M.I.A. and Janelle Monáe will perform a duet together to "celebrate" the launch of the new Audi A3 because, you know, M.I.A. can't get enough sponsors from the automotive industry. No, but seriously: The news is that the pair will not appear onstage together (and yet they will!) via the power of holographic images.
M.I.A. will perform and full concert set at a gig in New York City and Monáe will do the same in Los Angeles, but at the end of the show, the respective performers will be joined onstage by a live action hologram of the other. So this will be different than Tupac Shakur's "appearance" at Coachella with Dr. Dre: as the rapper was dead, all of his lines were obviously pre-recorded and Dre had to play along. In this case, the holograms will react to the movements and actions of their cohorts on the other side of the country.
Audi explains the technology as "the first hologram performance with integrated video mapping" that "utilizes 3D projection mapping to add layered depth of field perception with animated graphic content, the result of which will be an electric never-before-seen 3D bi-coastal performance."
Both performers will be able to tell what the other one's doing and time themselves accordingly. M.I.A. should watch her behavior however: If she flips the bird as she's wont to do, she may face double the lawsuits from her corporate sponsor.
The ultimate benefit to take from this is that in the near future, if you're about to be captured by an evil empire in space, you can totally send a hologram version of yourself saying "help me U.S. ambassador to space, you're my only hope."
