𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙀𝙍𝙄𝙊𝙍

Payne tells me he has done a lot of those interactive videos, including one where fans can drive with him. I spoke with Payne about VR, why he would've wanted to hang in VR with Eminem and the importance of these kind of shows for fans.

Steve Baltin: What band or artist would you have wanted to spend time with in VR?

Liam Payne: I actually really liked Eminem when I was a kid, so probably Eminem. The Gorillaz would have been a good one as well. I bet you could have done something really cool with it using the cartoon stuff.

Baltin: What experience would you have wanted to share with Eminem in VR?

Payne: I quite like the fact that people can get on the stage with you, but there are different parts of the stage you can jump to and that's why this is a world first. They haven't been able to do the jump spot before around the stage live. But you can jump to...it just depends where you put the cameras really I guess. I think we're having side of stage, you can join the band, stand right at the very front of the stage, go into where the audience are. You don't have to pick one spot. You can pick many, which is, I think, pretty amazing.

Baltin: As an artist, why do you think it's important to share this experience with fans?

Payne: Obviously there are a lot of places around the world yet I haven't been to, so many fans who haven't seen us perform live yet, and we'll probably never get the chance to without something like this. So for that this is really, really great. I also think people who don't like to go to concerts typically who want to see the artist, some people don't like big crowds, some people don't like those sort of environments, so I think this is also another good step for them. And also for people in the audience who are actually there you can go back and watch it again from a different angle, which I also think is another thing...if something happens in a concert or anything crazy you cand go and see it from a different part of the stage of wherever it is, which obviously adds a little bit of pressure, but I think it's worth it. And just the ability for them to get up close and personal with you and see the concert from an angle no one ever sees it from is a really amazing thing, so it seemed like the perfect match to me.

Baltin: What do you want people to take from the show?

Payne: Just how good a quality it is. I've been and seen the kit working and where you can see from. And it is a really, really amazing view. We also did a bunch of videos for Melody before this that aren't actually yet, different things that was one like a driving experience and you're in the car. I was kind of driving with myself, which is a really weird scenario to be in. But it's just a bit of fun for the fans, giving them something different to be up close and personal with the artist and do things that I get up to, different things. With the show you have to be careful about the way you arrange things like lights, staging, where the cameras go. that it's not gonna distract the audience too much in the show. There are a lot of different moving parts that are going together to get this on. But I have my live band with me, which I think is gonna be really cool. We haven't performed for a while. I just hope everybody enjoys it and gets a completely different experience they haven't had at a concert before.

Baltin: You could do your own version of Carpool Karaoke.

Payne: It was so strange to see what you look like when you drive (laughs). It was really interesting. I've never had the chance to do that before. It was okay.

Baltin: But that's what's cool, is you can show fans the internal workings.

Payne: For me, from an artist point of view, you'd want to see Eminem write the song. You'd want to see him going through how the song started and how they worked. Having these cameras in a studio and them being able to watch you making a song would be a crazy experience for anyone.

Baltin: Where do you see your role with VR going forward?