The Voice had planned to have a duet performed with Christina Aguilera and a hologram of Whitney Houston, but the event was ultimately cancelled.
Footage of the event leaked and excitement quickly spread about the show’s season finale. The decision to cancel such a performance shocked many loyal fans, including the holograms creator Alki David of Hologram USA.
Pat Houston, Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and the Executor of Whitney Houston’s estate, released a statement about the matter. “We were looking to deliver a ground breaking duet performance for the fans of both artists. Holograms are new technology that take time to perfect, and we believe with the artists of this iconic caliber, it must be perfect. Whitney’s legacy and her devoted fans deserve perfection.”
David of Hologram USA gave an interview to Entertainment Tonight (ET) saying, “It did work, it just was incomplete.” David added, “Certainly there was more enhancement to the face that needed to be done on the final close-ups that were chosen for the TV show, because there is a difference between seeing a live performance and seeing an extreme close-up,” he explains, pointing to those who were lucky enough to witness the performance in-person. There were people in the audience that were crying.”
Due to the buzz, even the show’s executive producer Mark Burnett added, “Christina’s performance was brilliant but unfortunately the hologram did not live up to the high production standards of The Voice. We are actively investigating where this leak originated.”
The Voice season finale will air live on Nbc on Tuesday, May 24.
Note: The virtual performers are technically not holograms.