With the pandemic still affecting the world, many businesses around the world have had to adapt to these changes in order to still get money and survive. With this, they have had to come up with clever ideas, oftentimes using technology and the virtual world to their advantage. Starting more recently, virtual concerts have gained a lot of popularity, with singers such as Billie Eilish, Blackpink, and Dua Lipa using online platforms to get millions of fans watching them on their screens.

These virtual concerts are often held on Youtube, where people have to pay around $30 for a membership, which will give them access to the concert as well as additional perks, such as emojis of the singer and special videos exclusive to people with the membership. This membership lasts about two months, so it is important to utilize all of the perks given to you before that time period runs out. Juliana Neemah (10) is glad singers have this opportunity to host concerts, saying “Virtual concerts are helpful to singers because it is still a way to show their music to the public and make a profit during these times. I haven’t gone to one yet but I hope to go to one soon!”

Billie Eilish’s concert, which aired in October, was called “Where Do We Go?”, an ironic name considering the current situation we are in. She sang songs such as “When The Party’s Over” and her debut “Ocean Eyes”. To make this concert unique compared to any other concert, animated creatures appeared to enhance the visual effects of the show. Different than an in-person concert, fans could type in the comment section their support for Billie, and buy her merchandise more conveniently online as well. During her concert, she also revealed that she was working on her new album, which is something else fans can start to get excited about (Rolling Stones). 

With Billie’s concert proven to be successful, Blackpink is soon to have a virtual concert too. To get fans excited for it, on their community posts on Youtube, they revealed on January 18 some of the songs they will be performing, such as “Forever Young” and “Kill This Love”. To encourage more people to join and to get more out of this experience, they are surprising fans with Blackpink member Jennie’s new rap lyrics to her song “Solo”. In addition, they will be singing songs from their newly released album that came out last October, something that fans have been waiting for but unfortunately were not able to see for a while due to obvious circumstances we are facing in our world. People that purchased the Plus membership, which is $40, will have an opportunity to watch Blackpink’s soundcheck rehearsal on January 30 at 2 PM KST. Not only this, but they will get special access to five special videos, three of them being the Band Session, the VCR Shotting, and the Rehearsal Site. The other two videos are surprises and are yet to come.

However, even virtual concerts can still face their challenges. Though Blackpink was supposed to have their virtual concert on December 27, it got postponed to January 31 due to the rising coronavirus cases in Korea. Fortunately, everyone that purchased a ticket was given a full refund, and it seems that the show is likely to happen on its next proposed date. 

With virtual concerts becoming more frequent in our world, many people are now able to see their favorite singers from the comfort of their own home without their eardrums being blasted or the risk of getting sick. However long this pandemic may last, our world will continue to evolve with the issues presented to us, ensuring that we can still find a somewhat normalcy in our currently abnormal lives.