Nine months after initially teasing the concept, Base Hologram‘s An Evening with Whitney: The Whitney Houston Hologram Tour made its world premiere in England earlier this week, and for the most part, fans are not happy.
It was last Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Sheffield’s City Hall that the highly controversial concert tour kicked off and 2,200+ relatively quiet and unerwhelmed Whitney Houston fans were subject to a 90-minute spanning, 16-song set, fully equipped with lights, lasers, backup dancers and a backing band.
Though the L.A.-based hologram company is doing its best to hype up the ambitious trek — which will continue to project digital versions of the late Higher Love singer across the U.K. and Europe this spring — its opening night garnered a wide range of negative reviews from fans across the globe.
As highlighted by Base Hologram, a select portion of attendees did, in fact, leave the venue pleased with the result of the digital event, however, their positivity is being heavily undermined by a continuously amassing wave of pessimism online.
“Terrible” is one of many choice words that is being utilized commonly over different social media platforms to describe the exclusive run, which some are claiming, “nobody asked for.”
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It seems the majority of the negativity stems from not only how Houston’s digital reincarnation looks aesthetically — one Twitter user has compared it to the quality of “PlayStation 1 graphics” — but the morals, or lack thereof, behind the supposedly “exploitative” “money grab by those controlling her estate.”
Base Hologram was given permission to make their vision a reality by the Whitney Houston estate last year.
Since then, the I Will Always Love You singer’s sole estate executor and sister-in-law Pat Houston has been working closely with the company’s CEO, Brian Becker, to create and supposedly “perfect” the concert experience.
A dress rehearsal for the Whitney Houston hologram tour, which opens tonight at City Hall in Sheffield, England before embarking on a international tour.
Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images
“A hologram show is all about the imagination and creating a wow factor that extends to an incredible experience to enjoy for years to come,” she said in a statement.
Pat continued: “Whitney is not with us, but her music will live with us forever.
“We know we made the right decision partnering with Base because they understand how important it is to produce a phenomenal hologram.”
Despite having the opportunity to hear some of Houston’s most classic songs, including I Wanna Dance with Somebody and I’m Every Woman, fans of the much-beloved musician didn’t want to look past the issue of consent, ethics and overall quality of the military-grade image of their idol.
The rise in interest for hologram tours has sparked of controversy among many music lovers frequently in the past.
Here’s what some Houston fans had to say about the Base Hologram tour on Twitter:
The Houston-inspired hologram concert isn’t be the first produced by Base Hologram though. The company launched the North American In Dreams tour last October featuring a hologram of the legendary Roy Orbison.
The company was also set to launch an Amy Winehouse hologram tour in mid-2019, but it was delayed in February as it “needed to be worked on delicately and in an extremely respectful manner.”
As of this writing, no official Canadian tour dates have been announced for the An Evening With Whitney tour.
Additional updates and information can be found on the official website.
Remaining 2020 ‘An Evening With Whitney’ tour dates
Feb. 27 – Liverpool, England @ M&S Bank Arena 2 Arena
Feb. 28 – Manchester, England @ Apollo
Feb. 29 – Leeds, England @ First Direct Arena
March 1 – Glasgow, Scotland @ SEC Armadillo
March 3 – Dublin, Ireland @ Bord Gais Theatre
March 4 – Birmingham, England @ Arena
March 5 – Bournemouth, England @ Bournemouth International Centre
March 6 – Cardiff, Wales @ Motorpoint Arena
March 7 – Brighton, England @ Centre
March 9 – Nottingham, England @ Royal Concert Hall
March 10 – London, England @ Hammersmith Apollo
March 12 – Brussels, Belgium @ Bozar
March 13 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ AFAS Live
March 14 – Ghent, Belgium @ Capitole
March 15 – Paris, France @ Salle Pleyel
March 20 – Berlin, Germany @ Admirals Palast
March 21 – Bratislava, Slovakia @ Inchebo Expo Arena
March 22 – Vienna, Austria @ Stadhalle F
March 23 – Milan, Italy @ Teatro di Arcimboldi
March 26 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Congress Centre
March 29 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Forum Black Box
March 30 – Olso, Norway @ Folketeatret
April 1 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Cirkusic
© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
