Michael Jackson Hologram

Michael Jackson Hologram: Sings, Moonwalks at Billboard Music Awards

A hologram of Michael Jackson appeared at the Billboard Music Awards, almost five years after the singer and entertainer’s tragic death. Jackson’s hologram was materialised stretched on a shimmering golden throne amid a host of backup dancers both real and also holographic.

The  King of Pop performed a host of signature dance moves: moonwalking as it performed to the recently released “Slave to the Rhythm,” a track off the posthumous album ‘Xscape’, this album is made of unreleased material remixed by artists such as Timbaland.

Watch Michael Jackson Hologram moonwalking

How is that for technology? Michael Jackson joins a growing number of musicians , both dead and alive, who have their images projected on stage during ‘live’ performances. Janelle Monáe and M.I.A were able to share a stage in April, even though the artists were 4,000 km apart, while deceased rappers Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Eazy-E made hologramatic appearances at concerts in 2013. The practice of resurrecting dead artists for posthumous performances was popularised by the appearance of Tupac Shakur’s hologram at 2012′s Coachella festival.

However, did you know that the technology to project hologram images has been around since the 16th century? Michael Jackson’s hologram performance was almost put to a stop because certain companies claimed that this would violate their patents rights. However, a judge in Las Vegas agreed that the technology is in the public domain allowing for the performance to carry on.

Brilliant invention that allows us to still enjoy performances of celebrities and musicians even after they have died.