Most of us can agree that AI is getting out of hand lately. Unfortunately, it’s going beyond AI images, videos, callers, and chats. Now, it’s started to ruin music.
Music fans bash AI-generated ‘singer’, Solomon Ray, for hitting the number one spot on the holiday charts. The generated artist is described as a “Mississippi-made soul singer carrying a Southern soul revival into the present.”
The AI’s most recent release, a Christmas EP called “A Soulful Christmas”, features tracks with titles like Soul to the World and Jingle Bell Soul. Unfortunately, the Christian artist has taken the gospel world by storm after topping the iTunes and Billboard charts, and now the holiday charts.
With lyrics like “I’ve been running hard, feet on fire / Dreams and duty tangled in wire / But when my strength starts slipping away / I still hear your voice saying,” many fans are complaining that his lyrics are soulless and generic.
The ‘artist’ is often depicted in several AI images and videos as a man wearing a gold cross necklace, a white collared shirt, a suit, and a tan fedora. His verified Spotify account reads: “With a voice like weathered velvet and a storyteller’s cadence, he sings as if he’s testifying from experience: part Sunday-morning conviction, part Saturday-night grit.”
Comments on these Instagram posts bash the AI-generated songs, with one person saying, “Guys, this is AI! No spirit in it sadly.”
Another said, “AI… no thanks, there are plenty of real singers I can support.”
The real person behind the character of Solomon Ray is Christopher “Topher” Townsend, a conservative hip-hop artist.
It’s unfortunate that AI has taken over so many aspects of our lives. Not only is the person AI-generated, but so are the lyrics, the voice, and even the performance style. And Solomon Ray isn’t the first AI artist. A country ‘artist’ by the name of Breaking Rust has popped up, and has even topped Spotify and Billboard charts with its song, Walk My Walk.
An AI-generated band has even surfaced, called The Velvet Sundown, which creates retro 70s-style rock music.
It’s becoming more common to see AI-generated creators online, and sometimes it’s hard to tell if they’re AI or not. But it’s important to do your research before supporting artists so you can avoid AI-generated art.