Elvis set to join Whitney Houston and Tupac in list of performers brought back to life as holograms

Excitement is brewing after it was announced the King of Rock and Roll - Elvis Presley - will be performing on stage once again, including a visit to London. Thanks to AI and the use of holographic projections, Elvis will once again sing in his iconic Memphis drawl as part of an immersive concert experience.

'Elvis Evolution' is recreating the star's likeness from thousands of his personal photos and home video footage. The project follows the recent success of Abba Voyage, a virtual concert with avatars of the Swedish band.

British immersive entertainment specialists Layered Reality have secured the global rights for Elvis Evolution and the company says the shows will feature a life-sized Elvis who will perform iconic moments in musical history on a UK stage for the first time. Elvis died in August 1977 due to cardiac arrest.

But the American singer and actor isn't the only performer to be brought back to life thanks to the use of hologram technology. Here NationalWorld looks at which other artists have similarly performed on stage from the grave.

Tupac

Tupac Shakur, a 1990s rapper who was shot dead in 1996, shocked a crowd at Coachella in 2012 when he took to the stage as a hologram alongside Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg. In true thug life spirit, he opened by saying: "What the f** is up, Coachella!"

The hologram of the rap legend then performed some of his hits including Hail Mary and 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted. Looking back on it, it seems this hologram performance kicked off a number of them that followed.

Whitney Houston

Back in 2020, a string of shows saw music icon Whitney Houston brought back to life as a hologram for 'An Evening with Whitney'. Digital recreations saw Whitney on the stage singing her greatest hits, complete with a live band while the songstress also bantered with the audience.

Michael Jackson

Just short of five years after his death, the King of Pop returned as a hologram to moonwalk once more. His return was at the Billboard Music Awards in 2014. A short performance saw MJ perform his posthumous song 'Slave to the Rhythm.' And it's fair to say that this one felt strikingly real.

Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly

Back in 2018, rock and roll singer Roy Orbison was brought back to life on stage too. The musician who died in 1988 performed full-length shows in 2018 as part of a tour in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia. The tour was a huge success and in 2019, a hologram of Buddy Holly was also added to performances.

Amy Winehouse

Since 2019, plans have been in place for an Amy Winehouse hologram tour. But despite the blessing of her father, Mitch Winehouse, little has come to fruition here and the planned performances have received much backlash from fans and others in the industry over its ethics and appropriateness.