Recently, Yue Hua Entertainment announced the debut of their new virtual girl group, “A-SOUL”. It was branded as a girl grouo that will “never collapse”, in a trailer message reposted on Yue Hua CEO, Duhua’s weibo page.
Beside Duhua, the girl group standees all carry respective signs that say “Will never fall in love”, “Maintain a good figure”, “Support Du Mama (Duhua)”, “Will tao in for work in time” and “Be punctual for work”.
The girl group members are portrayed in anime drawing style and are named (由贝拉)Bella、 (向晚) Ava、(嘉然) Diana、(珈乐) Carol and (乃琳) Eileen respectively.
Their music video for their debut song, “Quiet” has also been released on Youtube.
Weibo Netizens respond to A-SOUL’s debut on Weibo
Following the announcement of A-SOUL’s debut, netizens on Weibo appear less than thrilled.
On the groups’s official Weibo page announcing its MV debut, comments were seen to include as such:
[+140] There’s no excitement in this, normal and bland, including the powerpoint style animations, what are you trying to do? Go to heaven?
[+49] The song doesn’t sound like its from the underworld, but are you sure it’s an MV?
On Duhua’s Weibo page promoting the new girl group, top comments also included:
[+87] What kind of mess are you putting up?!
[+50] Are you sick…
[+52] Have you resolved Meng Meiqi’s sisheng issue?
[+32] Treat Li Wenhan better!
Netizens on Youtube react to A-SOUL’s debut
Similarly on Youtube, fans have been lukewarm in their reactions towards the virtual girl group, mostly calling on the company to pay more attention to their existing idol groups.
Perhaps the concept of a virtual idol group still requires fans getting used to it, as it is a new concept afterall. South Korean Entertainment company has also recently debuted the girl group AESPA, which also include virtual girl group members. While this concept is met with scepticism by some, others believe that it will be the future of idol groups.
What do you think of A-SOUL and C-pop’s latest foray into virtual idol groups? Share your thoughts and comments with us below!