The AI deepfake of Drake and The Weeknd will not be eligible for a Grammy
The viral track 'Heart On My Sleeve', from anonymous producer Ghostwriter, was reported to be being considered for Best Rap Song and Song Of The Year
An AI-generated track featuring deepfake vocals of Drake and The Weeknd will not be considered for a Grammy according to the Recording Academy.
Recently reports claimed that the track 'Heart On My Sleeve' from anonymous producer Ghostwriter was be considered for two Grammy awards, Best Rap Song and Song Of The Year.
According to The New York Times, the nominations were to be awarded to the writer of the track, not the performer.
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The track received its popularity on TikTok before being self-released in April, on various streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.
Due to the use of AI on the track it was later removed from the platforms by Universal Music Group.
The song itself even features Metro Boomin’s ‘Young Metro’ producer tag in the track’s intro, before 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.
Chief Executive of The Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr., is said by NME to have claimed that track “could be eligible” for the Grammys on creative ground and that the original composition was written and recorded by humans.
Mason added: “It’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human.”
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However, Mason has reassessed this claim with a statement on Instagram confirming that ‘Heart On My Sleeve’ will not be eligible for consideration.
“I’m sorry, but I have to clear up some of this bad and really inaccurate information that’s starting to float around,” he said.
“This version of ‘Heart On My Sleeve’ using the AI voice modelling, that sounds like Drake and The Weeknd, it’s not eligible for Grammy consideration.”
“Let me be extra, extra clear, even though it was written by a human creator, the vocals were not legally obtained, the vocals were not cleared by the label or the artists and the song is not commercially available and because of that, it’s not eligible,” Mason continued.
He added, “I take this stuff very seriously. It’s all complicated, and it’s moving, really, really quickly. I’m sure things are going to continue to have to evolve and change. But please, please, do not be confused. The Academy is here to support and advocate and protect and represent human artists, and human creators period.”
Watch his full video statement below.
Recently, Ghostwriter has released a new AI-generated track, but this time featuring vocals from Travis Scott and 21 Savage in a track named 'Whiplash'.
According to The New York Times, an anonymous representative for Ghostwriter, confirmed that 'Whiplash' is an original composition written and recorded by humans.
Listen to 'Whiplash' below.
Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Multimedia Editor, follow her on Twitter
