An AI-Created Song Is Looking To Make History With A Grammy Nomination

An artificial intelligence-generated song that closely emulates the musical stylings of both Drake and The Weeknd has been entered for Grammy consideration. While it might not sound like such a thing would be possible, Harvey Mason, Jr., the CEO of the Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammys, confirmed to the New York Times
NYT
that “it’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human.”

The song, titled “Heart on My Sleeve” was created by the anonymous artist Ghostwriter. It immediately went viral in April for both its catchiness and for the startling resemblance that the voices in the tune bore to the voices of the rapper and singer.

At the time, when “Heart on My Sleeve” first emerged, many assumed it was a leaked demo from the two artists that had never been released. Soon, Ghostwriter confirmed that he had actually made it and that neither of the stars credited to the cut had any involvement in its production.

Now, the AI-generated track has been submitted for two Grammy categories: Best Rap Song and Song of the Year. Both of those fields are focused on songwriters, not performers, so it was deemed eligible, at least in these early stages. Ghostwriter actually wrote the words in the tune, though the performances are computer-generated.

Upon its initial release on platforms like YouTube and various music streaming services such as Spotify, “Heart on My Sleeve” was rapidly removed, due to what are known as “takedown notices” issued by Universal Music. While that may have stopped it from appearing on some platforms, it did quickly proliferate around the internet. It remains available to fans who want to listen on some sites, such as YouTube.

Variety points out that even though “Heart on My Sleeve” may be eligible in terms of writers, it isn’t widely available on most common platforms, which is also required for any tune to earn a Grammy nomination. It’s not yet clear how the Recording Academy, or the musician behind the cut, will deal with this potential hurdle.

If “Heart on My Sleeve” does earn a Grammy nomination, it will mark a seismic shift for the awards, and certainly the music industry as a whole. The Recording Academy clarified earlier this year that songs created with the help of AI will be eligible for the honor, though a human must be involved in some of the creativity.

Mason, Jr. stated to Variety several months ago that at the Recording Academy, “We’re not going to be giving a nomination or an award to an AI computer or someone who just prompted AI. That’s the distinction that we’re trying to make. It’s the human award highlighting excellence, driven by human creativity.”