Benjamin Kheng collaborates with virtual influencer Rae for her first music video, ‘WORLDS’
This is the first music video in Asia to feature a collaboration between a human and virtual being.
Virtual influencer Rae debuted her first music video titled WORLDS on Tuesday (Aug 17), featuring a popular face in Benjamin Kheng.
The collaboration with the Singaporean songwriter and music artiste is the first between a human and a virtual being in Asia.
Rae’s voice was created through AI and machine learning. Her newest TTS voice generation technology allows audio content to be generated almost instantly and allows her to express her bold personality through a new medium.
As a virtual being, Rae speaks in an alto tone with a slight robotic pitch.
The song, written by Benjamin, is about a loved one who passed on and how he missed her so much that he would dream of lifetimes with her.
The pair wanted to create a new experience, so they experimented with an electronic treatment for Rae’s voice in contrast to Ben’s vocals.
Rae describes the song as a natural extension of our interactions across two realms – Ben in the physical and herself in the metaverse.
For her, the song expresses the friendships and rapport she has established with every individual across separate universes. She had enjoyed every bit of the co-creation process, from the recording to the filming of the music video.
“Finding my voice and working on my first music video has been an empowering experience. It was a blast working with Ben for WORLDS,” she said.
Similarly, Benjamin Kheng enjoyed his time working on the song with Rae.
He said: “I was so curious as to how working with Rae would be, but finally meeting ‘her’ was a blast. She might be virtual but she, her team and the whole process felt real ‘real’ to me.”
First making her appearance in October 2020, Rae has amassed over 585,000 followers on Instagram and Weibo, and claims to be “Southeast Asia’s top virtual influencer”.
Apart from this collaboration, Rae has collaborated with Audi Singapore to appear in the online premiere of the all-new Audi A3 this year. Her partnership marked the first time a virtual influencer has partnered with an automotive brand in Singapore.
