Janelle Monae and M.I.A. took to the stage last night to perform a duet, but before you that it’s just some ordinary duet with two performers on a stage together, you would be wrong.
Leave it to Monae and M.I.A. to share a stage during separate concerts on opposite coasts through the magic of holograms. The advance technology which is similar to the one that brought Tupac back from the dead during Coachella 2012, was used during unique set. The idea was all sponsored by Audi as a way to launch its A3 model.
Unlike Tupac’s hologram, this project required more advanced 3-D projection and video mapping technology. Reportedly, the two artists performed together in person to help create the holograms, but did not get to see the final outcome until they took the stage, at their respected locations, that night.
“I wish I were in the audience because I’m sure it looked cooler from the audience, but it felt great,” Monae said after closing her 40-minute set. “I felt M.I.A.’s spirit up there.”
The Sri Lankan rapper’s hologram appeared during the performance of Monae’s lead single “Q.U.E.E.N.” from her recently released album, Electric Lady. Across the country, M.I.A. was joined on stage by Monae’s hologram during her song, “Bad Girls” where the hologram ‘sang’ a verse from the track.
Watch some footage from M.I.A’s performance at New York’s SIR Stage 37 here.
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