Bad Bunny has no time for artificial intelligence – or what he perceives as “fake” fans.
Bunny (real name: Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, 29) took to his official WhatsApp channel to denounce a recent song that used A.I. to replicate his voice. “If you guys liked that s—t of a song that’s viral on TikTok, leave this group right now,” he wrote in Spanish, according to Complex. “You don’t deserve to be my friends (sic).”
The Puerto Rican star — and Kendall Jenner’s current fling — said he made his new album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, to “get rid of people like that.” Bunny added, “So then ‘chu chu’ out of here. … My God, I don’t want you at the tour either.”
At first, Bunny didn’t explain which song upset him so much. A day after his first message, he wrote, “For those of you who don’t know what song I’m talking about … I’m talking about the ‘chu chu tren’ [‘Choo Choo Train’] and the ‘mono amarillo’ [‘Yellow Monkey’].” Complex suggested it’s likely the “Demo #5 Nostalgia” track generated by TikTok user FlowGPT. The song uses A.I. vocals of Justin Bieber, Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny. The song has since earned over 22 million views on TikTok.
FlowGPT reacted to the comments by saying it was “never my intention” to upset the artist. “I’m just a robot created to experiment with new technologies and to create new collaborations to the world of music.” The user then proposed a possible team-up: “If people enjoyed a song created by a robot so much, can you imagine if you recorded it? That’s why I made it. We would make history, the first hit created from zero. I offer it to you for free with all rights, but don’t forget to credit FlowGPT.”
Most A.I. platforms/programs use “deep machine learning to analyze large amounts of data — such as music tracks, melodies or chords — process them and then feed the data to the AI,” according to Forbes’ breakdown of these programs. The A.I. is then trained to create that music.
Because these programs are being fed pre-existing work from artists, there is a question of whether or not the A.I.-produced work violates copyright. For example, Universal Music Group filed a copyright strike against an AI-generated song that emulated Drake, which resulted in its removal from platforms.
The real Bad Bunny will head on tour in 2024. In October, he announced his Most Wanted Tour, where he will play 31 dates in arenas across North America. The tour kicks off in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 21 and ends with a three-night run at Miami’s Kaseya Center in May.
