
Considering KISS is known for wild merchandise, it's not a surprise to learn they've come up with a new way for the band to keep making money. Pophouse Entertainment is behind the digital avatars, and this isn't the first time an iconic band has taken this route. Recently, they also created digital versions of ABBA for the ABBA Voyage show. Considering the ABBA avatar shows have pulled in $2 million every week (via Bloomberg), it's not far-fetched to think fans will pay good money to watch recreations of KISS.
In a press release, Pophouse said they plan to put on "immersive, avatar-powered" concerts using the KISS avatars, which were created by Industrial Light & Magic.
What Do KISS Fans Think of Digital Avatars?
"@kissonline has been immortalized and reborn as avatars to rock forever! Stream the #EndOfTheRoadPPV replay on PPV.COM until 1/1/2 #EndOfTheRoadTour | #KISSArmy | #KISS50," Kiss Online posted on Instagram this week. Many fans have taken to the comments to express different opinions about the announcement.
"This is hard to swallow. No more live KISS. It breaks my heart! But damn, this does look cool. If anyone can do it right, it's you guys.. so I am looking forward to seeing what you do with this," one fan wrote.
"It's cool, but it feels sad at the same time," another replied.
"Embarrassing! Don't ruin your legacy," someone added.
"This is great! KISS absolutely should live on forever," another fan declared.
You can check out the post and read more replies below:
What do you think about the KISS digital avatars? Tell us in the comments.
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