A new song that features artificial intelligence (AI) generated vocals of Drake and The Weeknd has taken the internet by storm, going viral across social media platforms.
The track, created by @ghostwriter and called ‘heart on my sleeve (Drake AI Song feat. The Weeknd)’, has been viewed 9.3 million times on TikTok at the time of publishing, been played 254,000 streams on Spotify and 167,000 plays on YouTube since being posted on Friday (April 14).
Little is known about the track-making process, including how much of the track is generated by AI – whether it’s just the voices, or the lyrics and production too.
It even features Metro Boomin’s famous ‘Young Metro’ producer tag in the track’s intro, before bursting into an opening Drake verse, with The Weeknd singing the song’s chorus.
The lyrics include shout outs to other artists, with AI Drake calling 21 Savage “my brother”, and also more salacious content, while the clone of The Weeknd’s voice “claims” that ex-partner Selena Gomez cheated on him before the pair broke up in 2017.
Some commentators have suggested that the track is a marketing ploy by a startup company called Laylo, which provides creators and brands notifications for when they drop merch, tickets or content.
Drake has previously voiced his opposition to the use of AI to his voice, recently writing “This the final straw” in an Instagram story reacting to an AI-generated version of his voice to cover Ice Spice’s track ‘Munch (Feelin’ U)’.
It comes after Universal Music Group penned a letter to streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music, which asked them to prevent AI companies from accessing its back catalogue to prevent them from being able to use its artists’ music to train software.
There are currently no laws that suggest using AI to clone voices is an infringement of an artist’s copyright. ‘heart on my sleeve (Drake AI Song feat. The Weeknd)’ appears to be safe currently from facing any legal action, as it appears to be a completely original song and the creator makes it clear that it does not actually feature The Weeknd or Drake, and therefore isn’t misleading the public.
Listen to ‘heart on my sleeve (Drake AI Song feat. The Weeknd)’ below.
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