Elvis Evolution: King of Rock 'n' Roll to return to stage in AI show

A huge collection of footage has been used to bring Elvis’ stage presence back to life, ITV News’ Sangeeta Kandola reports

Elvis Presley is set to make a comeback in November in a new, artificial intelligence-based show.

A life-sized, digital Elvis will perform The King’s best-known songs and iconic dance moves in the Elvis Evolution performance thanks to holographic projections, augmented reality and live theatre.

The show will start with the story of Elvis’ life and culminate in a performance by the digital reincarnation of the rock and roll megastar.

Creators of Elvis Evolution, AI show specialists Layered Reality, say the experience will recreate the “seismic impact” of seeing Elvis live for a whole new generation of fans by “blurring the lines between reality and fantasy”.

A Tupac hologram entertained crowds at the Coachella music festival in 2012. / Credit: AP

The announcement comes after the launch of a number of digital reincarnations of artists, including ABBA Voyage, a 90-minute concert performed by digital avatars of the group’s members.

The Swedish quartet appear as the 1979 versions of themselves in a purpose-built arena in east London.

Holograms of Whitney Houston and Tupac have also graced stages in the US, in futuristic displays of the late performers’ shows, while US rock band Kiss have also unveiled avatars of themselves in which they appear as superhero musicians.

Elvis Presley Enterprises, which is the business arm of the Elvis Presley estate, said “this will be the experience of the century for fans of Elvis Presley”.

A concert starring a hologram of Whitney Houston ran between 2020 and 2022 in Las Vegas. / Credit: PA

Elvis died in 1977, aged 42, and a huge collection of footage has been used to bring his stage presence back to life.

It isn’t the first time the superstar has been digitally reincarnated, with a hologram of Elvis singing alongside Celine Dion on American Idol in 2007, and then making an appearance in the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049.

Elvis Evolution will debut in London, despite Elvis himself never having performed in the UK, with plans for it to then visit Las Vegas, Tokyo and Berlin.