Roblox, Lil Nas X unite for groundbreaking virtual concert

Columbia Records artist & musical phenomenon will give performance debut of his new single in a revolutionary music experience with all-new technology exclusively on Roblox

Roblox, a global online platform bringing millions of people together through play, announced a partnership with Columbia Records and record-breaking artist Lil Nas X to launch the first-ever, exclusive virtual concert on the Roblox platform. Lil Nas X will perform his upcoming new single “HOLIDAY” live for the first time, along with some of his most popular hits, in this innovative and fully immersive concert experience for Roblox users worldwide to enjoy. Roblox will open the first of three free concert showings at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 14.

“We’re throwing the biggest virtual concert of 2020, and I hope everybody in the world can come check it out,” Lil Nas X said. “I feel very lucky to be the first artist to ever do this on Roblox. We had so much fun putting this together for my fans, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it!”

The concert will feature a set of stages, all inspired by Lil Nas X’s songs and music videos, that are using the latest shadowing, lighting, and physically based rendering (PBR) facial recognition technologies available on the Roblox platform. The entire experience is designed to give Roblox users and Lil Nas X fans a unique way to discover and enjoy music together with their friends and connect with their favorite artist like never before.

In addition to the concert experience, Roblox and Columbia Records will also be showing a Q&A with the artist that will be streamed inside the concert venue starting with the preshow at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13.

"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."

“Columbia Records is always driven to find new and innovative ways for our storied artists to share their creative vision,” said Ryan Ruden, SVP, experiential marketing and business development for Columbia Records. “This partnership is 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.”

New Roblox users will need to create an account to access the concert venue. The venue features mini-games and other activities that users can explore between now and the first preshow event on Friday. There will also be a virtual store offering an exclusive merch capsule with a variety of accessories, emotes and fashion-forward Lil Nas X avatar bundles that emulate the thematic style of each song performed during the concert experience. Existing Roblox users can enter the concert venue today.

Lil Nas X is a Grammy award-winning rapper, singer and songwriter from Atlanta. He rose to fame in 2019 when his genre-shattering hit song “Old Town Road” featuring Billy Ray Cyrus went viral and became the longest-running No. 1 single in Billboard Hot 100 history.