Randy Travis' AI voice clone song “Where Did It Come From” has officially landed the singer on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. According to the singer's team, it's his first radio charting song in nearly 20 years.
“Where That Came From” is Travis' first new song since he suffered a near-fatal stroke in 2013 that robbed him of much of his singing ability. Their longtime producer Kyle Lehning used AI tech to overlay decades-old lyrics originally performed by country singer James Dupre with Travis' vocals.
The track is one of the first artist-sanctioned uses of his likeness for a commercially released AI song. Dupré, meanwhile, is being credited as “Lawyer Bad” on the record, the first time such a credit has been used, according to Warner Nashville.
The song debuted on the country airplay chart — which exclusively measures radio play, not streaming or sales numbers — at No. 45, with about 3.3 million first-week streams, according to Travis' rep.
Talking with rolling Stone Last week, Dupre said he didn't know his vocals were the source of the recording until he heard the song for the first time. “The fact that it's possible is really eye-opening for me,” Dupre said. I was excited from the get-go to see what would happen with him.”
AI is one of the hottest topics in the music industry right now, and artists and record labels are exploring how to ensure that their copyrights and similarities are protected while allowing them to continue their artistic journey. Technology should also be allowed to be used to streamline the process. FKA Twigs revealed this month that she created an AI deepfake of herself to interact with her fans.
Travis' song AI is one of many tracks that have surfaced over the years, shocking listeners that such songs are even possible. While in this case the artist was on board, for the most part AI vocals have been controversially created without the permission of the artist or copyright holders.
For example, Drake – whose voice was used on anonymous songwriter Ghostwriter's infamous “Heart On My Sleeve” – used AI-generated Tupac Shakur vocals on his Kendrick Lamar diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle”. Used this tech to build, but Shakur's estate was released. There was a pause and a pause, and the song descended.