“Virtual idol” does not mean “AI singer”. Some K-pop virtual groups are avatars performed by real people. Some are human acts that use AI for translation or effects. A few use voices the company says are AI-generated. The way to tell them apart is what the agency or creator has said, because as of Oct 22, 2026 Melon, FLO and Bugs had no separate AI label (Seoul Economic Daily).
Avatars with human performers
PLAVE (VLAST) is not fully AI-generated, per The Korea Herald. Human performers wear motion-capture suits that drive live 3D characters, and AI refines the faces and movement. In March 2024 PLAVE became the first virtual group to win a Korean TV music show, and its second EP dominated Melon’s Hot 100 and Top 100 charts (The Korea Herald).
aespa is a human group whose concept, since its 2020 debut, includes AI avatars called “ae” (The Korea Herald). Dazed notes the avatars were human-designed (Dazed).
Human singers using AI tools
MIDNATT, the alter ego of Big Hit Music singer Lee Hyun, released “Masquerade” in 2023. Working from his vocal data, AI generated near-native pronunciation in six languages and shifted his timbre for a female vocal section, as part of HYBE’s push into AI audio through its company Supertone (The Korea Herald). The singer is human; the AI changed his recording.
The group MAVE: used AI to communicate in multiple languages (Dazed).
AI voices, disclosed by the company
naevis is SM Entertainment’s first virtual artist and a character from aespa’s story. When she debuted in 2024, SM said it planned to expand her IP using AI voice technology and generative AI (Digital Music News). Some fans said the voice sounded like a mix of aespa members (Digital Music News).
Syndi8 was launched by HYBE in June 2024 as a virtual pop group “whose vocals are entirely generated by AI using Supertone’s technology”, with four members and the debut single “MVP” (The Korea Herald). Dazed calls it short-lived (Dazed).
AI groups made by fans and independent creators
GLXE is a K-pop-style trio that appeared on TikTok in December 2025. Dazed reports that the three members are AI-generated and that their voices and songs are made with Suno. Its creator, Orion, told Dazed he writes the lyrics and calls the Suno tracks “advanced samples” (Dazed).
BABYQUEEN is a K-pop-style AI girl group run from Liaoning province in China, formed in September 2026 (SCMP). On Oct 13, 2026 it announced that member Mity was “pregnant” and pausing activities. After a backlash, the creators admitted that managing several AI idols had become overwhelming, apologized for using pregnancy as the excuse, and said the whole story was fictional. They described the group as a passion project by a few young female K-pop fans, with no intention of making a profit. The next day the group released a cover video of aespa’s “Next Level” (The Star, from SCMP). “We’re just a few girls who like K-Pop, and we’re still students,” the creators wrote in a since-deleted post (Dexerto). BABYQUEEN is not a Korean agency act. See our BABYQUEEN page.
AI vocals on Korean charts
AI voices have also reached the charts without any idol concept. Meomuru’s “The Adult I Dreamed Of” hit No. 3 on Melon’s Top 100 in October 2026; its album description says the vocals were generated with Suno (The Korea Herald). See AI songs on the charts for what Melon and other charts allow.
How disclosure works in Korea
- Streaming services: As of Oct 22, 2026, Melon, FLO and Bugs had no separate label for AI-generated music (Seoul Economic Daily).
- Copyright registration: In August 2026 the copyright society KOMCA adopted criteria for registering AI-assisted works where a human played a “substantive and leading role”, with the AI tools disclosed, then withdrew them 22 days later (The Korea Herald).
- The AI Basic Act: In force since Jan 22, 2026, its labeling duties fall on “AI business operators”. According to the law firm Shin & Kim, someone who simply uses AI output to make their own content is generally a “user” and not covered, though each case depends on the business’s role. In the firm’s reading, a virtual artist that chats with fans through AI would count as a conversational service with labeling duties (Shin & Kim).
In practice, disclosure is up to the agency or creator. Dazed reports that for many fans the problem is not only that companies use generative AI but that they do it with little transparency. A Macquarie University lecturer summed up the fan view to Dazed as “Don’t lie to us as fans” (Dazed).
Three questions to ask about any virtual idol
- Who sings? Look for named human performers, or a statement from the agency that the voice is AI.
- What is AI doing? The face, the voice, the translation, or the whole song are different things.
- Who said so? An agency statement or the creator’s own words outweighs fan theories.
For individual songs, see how to tell if a song is AI.
Artists in this guide
Sources
- The Korea Herald: AI is no longer optional in K-pop checked Oct 23, 2026
- Dazed: K-pop has an AI problem checked Oct 23, 2026
- Digital Music News: SM Entertainment debuts naevis checked Oct 23, 2026
- South China Morning Post: Chinese AI idol's 'pregnancy' stunt checked Oct 23, 2026
- The Star (SCMP): Chinese AI idol's 'pregnancy' stunt, full text checked Oct 23, 2026
- Dexerto: AI K-pop band under fire checked Oct 23, 2026
- The Korea Herald: AI-assisted song climbs Korean charts checked Oct 23, 2026
- Seoul Economic Daily: Korean platforms have no AI music label (Korean) checked Oct 23, 2026
- Shin & Kim: The AI Basic Act and the content industry checked Oct 23, 2026