Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Drake and The Weeknd fans horrified by ‘terrifying accuracy’ of ‘AI-generated song collaboration’

‘I’m convinced it’s a real song but they’re hiding it under the AI to see how it’d get received,’ one fan commented

Inga Parkel
Monday 17 April 2023 17:30 BST
Comments
The Weeknd performs at MTV VMAs

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A scarily impressive “AI-generated song collaboration” between Drake and The Weeknd has left fans in disbelief.

The track, titled “Heart on My Sleeve”, has recently gone viral on TikTok and Twitter and is believed to have been created by artificial intelligence.

Since its release, several listeners have shared their shock at its “terrifying accuracy”, and even question whether this was a real song that had been leaked.

“I’m convinced it’s a real song but they’re hiding it under the AI to see how it’d get received,” one fan tweeted.

“This is ridiculously good,” a second praised, while another called it “one of the best Drake songs in a minute”.

“Not sure how the music industry will be able to deal with AI,” one comment read.

The two-minute song begins with Drake rapping about “coming in with my ex, like Selena [Gomez] to flex/ Bumping Justin Bieber”, before The Weeknd jumps in to sing: “Got these pearls on my neck/ Got these girls on my check.”

The Independent has contacted both Drake and The Weeknd’s representatives for comment.

Following the song’s internet takeover, Mitchell Cohen from software sales website AppSumo went on a deep dive to figure out the truth behind the creator.

Posting screenshots of his findings, Cohen showed that after clicking on the uploader’s TikTok account @ghostwriter977, he was taken to a website for Laylo, a software startup which offers “powerful tools for every creator”.

He then discovered that the company’s founder Alec Ellin had tweeted about “AI hip-hop voices” two days before the track was released.

Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)

Sign up
Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)

Sign up

Cohen also noted that Ellin seemed to “really like Drake”, based on former tweets.

“Coincidence? Maybe. But either way, Laylo is getting MILLIONS of impressions to their page from this. So would be legendary if they were in fact the ghost,” Cohen wrote.

Laylo hasn’t confirmed the conjectures, but did reshare Cohen’s Twitter chain.

This isn’t the first time Drake has fallen victim to the controversial technology. On Instagram last week, the rapper responded to an AI-generated cover of him rapping Ice Spice’s “Munch”, writing: “This is the final straw AI.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in