You’ve got to hand it to Jungkook, the “golden maknae” of BTS, who you could argue is basically the King of Pop right now. According to the latest Billboard chart, for example, four songs from Jungkook’s solo album Golden have entered the Hot 100 song chart. His super-catchy single Standing Next to You also shot to the top of Billboard’s Global 200 and hit #1 on the iTunes chart in recent days — despite having to contend with major new releases from The Beatles and Taylor Swift, of all people.
And now, the youngest member of BTS is preparing to extend his superstardom to the virtual world, thanks to a partnership between Meta’s Horizon Worlds social universe and iHeartRadio.
Jungkook will perform Standing Next to You on Dec. 11, which owners of Meta Quest headsets will be able to enjoy inside Horizon Worlds. His performance is part of a weekly iHeartRadio concert series that kicks off inside Horizon Worlds on Nov. 28 and runs through Feb. 5, 2024. “Music hits different in VR,” Meta says about the upcoming performances. “From hanging out with fellow fans from across the globe and cultivating your avatar’s look to simply moving to the beat, immersive concerts let you connect with your favorite artists and discover new ones in a spectacular yet intimate way.”
This will be quite a treat for BTS fans, to say the least, since the group hasn’t performed live together as a full unit since April of 2022 in Las Vegas, prior to the start of their individual military enlistments. Since then, they’ve each performed various one-off shows in support of their respective solo projects, ahead of an expected reunion of the group in 2025 (at the earliest). Jungkook fans, for example, were treated to a surprise mini-concert in Times Square just a few days ago, when the Seven singer performed from a setup inside a billboard.
Jungkook, by the way, also isn’t the only major K-pop act coming to Meta headsets.
The K-pop girl group Blackpink is likewise headed to Horizon Worlds next month, a couple of weeks after Jungkook. BLACKPINK: A VR Encore will debut in VR on December 26 at 5:00 pm PT. The 70-minute show, custom-captured and produced for VR, is a production of The Diamond Bros in partnership with Meta and was filmed during Blackpink’s Born Pink World Tour finale at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
“Artists like Blackpink are transforming how music fans experience performances and connect with their favorite artists,” Meta VP of Metaverse Vishal Shah said in a news release. “We’re excited to feature this creative, social VR experience from The Diamond Bros in Horizon Worlds and can’t wait for Meta Quest owners to take a front-row seat for this amazing show.”
