After 10 years, Drake and The Weeknd finally collaborate on another song…  or have they? AI this, AI that…  These days, it seems like we’re bombarded by news of AI. Whether it’s generative art with services such as MidJourney, students writing essays on ChatGPT, or Linkin Park’s new music videos generated with Kaiber video AI, it is undeniable that we stand at an inflection point of the next revolution: the AI revolution. 

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a massive wave of AI-assisted generated songs take the internet by storm: using AI software to train on an artist’s voice, learn from it to mimic, and then generating songs using that AI. Whether it is imagining a cover by a certain artist, having them sing a completely different language, or using the artist’s voice to sing your own song, these are certainly exciting yet scary times that we live in.

(Lost MV – Linkin Park generated by Kaiber AI)

Some of your favorite rappers singing Japanese, thanks to  AI.

Getting well known artists to cover familiar favorites.

The Drake AI Song

One particular song has caught wildfire recently, titled “Heart on My Sleeve” by Ghostwriter977. It features the familiar voices of two of the biggest stars in the music industry, Drake and The Weeknd. After 10 years since they’ve both appeared on a song, “Live for (2013)”, fans have long awaited for them to collaborate on a song again — except it didn’t actually happen.

Did it actually happen…?

Many speculate that it is a publicity stunt from the two artists, arguing that it’s impossible for AI to master the tones and inflections in particular words. If AI is actually this good, then what is the point of having human artists?

The song seems to be a viral hit, amassing millions of views/streams in just a few days over different platforms such as Tik Tok, YouTube, Soundcloud and Spotify. Even the artists’ label, Universal Music Group, has taken notice and started to take action in erasing it from the Internet. But it’s already too late: Pandora’s box has been opened.

UMG seems to be in full panic mode, and videos are being taken down left and right. Their actions seem to imply that “Heart on My Sleeve” is not a publicity stunt. Neither Drake nor The Weeknd have made public comments about the song so far.

The Artist: Ghostwriter977

Although the song features the familiar vocals of Drake and The Weeknd on what seems to be a Metro Boomin’ beat, the song is owned by an artist of the name Ghostwriter977.

Not much is known about Ghostwriter977; he has only posted one picture of himself, entirely covered by a sheet, sporting a pair of sunglasses on top. His attempts at keeping his identity a secret seem to make sense as he claims to be a ghost writer in the music industry who was not fairly compensated for his work. In the video’s comment section, Ghostwriter 977 says, “I was a ghost writer for years and got paid close to nothing just for major labels to profit. The future is here.”

Ghostwriter977

The Use of AI and How to Make a Song Like This

Most people would assume making a Drake song is as simple as telling AI to “Make a Drake song.” If it was that easy, then “Heart on My Sleeve” wouldn’t be the only song that went viral.  Human input and artistry is still necessary to create a song like this.

Although the whole process isn’t explicitly stated, many speculate that Ghostwriter977 is behind the majority of the work. The song is likely written by Ghostwriter977 or another artist, possibly with some help with AI. One clue that points to human handicraft is how the lyrics make relevant cultural references that are too snappy and smart, such as references that tie Selena Gomez to The Weeknd and Justin Bieber, that an AI would not  have a solid grasp on just yet.

The song was also produced and sung by Ghostwriter. As it stands, it is impossible to feed AI raw text and have it sound believable. AI isn’t at the stage where it has mastered the inflection and cadence to song lyrics — to the level a human would — without assistance. We conclude that the song had to have been sung by a human, but uses AI to morph the vocals to what it is trained on, which in this case, happens to be Drake and The Weeknd.

Creating music using AI still takes a human with an understanding of music production, an ability to write relevant lyrics, along with an understanding of cadences and pacing to produce a track convincing enough to pass as being 100% human-produced.

Watch this video to get an idea of how to utilize this AI to make music or voiceovers:

Drake VS Drake

There’s no going back now: whether we like it or not, the music industry has changed forever, and we’re only witnessing the very beginning. The potential is endless for this revolutionary software: we could see disbanded bands reuniting, artists covering other artists’ songs, and even full albums being made with AI.

Although this technology does mostly point to exciting developments in the future, there are still winners and losers in this game. If AI can use the likeness of a well-known artist to profit off of it, the artist loses. We can imagine that major music labels would be scrambling to figure out how to protect their artists and possibly use AI for their own gain. 

In other news, the Internet has recently been thirsting for a Drake vs AI Drake album. Whether the real Drake is up for it or not, the album is bound to be a hit.

The post A Drake AI song creates buzz on the internet appeared first on Lifestyle Asia Kuala Lumpur.