Dolly Parton won’t approve of a hologram tour after she passes away, the country music icon confirmed at a recent press conference promoting her new album, Rockstar, due for release on Friday, 17 November.
As The Independent reports, the Jolene singer was asked about the potential possibility of an AI hologram tour akin to ABBA’s Voyage show.
Parton responded, “I think I’ve left a great body of work behind. I have to decide how much of that high-tech stuff I want to be involved [with] because I don’t want to leave my soul here on this earth.
“I think with some of this stuff, I’ll be grounded here forever,” she continued. “I’ll be around; we’ll find ways to keep me here.”
Poking fun at commentary made at her plastic surgery operations, Parton joked that “everything” about her, including “any intelligence”, was actually artificial.
Earlier this year, sources told Variety that ABBA’s Voyage concert is set to depart its purpose-built London arena and go on a world tour – including Australia. That’s right; you could be seeing the virtual holograms resembling band members Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (or “Frida”), Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson in 1979.
“Plans are now in development to take ‘ABBA Voyage’ around the world,” Universal Music Group chairman Lucian Grainge reportedly said during a company meeting. ABBA and Universal Music Group representatives didn’t offer Variety any further information.
Holograms are touchy for many artists, with Linkin Park MC, producer and guitarist Mike Shinoda denying that a hologram version of Chester Bennington would ever join them on tour.
In an interview with 94.5 The Buzz and transcribed by Metal Injection, Shinoda stated, “Those [hologram tours] are creepy. Even if we weren't talking about us, if we weren't talking about Chester, which is...that's a very sensitive subject, and we would have our feelings about how we would represent that.”
Parton’s Rockstar album arrives after her induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, an honour she didn’t feel she deserved at the time.
“I am very honored [sic] and privileged to have worked with some of the greatest iconic singers and musicians of all time, and to be able to sing all the iconic songs throughout the album was a joy beyond measure,” Parton wrote on her website. “I hope everybody enjoys the album as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it together!”
Check out the full tracklist here and pre-order the album here.
Countrytown brings you Australia’s best country music news, interviews, charts and more every week! This post was authored by Countrytown and originally published on the Countrytown website. It has been re-published with permission.
