On “Staying Alive” Sasha and Co. perform hologram duets with Elvis, Whitney Houston & Freddie Mercury. What exactly does that mean?
A duet with Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse and Freddie Mercury – in 2026? How is that supposed to be possible? After all, these music stars died a long time ago.
Now there is a chance that these stars will return to the stage. Because on April 25th the show “Staying Alive – Stars sing with legends” was broadcast on ProSieben. A next round will be broadcast on May 2nd. Artists such as Sasha, Samu Haber, Álvaro Soler and Lucy Diakovska can sing together with the music icons.
What makes it possible: The artists perform a duet with a kind of hologram of the respective star.
Technology like ABBA – but this time live
How exactly this was technically implemented is unclear. Moderator Thore Schölermann also does not comment in more detail. He just said, “Don’t ask how it works. It works.”
The technology is similar to that of the ABBA Avatar show that started in London in 2022. This time, however, real artists are performing a live duet together with their role models.
The hologram method makes it possible to generate the voices of the deceased, as a ProSieben spokeswoman explained to “Merkur”: “The most modern technology made it possible for Elvis Presley to sing ‘Daylight’ or Whitney Houston to sing ‘Hollywood Hills’. This is actually an experiment, but that’s exactly what makes the show so special and unique.”
Legal and ethical questions open
How this is legally secured remains an open question. It is not certain whether the stars’ voices can simply be imitated with AI. The ethical justifiability of the concept is also questionable – after all, it involves deceased people who are brought back to life with the help of technology.
Hologram technology on the rise
Hologram technology has been increasingly used in recent years and it is likely that such tribute concerts will become more common in the future. Elvis, for example, appeared in a three-dimensional light form a few years ago. In November 2024, the “Elvis Evolution” took place in London, Las Vegas, Tokyo and Berlin. With the help of holography and AI, the stars can be brought back to life. Whitney Houston also toured as a hologram between 2020 and 2023.
“Staying Alive – Stars sing with legends” was broadcast for the first time on April 25th at 8:15 p.m. on ProSieben. It continues on May 2nd.
