 A hologram of Michael Jackson appeared and performed last night at the Billboard Music Awards, almost five years after the singer's death. But while this might look like the future of posthumous performances, the trick itself is actually about five centuries old. The projection of Jackson materialized on a golden throne before launching into a performance of Slave to the Rhythm. There was moonwalking, there were taped fingers, there was dancing paramilitary cyborgs because, well, because. Jackson's appearance is just another in a series of musicians, both living and dead, who have had their images projected on stage for live performances. The most famous example is perhaps Tupac Shakur from 2012's Coachella Music Festival. The likeness was created by Visual Effects Studios Digital Domain, which reportedly took four months to create the projection of the rapper at a cost of up to $400,000. And this past April, Janelle Monae and M.I.A. performed a live duet from both New York and Los Angeles, with each singing alongside a 3D projection of the other. But it's not just musicians. Recently elected Indian Prime Minister Modi used it to make appearances at hundreds of campaign rallies across the country. And it's not actually a hologram, not in the way we picture it in science fiction like Star Wars. The technique is called Pepper's Ghost and dates back to the 16th century. So while the illusion is not a new invention, the advent of lifelike CGI has only recently allowed us to resurrect celebrities and musicians. So did it work? Reactions so far have been mixed. The CGI hits up against the so-called Uncanny Valley, with Jackson's face looking obviously artificial up close. There's also some technical issues in the ABC broadcast that were later fixed for the official video on Vivo. It also begs the question, could someone actually make a pop star from scratch? Japan's Hatsumikku is an entirely digital creation, voice and all, even as she's played to sold-out crowds. And at the 2006 Grammy Awards, Madonna sang alongside entirely fictional act gorillas. So while the practice day is still rare enough to warrant shock and awe, it won't be long before you're paying top dollar to see your favorite musician or speaker. Living, dead, or completely made up.