Ghostwriter’s ‘Heart on My Sleeve,’ the AI-Generated Song Mimicking Drake and the Weeknd, Submitted for Grammys
variety.comEthan Shanfeld A collaborative track featuring AI-generated facsimiles of Drake and the Weeknd’s voices titled “Heart on My Sleeve” has been submitted for Grammy consideration.
One caveat: 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, is 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. But even if the track is considered eligible from a creative standpoint, 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.” After the song initially popped up on YouTube and streaming services, it disappeared as Universal Music apparently sent takedown notices to the DSPs.
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