Fake AI-generated Drake and The Weeknd song submitted for Grammy consideration

7 September, 2023

Drake and The Weeknd

An AI-generated collaboration featuring vocals mimicking Drake and The Weeknd has been submitted for consideration at the Grammys.

The song – ‘Heart On My Sleeve’, which was was written and produced by the anonymous producer Ghostwriter, blew up in a matter of hours and reached 13 million views on TikTok alone when it first surfaced earlier this year.

On popular DSPs like Apple Music, Spotify, and Tidal, the song also had hundreds of thousand streams – with over 100,000 views on YouTube before Universal Music Group banned the song.

Now, a representative for Ghostwriter has confirmed to The New York Times that the track has been submitted for Grammy consideration in two categories: Best Rap Song and Song Of The Year – both of which go to the writer of a song, not the performer.

According to the Recording Academy’s chief executive, Harvey Mason Jr., the song could be eligible on creative grounds and that it is an original composition written and recorded by humans. Because of that, Mason added: “It’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human.”

But one of the requirements for submission is that the track must be “available nationwide via brick-and-mortar stores, third-party online retailers and/or streaming services”.

Due to its ban earlier this year though, this could make the song ineligible for submission.

Meanwhile, Ghostwriter has also teased a new AI collaboration featuring vocals mimicking Travis Scott and 21 Savage entitled ‘Whiplash’.

They also appealed to both artists to allow them to release the song.

Ghostwriter wrote: “It’s clear that people want this song. DM me on Instagram if you’re interested in allowing me to release this record, or if you’d like me to remove this post. If you’re down to put it out, I will clearly label it as AI, and I’ll direct royalties to you. Respect either way.”

AI has been criticised by a number of artists recently including John Lydon, Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones and Nick Cave who called ChatGPT and AI songwriting “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human”.

Smashing Pumpkins‘ Billy Corgan, however,  said “AI will change music forever” since others can “game the system” and “not going to spend 10,000 hours in a basement.”

The post Fake AI-generated Drake and The Weeknd song submitted for Grammy consideration appeared first on NME.