Lil Nas X is due to perform live in Roblox this weekend, marking the popular online gaming platform’s first ever in-game concert.
According to Roblox, the concert will feature a set of stages inspired by the rapper’s songs and videos, created using the latest shadowing, lighting and physically based rendering (PBR) facial recognition technologies available on the Roblox platform.
The show will see the ‘Old Town Road’ star perform his new single ‘Holiday’ live for the first time, and will be preceded by an artist Q&A – also taking place within the game, which now boasts over 150 million monthly users.
I’ve been working hard with Roblox to create this incredible VIRTUAL LIVE CONCERT EXPERIENCE! WE GOT VIDEOS & A PERFORMANCE you don’t want to miss coming this weekend! #RobloxPresentsLNX pic.twitter.com/JGuL0cUGX0
— nope (@LilNasX) November 10, 2020
what if we held hands at the lil nas x roblox concert
— nope (@LilNasX) November 10, 2020
“We’re thrilled to partner with Columbia Records to bring Lil Nas X fans and the Roblox community together in an entirely new way,” said Jon Vlassopulos, global head of music at Roblox. “This concert with Lil Nas X will transport players and their friends into the metaverse, and bring to life the future of what immersive, social experiences can look like.”
Ryan Ruden, SVP of experiential marketing and business development for Columbia Records, added that the event represented “an exciting opportunity to share Lil Nas X’s new music with over 150 million kids and teens globally through this first-ever high-fidelity concert experience on Roblox.”
The free-to-access concert experience will air three times, including a 5pm GMT showing on November 14 for European viewers. New Roblox users will need to create an account to access the concert venue.
The rapper’s new single ‘Holiday’ will drop on Friday (November 13), after the news was revealed in an ad aired during an NFL game earlier this week.
In the clip, Lil Nas X witnesses Santa being kicked out of a saloon for being too drunk, then proceeds to morph into the jolly Christmas icon himself. He flies off into the distance, leaving us with a cameo from Michael J. Fox, warning “whatever you do Nas, don’t go to 2020.”