Viral AI-generated song simulating Drake, The Weeknd vocals up for Grammy consideration

A song generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) software featuring passable imitations of Drake and the Weeknd’s voices has been submitted for Grammy consideration. 

Neither Drake, nor the Weeknd, however, were involved in the creation of the song, which took the music world by storm in April. 

In an interview with The New York Times, representatives of Ghostwriter, the mysterious creator of the viral song, titled “Heart on My Sleeve”, said it was submitted for two Grammy categories, namely “Best Rap Song” and “Song of The Year”. 

While the song remains controversial, having ignited a debate about the use of AI in music and the ethical concerns surrounding it, Recording Academy CEO, Harvey Mason Jr. says it’s eligible for Grammy consideration. 

“It’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human,” Mason told the Times. 

Despite the song’s use of AI-generated vocal performances, its lyrics were written by Ghostwriter, making it eligible for Grammy consideration. 

Mason further told the paper that he contacted Ghostwriter on social media after the song went viral, setting up a virtual roundtable discussion with the Recording Academy in an attempt to better understand the capabilities of AI technology. Ghostwriter did attend the meeting, though used a distorted voice to remain anonymous. 

“I knew right away as soon as I heard that record that it was going to be something that we had to grapple with from an Academy standpoint, but also from a music community and industry standpoint,” said Mason. 

In response to the growing use of AI in music, the Recording Academy earlier this year reworked the stipulations on what songs are eligible for Grammy consideration. 

“Only human creators are eligible to be submitted for consideration for, nominated for, or win a Grammy Award,” the Academy said. “A work that contains no human authorship is not eligible in any category.”

Nomination unlikely

Even though “Heart on my Sleeve” is eligible for a Grammy, as far as creativity is concerned, a nomination in either of the categories it’s been submitted to appears unlikely as it fails to fulfill the commercial availability part of the Academy’s stipulations. Grammy rules require songs to have “generation distribution,” which involves a wide release in physical stores, online retailers and streaming services. 

“Heart on my Sleeve” was yanked from various online services not long after amassing more than 600,000 plays on Spotify and over 275,000 views on YouTube. Universal Music Group (UMG), Drake and the Weeknd’s record label, condemned the song and the use of AI to mimic the voices of its signees. In a statement to Billboard, it said the viral postings “demonstrate why platforms have a fundamental legal and ethical responsibility to prevent the use of their services in ways that harm artists”. 

Ghostwriter’s representatives told the Times they’re aware of the commercial availability requirement. 

The anonymous songwriter and producer recently returned with a new AI-generated song, titled “Whiplash,” featuring imitations of Travis Scott and 21 Savage’s voices. – Rappler.com