He's Performing on American Idol

Wow -- watch him and Celine Dion -- amazing! P.S. You can own your own copy by buying it at iTunes!

And here's the story from the LA Times: http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-idolduet27apr27,0,5396163.story?coll=cl-calendar

TELEVISION & RADIO On 'Idol,' Elvis not only lives, he sings and he seeks a donation By Randy Lewis Times Staff Writer

April 27, 2007

How'd they do it?

"American Idol" officials weren't saying much the morning after Wednesday night's hyped-up duet between Celine Dion and a surprisingly lively looking Elvis Presley for the "Idol Gives Back" fundraising special.

Appearing to appear on stage in a crisp white suit, Presley seemed to interact and harmonize with Dion, in complementary black.

The whole bit had been assembled on videotape previously, so no one in either audience saw Dion, much less had an Elvis sighting, at CBS-TV studios or at Walt Disney Concert Hall, where most of the evening's live music took place.

Presley's performance of W. Earl Brown's "If I Can Dream" came from his 1968 TV comeback special, which rejuvenated his career after it had been in the doldrums for years.

With Photoshop-like technology called Rotorscope, the 39-year-old Presley footage was morphed with recently taped shots featuring 39-year-old Dion, as though it were taking place at the same time as the rest of Wednesday's show.

An "Idol" spokesman said only that an Elvis impersonator was used "at one point."

Likewise, there was no announcement detailing when the faux Elvis had left the building.

and another article on how they did it:

Elvis Presley on “American Idol” - How Did They Do It?

Those who say Elvis Presley is dead must have missed “American Idol” last week.

The late king of rock ‘n’ roll performed a hip-shaking duet with Celine Dion on Wednesday’s show. The images of him seemed so real, many people were left wondering how “Idol” was able to bring him back from the dead.

Fans can thank technology. Last week, Dion spent hours on the stage singing her part of the song several times without an audience or anyone next to her, looking to her side on cue.

Then she did the routine again with a Presley body double who lip-synced Presley’s song and matched his moves from his 1968 performance.

Finally, all three elements — Dion by herself, Dion with the body double and the original Presley performance — were combined through editing and a technique called rotoscoping, which traced Presley from the original footage by cutting him out.

“Rotoscoping allows you to take one image from a pre-existing piece of video and puts him a whole new environment — completely new use of that same piece of video,” Disney digital media designer Joe Husung said.

Similar technology has been used before. It brought Natalie Cole and her late father, Nat King Cole, together to perform “Unforgettable,” and allowed Forrest Gump to talk to former President Nixon.

A new British show puts the technology to use every day in “Duet Impossible,” in which stars perform with their late idols. If the concept crosses the pond, American audiences may soon see late legends like James Brown and Sinatra rocking the stage again.