AI-generated Drake and The Weekend song 'Heart on My Sleeve' struck out of Grammy
Despite the computer-generated vocal performances, representatives for Drake and the Weeknd did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Ghostwriter’s Heart on My Sleeve, the AI-generated song mimicking Drake and The Weekend, which was earlier reported to be Submitted for the Grammys making it an internet sensation has been confirmed to be off the Grammy list by the Royal Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jn, this is a track featuring AI-generated facsimiles of Drake and the Weeknd’s voices titled Heart on My Sleeve which was submitted for Grammy consideration in which Neither Drake nor the Weeknd had anything to do with it.
Ghostwriter, the shadowy creator of the AI-generated song that went viral in April, who was seeking the music industry’s most coveted award for a fake duet — and according to Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. in an interview with The New York Times, “it’s absolutely eligible because it was written by a human." A representative for Ghostwriter confirmed to the Times that Heart on My Sleeve was submitted for best rap song and song of the year, awards that are given to a song’s writers, as opposed to its performers. In this case, the lyrics were written by Ghostwriter. Despite the computer-generated vocal performances, representatives for Drake and the Weeknd did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
The eligibility and consideration were however reversed by the CEO on the ground that “the song is not commercially available and because of that it’s not eligible.” due to the fact that Grammy rules require that songs have “generation distribution,” meaning “the broad release of a recording, available nationwide via brick-and-mortar stores, third-party online retailers and/or streaming services.” failure to meet these requirements renders a song ineligible for the award. The music which used to be in the streaming service was removed from streaming services after legal action by Universal Music Group, a music company that releases Drake and the Weekend’s music.
