Image via Complex Original
Hologram technology is one of those things that has always astounded us, but often seemed too far off or too futuristic to ever be seen outside of sci-fi movies and video games. As we saw at last year's Coachella, however, the capabilities of holography are much farther along than one might think. By using a laser to imprint an image onto a recording surface, one can copy or reconstruct almost anything, and then project it out in 3D form using a camera.
Of course, with all the expenses associated with setting up your own hologram, it isn't likely that the Average Joe will be sending out copies of himself around the world anytime soon. But for those with deep enough pockets, anything is possible, and to show you what the technology can do right now, we put together a History of Celebrity Holograms for your viewing pleasure. Ah, to be one of the beautiful people.
Princess Leia
Year: 1977
Princess Leia is the OG when it comes to holograms. In 1977, when special effects were still in their painfully awful and awkward embryonic stages, George Lucas and his team came along to completely change the game. While lightsabers, intergalactic warfare, and the Death Star were all impressive technical achievements in their own right, the special effect that first caught everyone's eye was Princess Leia's holographic plea for help. Since then, all other holograms have simply been imitators.
Madonna & Gorillaz
Year: 2006
The performance may have looked pretty smooth on-screen, but apparently Gorillaz was less than impressed with the presentation at the time. Co-founder Damon Albarn expressed negative feelings about the production of the show, and was critical of Madonna for being something of, well, a prima-donna about it at the time. Madonna was a megastar in her day, but she might a little too far past her prime to still be treating people like that.
Kate Moss
Year: 2006
Recently called our "great modern muse" by high-art auction house, Christie's, Kate Moss has actually received the hologram treatment twice, once this year as the subject of a work by visual artist Chris Levine, and back in 2006 during a fashion show for Alexander McQueen. The show sort've looks like what would happen if Tree of Life-era Terrence Malick was choreographing Paris Fashion Week. And if you saw, Tree of Life, you know that wasn't a compliment.
Michael Phelps
Year: 2008
Skip ahead of all the hyper-exaggerated pomp and circumstance in this video to the 8:40 mark to check out the hologram of Olympic superstar, Michael Phelps. While all this operatic, melodramatic pizzazz is great, unfortunately, much of it proved to be for naught. The Speedo LZR suit would have its day in the sun during the 2008 Summer Olympics—helping to shatter 23 world records—but it was soon banned from competition in 2009 after being deemed a form of technological doping. Apparently, it was just too futuristic for its own good.
Lewis Hamilton
Year: 2008
Due to Formula One racing's low-profile here in the United States, the circuit's top English star, Lewis Hamilton is a relative unknown compared to his NASCAR counterparts like Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson. But while you may not think much of him, at least know that somebody, somewhere, decided that this guy was deserving of his own hologram. That's got to count for something, right?
will.i.am
Year: 2008
will.i.am—yes, this will.i.am—was one of the first "luminaries" to speak on one of the most monumental elections in American history. This certainly wasn't our country's proudest moment.
Frank Sinatra
Year: 2008
Now here's a pairing that makes some sense. The raw contralto of Alicia Keys teaming up with the forever-smooth Sinatra? Award show performances can just be downright awful at times, but in this instance, the Grammys got it just right.
Elvis
Year: 2009
Why Celine Dion and Elvis Presley? Does that strike anyone else as a strange combination? If Elvis was alive today, would he and Celine Dion have actually sang together? Did he have a thing for stiff, almost robotic Canadian pop stars that we didn't know about? These are the questions we're forced to ask when American Idol decides to drop a collaboration like this in our laps. Please, just, never again.
Carrie Underwood
Year: 2011
Country music and cutting-edge technology don't always seem like the most natural allies, but when former American Idol winner, and current country music superstar, Carrie Underwood took the stage as a hologram to perform a duet with Brad Paisley, it actually went pretty well! From the video, it's difficult to tell that she's even a hologram. Can't say we're crazy about the song but you've got to give them some credit for thinking outside the box on this one.
Mariah Carey
Year: 2011
We don't want a lot for Christmas, but there is just one thing we need: a hologram of Mariah Carey singing "Silent Night" and "All I Want for Christmas is You." As long as we get that, then we're good. That's not too much trouble for you, is it?
2Pac
Year: 2012
In all fairness, this Tupac Shakur replica was actually a digital projection, and not a hologram (the difference is that holograms are 3D images). Whatever it was, though, this performance created some of the biggest buzz that hologram technology has ever gotten, so we felt obligated to include it. After 2Pac's much-publicized appearance at Coachella, many were hoping that the projection would take his show on the road and tour with former West Coast collaborators like Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg. Unfortunately, because of the high price that a single hologram show will run you (estimates for the Coachella show ranged from $100,000-$400,000) nothing materialized from the rumors. For what it's worth, we were hoping that they'd also resurrect Biggie and then make a West Side Story-style Broadway production with the two of them. But hey, that's just us.
Feist
Year: 2013
Canadian indie-pop songstress, Feist, also of Broken Social Scene fame, probably has one of the best performances on this whole list. Emerging a wispy cloud of red smoke and employing a whole team of rainbow-ghost doubles, the singer looks like an old hippie's favorite acid-induced vision. If you weren't familiar with Feist's music before, this should be reason enough for you to check her out now.