For the first time since suffering a stroke, Randy Travis released new music, with the help of artificial intelligence.
The country star's latest single, “Where That Came From,” arrived Friday after Travis and his wife, Mary Travis, allowed their record label to recreate his soulful voice using artificial intelligence, according to the Associated Press.
Until last week, Randy Travis hadn't posted anything new in about a decade. After being hospitalized and diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy (a disease that affects the heart) in July 2013, the “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Deeper Than the Holler” artist suffered a stroke and developed aphasia, a brain disorder. that has limited his life. the ability to talk about it.
When Warner Music Nashville co-president Cris Lacy proposed the idea of leveraging AI to reproduce the singer's voice, the Travises jumped at the opportunity.
“Well, we were over that,” Mary Travis told the AP, “we were very excited.”
“All I ever wanted from the day of the stroke was to hear that voice again.”
The AI technology drew on Randy Travis' music spanning 28 years to create its version of “Where That Came From,” a romantic ballad written by Scotty Emerick and John Scott. Travis' longtime producer Kyle Lehning selected the song because he believed it would best fit the singer's voice.
Mary Travis told the AP that the final product made her husband cry.
“I remember seeing it when he heard the song for the first time after finishing it. He was beautiful because at first he was surprised and then he was very thoughtful and listened and studied,” he said.
“And then he hung his head and his eyes were a little teary. I think she went through every emotion there was, in those three minutes of hearing her voice again.”
In April, more than 200 musicians (including Stevie Wonder, Billie Eilish and Nicki Minaj) signed an open letter urging AI developers, tech companies and music platforms to stop using AI “to infringe and devalue the rights of human artists.” The statement acknowledged, however, that “AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity” when used responsibly.
Other creatives, such as writers, actors and Hollywood craftsmen, have also taken steps to mitigate the invasion of AI.
Randy Travis isn't the only musician embracing the AI revolution.
Last week, indie pop artist Washed Out released an AI-generated music video for his new song “The Hardest Part.”
“This is not a trick or a parlor trick,” Lacy told the AP after releasing “Where That Came From.” “It was important to have a song worthy of him.”
