Lecture 109. Are Your Pop Stars Even Real?

Pop music has always thrived on illusion — from the “family” fantasy of the Jackson 5 to Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, from Milli Vanilli’s lip-sync scandal to Britney’s schoolgirl persona. Each era refined the pop factory, turning image into product and spectacle into culture. MTV supercharged it, Disney and American Idol franchised it, and the internet blew it wide open with YouTube stars and TikTok virality.

Now, the industry has taken its boldest step yet: stars who don’t exist at all. From ABBA’s digital Voyage avatars to Japan’s Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku, and AI newcomers like Xania Monet — who already has a record deal — the future of pop may be more virtual than human.

In this lecture, The Pop Professor traces the history of how pop has always blurred the line between real and manufactured — and asks whether authenticity itself has become the ultimate illusion.