Noonoouri
AI Virtual Pop Star & Digital Model
Noonoouri is a digital avatar created in 2018 by Munich designer Joerg Zuber. In 2023 she became the first digital artist signed to a major label — Warner Music — with vocals generated by AI, a landmark for synthetic pop.
In her words
The creative process, the concept, and the production will always be human with noonoouri.
Biography
Noonoouri is a doe-eyed CGI character created in 2018 by German art director Joerg Zuber. Presented as an ageless digital fashion activist, she has “worn” houses like Dior and Versace in campaigns and built a following of hundreds of thousands across Instagram and TikTok.
A major-label deal for a digital artist
In 2023 Warner Music Central Europe signed Noonoouri — reported as the first digital artist to land a major-label deal — releasing the single “Dominoes” with David Guetta. Her singing voice is produced with generative AI layered over songs written and produced by human musicians, whom Zuber says are credited and paid fairly.
While technology plays an important role… it’s essential to keep in mind that AI is just a tool.
The deal drew both fascination and unease — including criticism that Warner’s marketing “sexualised” a cartoon character — and reopened questions about AI voices and jobs in music. Zuber’s defence is transparency: Noonoouri is openly a character, and the humans behind her are the artists.
Where they stand in the war
Who backs them up
Sources & further reading
Canonical record: https://battlelines.ai/topic/noonoouri